From the pages of The Gambia Journal.
 
UN Envoy Makes Excuses for Gambian Strongman, Whitewashing Fraud- and  
Threat-Filled Election By Inner City Press at the UN 
Oct 9, 2006, 10:35  

Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN
UNITED NATIONS,  October 7 -- In the Gambian election last month, 
thousands of non-Gambians  from Senegal were brought in to vote by 
President Yahya Jammeh, it was  admitted Friday by Kofi Annan's envoy to the 
election, former Nigerian General  Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Gen. Abubakar acknowledged the criticism by Gambian  
opposition groups and the Commonwealth observers of security personnel  
voting while in uniform, but stated that this is permitted by the Gambian  
Constitution. Jammeh recently said, "If I want to ban any newspaper, I  will."

Asked by Inner City Press about Yahya Jammeh's changes to the  
constitution, Gen. Abubakar said that people are entitled to their own  
opinions. Democracy, he said, is in the development world a "sensitive  
matter" that must be "done with caution."  He state that the elections  
had gone "very well... I was there on election day and from what I saw  
it was peaceful."

Interviewed by Inner City Press on the 35th floor of the UN  
Headquarters on Friday, just after he briefed Kofi Annan, Gen. Abubakar was  
dismissive of reports of Jammeh's crackdown on the press, including his 
reported  involvement in the killing of the editor of The Point newspaper. Jammeh's 
denial  in that case was that "I don't believe in killing people, I believe in 
locking  you up for the rest of your life."

Asked by Inner City Press about these and other Jammeh 
quotes, Gen.  Abubaker was dismissive. "Jammeh can say he'll rule for 
the next thirty or  forty years, but he could be voted out," Gen. Abubaker 
said.

Yahya Jammeh took power in 1998 in The Gambia, a country of 
1.5 million  people surrounded on three sides by Senegal. Industries 
include peanut  farming and some tourism. In an interview with Inner 
City Press on September  21, 2006, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State 
Frazer said that the Jammeh  regime is reaching out for help to China, 
Iran and Venezuela. Friday Inner  City Press asked UN Envoy Gen. 
Abubaker about this. Gen. Abubaker responded  by quoting Jammeh, if you  
don't have to be my friend, you can't stop me  from having other friends.

Asked by Inner City Press what his recommendations are, and 
what the UN  will do, Gen. Abubaker first listed the need for better 
training of  journalists. Perhaps a stop to the killing of journalists 
and editors would  help. One wonders why Kofi Annan selected this 
Nigerian general, who ruled  after Sani Abacha, as the UN envoy to the 
preordained re-election of Yahya  Jammeh. 
 
After changing the constitution to allow himself to run for a third term,  
and after 
threatening districts that voted against him with losing  development 
aid, he won garnered 67% of votes, to Oussainou Darboe's 27%,  with 
voter turnout below 60%. This includes the votes of non-Gambians  
brought in from Senegal's still-troubled Casamance region, an influx  
that Gen. Abubaker put at "only" four thousand.

When asked if there was outside influence on the Gambian 
election, Gen.  Abubaker said no, despite his statement about thousands 
of non-Gambians  voting. "It wouldn't have changed the result," Gen. 
Abubaker said.  Apparently, nothing would have.

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