Oj Reveals NIA Ploy Against the Independent

The Independent (Banjul)
NEWS
September 20, 2002
Posted to the web September 20, 2002

By Pk Jarju& Seedy Bojang
Banjul

Omar Jallow of the Peoples' Progressive Party has claimed that the National
Intelligence Agency tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to disown the
contents of an interview with The Independent, which the NIA hoped would
give them an excuse to clampdown and possibly close down the paper.

OJ was in trouble with the authorities again on Monday after he renewed his
scabbing attacks on President Jammeh, which was carried by The Independent,
castigating his government for declaring a public holiday last week to
commemorate the September 11 carnage in the United States when that country
had not done so. According to him the NIA had not hidden their unsparing
designs against The Independent when their interrogating operatives asked
him to reject the story and give them a seemingly plausible reason to swoop
down on The Independent and possibly close it down. 'Even in the course of
the interrogation I could realise how hostile and anti-Independent they
were' OJ told The Independent after his arrest.

OJ said the NIA had described the story captioned 'Jammeh's pro-American
gesture is hypocritical' as incitement to disrupt public order.

In the article in question OJ a vocal critic of the administration had
described Jammeh's pro-American gesture towards September 11 as vain,
hypocritical and a demonstration of chequebook diplomacy and accused the
president of attempting to curry favour from the Bush administration, which
had written him off as one of Africa's human rights transgressors.

OJ who was picked up by agents of the NIA said he rejected their call to
disown the interview and instead made a categorical declaration that he was
standing firmly by his statements as carried by The Independent with no
intention or need to retract them.

OJ appeared calm despite his encounter with the NIA, which he described as
'normal' in view of him being a regular quarry of the NIA since the
overthrow of the first republic, under which he was serving as Agriculture
minister.

OJ explained that at 11am two NIA plainclothes entered his residence at
Pipeline and asked him to report with them to the NIA headquarters in
Banjul, where his mobile phone, finger prints, personal details and
photograph was taken upon arrival. He added that he was later escorted to
the Deputy Director's office where he was questioned about the article in
question, which had also criticised Jammeh's alleged inconsistencies in
words and deeds. He had maintained that Jammeh's inconsistency was reflected
in his July 22 tirades against the West and his sudden pro-American line in
the anniversary of September 11.

OJ added that during a hectic spell of questioning, which lasted for over
three hours, the NIA officials insisted on verifying the authenticity of the
story, which he confirmed as an interview he had granted to The Independent.

According to OJ the NIA described the article as an 'incitement', which he
denied, taking the same blunt line reflected in the story that despite his
sympathies with the victims and families of the September 11 attacks some of
whom are Gambians, there is no justification for President Jammeh declaring
a public holiday in The Gambia when the United States where the attacks
occurred did not spare themselves a public holiday.

OJ explained that he had made it categorically clear to the NIA that he was
still standing by the contents of the article, which had suggested that
President Jammeh's compassion to the United States is misplaced as long as
the perpetrators of the April 10 2000 student carnage are not held
accountable for their actions. 'I can be taken to court if I am wrong' OJ
said, with a strain of defiance.

OJ quoted himself as reiterating to his NIA interrogators that the best way
to have remembered the US terror victims was by way of thanksgiving and
prayers in churches and mosques around the country. OJ also reiterated that
a public holiday has all the potency of aggravating the already depressing
economic situation of the country, which needs more working hours instead of
unnecessary recesses. 'A public holiday touches on the nerve of the private
and public sector of the country' he said.

OJ said he did not feel intimidated in the course of the interrogation, and
posited that his arrest would do more harm than good to the image of
President Jammeh's government.

Monday's edition of The Independent, had quoted OJ as asserting that
President Jammeh would not be taken seriously as long as he refuses to
apologize on behalf of his government to the families of the victims of
April 10, compensate them fully and bring those behind the deaths to book.

'How can Jammeh show solidarity with the US' quest for justice against the
perpetrators of September 11, when he has openly and persistently refused to
bring to book the perpetrators of the gruesome murder of students here,
despite local and international outcry' OJ had lamentably inquired.

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