Courtesy: The Gambiaecho newspaper. Haruna.
 
Bombshell   
Gambia  risks losing 50million Euros as Lawyer Fatty casts gloomy political 
 picture 
--Also, Gruesome  Tales of Torture & Intolerance unveiled to EU Press  
Corps 
By  Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief 
“The  Gambia’s 10th EDF funding request from the E.U amounting to 50 
million EUROS is  now at risk due to gross human rights abuses”~Human Rights 
Lawyer, Mai  Fatty” 
 
Lawyer Mai Fatty at EU , Brussels  on Monday  
Ever  since his laudable meeting with officials of the International 
Criminal Court (ICC)  at The Hague on Tuesday March 9, 2010, Gambia’s intrepid 
human rights lawyer and  opposition leader of The Gambia Moral Congress  (GMC), 
Mr. Mai N. K.  Fatty, has been making significant headways across European 
capitals informing  and educating governments and international originations 
about the dismal  political climate in the West African state of The Gambia 
under “one  of the worst repressive regimes in Africa”, to borrow his own  
words before the European Press Corps in Brussels, last night. During talks 
with  European Council Representatives, Lawyer Fatty spoke at length on the 
country’s  harrowing human rights situation and forcefully argued that it 
was high time the  EU spoke to the Gambian dictator in a language that will 
bring sense to his  seemingly unbridled madness and total disregard for 
international conventions  and protocols governing their agreements. He also 
presented to his hosts a video  clip of President Jammeh’s bellicose utterances 
threatening “to  cut off the heads of human rights workers” with shameful  
arrogance. The tenacious and outspoken Gambian lawyer also forceful argued 
for  stiff sanctions against Jammeh’s utterly criminal regime as the surest 
way to  bring about positive and meaningful change. Below is a detailed 
account of his  meetings at the EU. 
 
