*UDP on Gambia Government's reaction to EU's concerns

*A few days ago the European Union addressed a 17 point memorandum on the
situation in The Gambia to the government which it insisted needed to be
addressed. These points dealt with issues of democracy, good governance and
the rule of Law which in normal situations sound obvious and would be
reasonable to any responsible government. However, we are living in very
fluid times and what is normally unexpected is now the expected. Indeed the
President reacted in his characteristic manner.

President Jammeh in his usual television appearances, surrounded by his
ministers and officials, spared no words to lambast and vilify the European
Union for allegedly  blackmailing the country, calling the aid this country
gets from the EU  ‘‘Chicken change’’. These statements from the president
are very unfortunate and misguided.

We all know that long before his military takeover, the EU and its former
body the EEC had given assistance, within the framework of the Lome
Convention and within bilateral cooperation between the Gambia and
individual member countries. The health, fisheries, water resources and
other sectors have all received major assistance that have contributed to
the development of this country and the alleviation of poverty. Such
assistance continues to be given to The Gambia. It is not in the best
interest of the country that our head of State would openly show such
intransigence towards a development partner whose track record of
cooperation with our country is exemplary and glaring for all to see.

The concerns raised by the EU which is the subject of the dialogue under
Article 8 should not be brushed aside by any government that is imbued with
any modicum of respect for democracy and human rights. After all we still
host the African commission on Human and Peoples Rights and the least
expected of our government is to show a good example and lead the rest of
Africa in the adherence to and promotion of the rule of law.
 Our constitution provides for due process of law for people accused of
committing offences and we are well endowed with infrastructure and
facilities to implement this provision. There is therefore no need for
arbitrary arrest and indefinite detention incommunicado.

The time has come for us all to do some soul searching. What is all this
high handedness and recalcitrance leading us to? The EU is our major
development partner and we can ill afford to do away with what the
president calls "Chicken change".
We are a small nation trying hard to develop under terrible conditions of
underdevelopment. We are not blessed with any resources that can make us
stand on our own. We live in a global village in which interdependence is
an absolute imperative. This is not the time for gratuitous conflict with
our traditional partners.

It is a truism to say that this country belongs to all of us and we in the
United Democratic Party will not allow this unfortunate situation to
continue. Most of the issues put forth by the EU are the same demands that
the opposition in The Gambia have been fighting very hard to get the
government to address. The United Democratic Party will therefore consult
with other opposition parties to forge a common strategy that will address
the interest of the majority of the Gambian people.


UDP Secretariat

Rene Blain St

Banjul


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