Ladies and gentlemen:

Attached is aletter we sent to President Olusegun
Obasanjo last week.
________________________________________________


3659 Buford Highway
Suite G-10
Atlanta, Georgia 30329

August 14, 2000

His Excellency
Olusegun Obasanjo
President of The Republic of Nigeria
State House
Abuja, Republic of Nigeria

His Excellency:

The situation in the Gambia is increasingly rapidly
becoming alarming. There is a general consensus that
immediate change is necessary to stop President
Jammeh’s rampage.

The Gambian Democratic Forum urges that the government
charges people arrested or abducted from their homes
with a recognizable criminal offence or immediately
and unconditionally release them. Those charged should
receive speedy trials according to international
standards of fairness. Dumo and others are still
languishing in captivity for several days only to be
falsely charged with treason. Currently, not even
their Attorneys are permitted visitation. This is a
travesty of justice.

Lack of accountability has resulted in corruption of
tremendous magnitude. We ask that you look into the
Crude oil saga. The contract made between Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Lagos and
Republic of the Gambia (ROG) dated August 2.1996
allegedly benefited Jammeh personally. Quoting from
the Independent Newspaper’s May 20 2000 issue Darboe
talked about the specifics of the crude oil saga. ”
Darboe recalled that during a press conference last
year, he distributed a contract document dated August
23,1996 between Chantrils Commercial SA and the Gambia
Government relating to the lifting of the crude oil in
which a concession was granted to the Gambia
Government by the Federal Republic of Nigeria under
Sani Abacha. The offer, he said, might have been
politically motivated after the Jammeh’s government
took a pro-Nigerian stance at the Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meeting which called for Nigeria’s
expulsion from the body following the execution of
Nigerian human rights activist Ken Saro Wiwa and
others in spite of widespread international pleas for
clemency on their behalf.” Shortly after that
Commonwealth Meeting, it was alleged that Jammeh
dispatched a letter to Abacha urging him to kill all
his political opponents.

  For all intent and purposes, Gambia’s National
Treasury is synonymous with Jammeh’s Personal bank
account. The Gambian people still don’t know the
whereabouts of the $52 million five year development
grant given to the Gambia by Taiwan. Few years back,
He was asked about the source of his sudden riches,
his reply was “ from God”. Now we know.

 The constant abuse of office and disregard for the
rule of law has contributed to widespread human rights
violations committed with impunity. Mr. Koro Ceesay,
the late Finance Minister was brutally murdered and
still no official inquiry has been done to attempt to
solve the mystery surrounding his death and to hold
somebody or some people to account. Recently, the
ex-commissioner of North Bank Division, Mr. Alhagi
Kanteh who is currently seeking refuge in Senegal,
condemned Jammeh’s administration on Wal Fadjri Radio,
and further disclosed that Jammeh and his cohorts
murdered Foday Makalo, who up to the time of his
alleged murder, was the secretary of the APRC party.
The government’s official position is that Makalo is
alive and on the run and is currently wanted for
questioning. Since this man has some vivid details as
to the whereabouts of Mr. Makalo, why hasn’t the
authorities checked out his allegation? But like many
of the alleged murder mysteries in the Gambia, this
one will also remain unsolved.

It is unconscionable for anybody to slaughter school
children for exercising there constitutional right by
staging a peaceful demonstration in protest of the
brutal murder of one fellow student by firemen and the
rape of a 13-year female colleague by a uniformed
officer. This fateful day came in the Gambia on April
10 and 11 of 2000. When leaders of the society abuse
office, use law enforcement apparatus to pursue
political and personal ends, they send a foul message
to the society at large that it is acceptable to
ignore the rule of law and that the law does not apply
to everyone equally.

We have a president who has very little or no regard
for the constitution. Judges are so vulnerable under
this administration that fair trial is virtually
impossible. He often threatens to dismiss magistrates
and Judges who refuses to succumb to his pressure to
influence the outcome of cases of interest to him. In
one incident, he made good on his threat by firing
Magistrate at Basse, Mr Boro Touray for not remanding
into custody Mr. Ousainou Darboe, the leading
opposition leader and 24 others after being charged
with murder. The opposition parties are frequently
denied permit to hold political rallies mainly because
He claimed they always badmouth him. Recently at the
July 22 anniversary celebration, He threatened to bury
six feet deep anyone who dare defy his authority.
Rampant arrest of political opponents and journalists
with opposing views is the order of the day in the
Gambia. Two newspaper editors from the Independent,
Mr. Baba Galleh Jallow and Alhagi Mbye were arrested
on July 26, 2000 for reporting that 17 prisoners went
on hunger strike for being put in jail for years
without being charged with a crime or taken to trial.
Gambia is at the lowest ebb since it became
independent on February 18,1965. We have gone from an
independent nation to dependent fourth world country
that likes to hobnob with a more powerful friend. APRC
regime has unlashed a new brand of violence on its
citizenry. The recent attack on Radio 1 FM early
Thursday morning on August 10,2000 by unknown
arsonists has the signature of trained terrorists
written all over it. It was alleged that several
masked men attacked the Radio Station with tear gases,
poured gasoline all over the front door and set it on
fire, thus injuring the owner George Christensen and
two others. Although no group claimed responsibility,
we all know that this is a state sponsored terrorist
operation carried out by the defunct July 22 Movement,
now known as the APRC Youth Action Group. They are the
vigilante group trained by Libyans and modeled after
the Revolutionary Wings of the Jamahiriyia in Libya.
It is a known fact that Radio 1 FM airs programs that
are critical of the government. It is also believed
that these acts of terrorism are directed to the Radio
Station in order to silence them Gambians are crying
out for help to be saved from this sanguinary despot.

The perpetual silence of the international community
despite several outcries of human rights abuse is
sending a wrong message to the likes of Jammeh. The
perception that human rights violators like Jammeh
will not be prosecuted and punished has contributed to
the self-perpetuating cycle of abuse resulted in a
climate of fear and hopelessness for ordinary people.

We respectfully request that you:
1. Ask that your government assist in presenting a
draft resolution to the United Nations Security
Council condemning the brutish murder of our children.

2. Set up an inquiry into the Crude Oil Scandal
involving the NNPC and ROG, which allegedly benefited
Jammeh and his cohorts. It has been proven in a
British court that the proceeds from the sale of the
crude oil was paid into a codified account in
Switzerland in the name of Yaya Jammeh

3. Immediately dispatch a letter to the Gambia
Government condemning the atrocities against its
citizens, and demanding the release of people under
custody or charge them with a crime.



Sincerely,


Momodou K Ceesay
For: The Gambian Democratic Forum

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