Lawyer Fatty  meeting  EU officials,  Monday 
GMC  flag bearer and human rights Lawyer, Mai N.K Fatty was received at the 
European  Union Headquarters in Brussels, Tuesday 29th March 2010, for 
talks  with EU Council Representatives on the subject of the abominable and  
persistently worrisome human rights malpractices of President Yaya Jammeh. Mr.  
Fatty’s demarche to Brussels came on the heels of the visit of Gambian 
Foreign  Minister, Ousman Jammeh to the EU in Brussels two weeks ago and that of 
Former  Finance Minister, Abdou Kolley (now Trade Minister) after news 
reportedly leaked  that Mr. Fatty poised to meet the European Council on the 
lamentable Gambian  political situation. 
The  talks which were attended by Heads of EU Institutions involved in 
development  relations with The Gambia were presented with stark evidence of 
Yaya Jammeh’s  harrowing brutality against Gambian citizens, including using 
the judiciary to  legitimise political repression against opponents. 
Lawyer  Fatty urged for punitive sanctions against the Government of Yaya 
Jammeh for  persistent and remorseless violations of the Treaty signed 
between The E.U and  The Gambia in June 2000 and amended in Luxembourg in June 
2005. Under this  Treaty, the basis of EU cooperation with The Gambia is 
predicated on “respect for all human rights and fundamental  freedoms, including 
respect for fundamental social rights, democracy based on  the rule of law 
and transparent and accountable governance”, which  the EU considers as 
integral part of sustainable development. Lawyer Fatty  contended that the Treaty 
imposes a legal duty on the European Union to take  punitive action against 
Yaya Jammeh’s relentless violation of Treaty  obligations, particularly 
Article  9, defined as an “essential element” of the Treaty, the violation of  
which puts into operation Article 96. He presented  convincing evidence of 
the ghastly human rights nightmare Gambians continue to  endure, and reminded 
EU officials of the inseparable nexus between development  cooperation and 
human rights as established by the European Court of Justice in the  case of 
Portugal versus Council  (1996). 
He  also reminded them that the monstrous actions of Yaya Jammeh contradict 
Paragraph 103 of the “European Consensus on Development”  which provides a 
further articulation on the conditions of receiving EU  assistance. Lawyer 
Fatty emphasised that The Treaty of Nice (2003) provides  the legal basis 
for the enforcement of human rights as an integral part of  sustainable 
development, and at the same time imposing a legal duty on the EU to  sanction The 
Gambia Government as a development partner and beneficiary of  development 
assistance under the EDF protocol. He said that failure by the EU to  take 
immediate concrete action against Yaya Jammeh has serious political  
consequences, including possible widespread violence in The Gambia, for which  
Gambians would hold the EU partly responsible. He said that EU development  
support is being abused by Yaya Jammeh to showcase infrastructural development,  
energy and water sectors as successes of his regime without even 
acknowledging  the source of the funding. Mr. Fatty said that the EU must stop 
rewarding Yaya  Jammeh’s atrocities with further cooperation, noting that the even 
modest  macro-economic gains made are at serious risk due to reckless public 
expenditure  management, policy inconsistencies with unauthorised 
extra-budgetary spending by  Yaya Jammeh. He informed them that Jammeh himself 
confessed to extreme wealth,  from questionable sources noting that government is 
in breach of Article 61.2 (a) of the  Partnership Agreement due  to Jammeh’s 
senseless fiscal extravagance.   
While  in Brussels, Mr. Fatty lobbied the EU to reject the latest request 
from Jammeh’s  Government to the EU for a three  million Euros Facility under 
the V-FLEX Programme. It is very  highly unlikely that this would now be 
approved by EuropeAid and other EU cooperation  implementing bodies. 
Lawyer  Fatty revealed that in going to Brussels, he was also seeking on 
behalf of  Gambians to urge the international community to engage on The 
Gambian situation  pursuant to Article 55 of the UN Charter,  to avert possible 
political violence in the country due to grievous rights  violations. He said 
that Article 55 emphasises “the  creation of conditions of stability and 
well-being which are necessary for  peaceful and friendly relations among 
nations” and that universal  respect for human rights is a founding value of the 
European Union, and its  enforcement a shared international obligation. 
He  also delivered to Council Representatives the tape containing Jammeh’s  
irresponsible outburst where he threatened to “kill human rights defenders, 
and nothing  will come out of it”. 
The  Council Representatives assured Mr. Fatty that the EU shall not 
finance The  Gambia’s 10th EDF request amounting to 50 million Euros unless  
verifiable actions are taken with regard to human rights, the rule of law and  
good governance practices. They also said that the issue of The Gambia’s 
Treaty violations were  communicated to Foreign Minister, Ousman Jammeh during 
his visit to the EU two  weeks ago for onward transmission to the Government, 
and that this on-going  Article 8 political consultation is not indefinite. 
The EU confirms that Mr.  Fatty’s description of the appalling human rights 
and governance situation is  consistent with its own independent 
information, and that the European Council is not without  effective options. In 
particular, it acknowledges that, it is almost impossible  for party leaders like 
Mr. Fatty or journalists to function properly under the  current climate 
without unacceptable prohibitive action taken by security  elements in 
government.  
Council  Representatives noted that the EU will not determine its decision 
on the  fairness of elections in The Gambia based on Government’s conduct 
three months  or so before elections, but on the overall impossibility of the 
governance  situation preceding years and months leading up to the 
elections. The Council  Representatives concluded that no disbursements will be made 
to The Gambia under  the 10th EDF protocol, which includes budgetary 
support, and that the  existing cooperation under the 9th EDF may be further  
curtailed. 
 
Lawyer Mai Fatty with an interpreter during EU  press conference last night 
 
Later  in the day, Mr. Fatty held a press conference with some members of 
the EU Press  Corps, where he provided detailed description of the political 
climate of severe  intolerance in The Gambia, and gave them material 
evidence of government  repression. He requested them to give the widest possible 
publicity to Yaya  Jammeh’s government as one of the worst repressive regimes 
in Africa, urging  them to accord prominence to the pathetic plight of 
ordinary  Gambians. 
On  Tuesday the 30th March 2010, Lawyer Fatty held private meetings with  
some EU Parliamentarians, pressing for punitive actions against Yaya Jammeh 
and  his Government, and in putting pressure on the European Council to 
enforce its  sanctions provisions against Jammeh under the Treaty. Mr. Fatty’s 
next  diplomatic shuttle will take him to the Spanish capital, Madrid because 
Spain  holds the current EU Presidency, where he is expected to make a 
strong case for  putting The Gambian situation on the Agenda of the next EU 
Council of Ministers.  Mr. Fatty will also exchange ideas with the Spanish 
Government on parallel  migration, a matter of high priority for Spain, and how 
this is connected to  poor governance and absence of economic opportunities by 
government. It would be  noted that President Jammeh single-handedly 
dominates the private sector in the  country.


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