>Gambia's Military Tyranny
>This article ran in The Metro Herald and other newspapers in July 1995:
>
>One Year of Military Tyranny in the Gambia
>
>Richard E. Sincere, Jr.
>
>
>On July 22, 1994, the unexpected occurred: In a raw power grab, a small
>group of junior military officers overthrew the democratically elected
>government in the Republic of the Gambia, ancestral home of millions of
>African-Americans.
>
>      The officers, led by 29-year-old Yahya Jammeh, stealthily used the
>cover of a joint military exercise with U.S. Marines to surround the State
>House in Banjul, and, brandishing their weapons, forced President Sir Dawda
>K. Jawara to take refuge on a U.S. warship that was in port that day.
>Within 24 hours, the officers had consolidated their control of the
>government and Jawara went into exile, where he now works to restore
>Gambian democracy.
>
>      In many ways, the Gambia had been a model for all of Africa. For 30
>years, it was governed by a multiparty, authentically democratic system.
>Jawara, a devout Muslim with a keen desire for peace and stability, had
>been instrumental in creating the Human Rights Commission of the
>Organization for African Unity. Respected and admired by world leaders
>throughout his tenure, President Jawara retains that respect and admiration
>today.
>
>      A year is a long time in international politics. Yesterday's friends
>are often forgotten, and yesterday's enemies sometimes become today's pals.
>One would expect that in a year, Jammeh and his military junta would have
>begun to make friends on the world scene. Not so; in fact, President Jawara
>is far more influential in his diplomatic efforts than Jammeh has had in
>trying to gain recognition by other politicians.
>
>      In recent weeks, President Jawara has met with heads of state and
>foreign ministry officials in a number of countries, making his case for
>support. He has twice met with Senegal's President Abdou Diouf in Dakar and
>has also visited Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Nigeria. In early July, he met
>for the second time with French foreign ministry officials, and in February
>he visited Washington and New York, where he met with key members of
>Congress and with United Nations Secretary General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
>
>      Under President Jawara, the Gambia's economy grew at a rate of 5
>percent per year, due to an openness to new investment and trade that made
>it, as one observer noted, "an embryonic Hong Kong." Since the coup, in
>contrast, the economy has shrunk by 5 percent per year. The U.S. State
>Department estimates that Gambian trade fell by 85 percent in the past
>year.
>
>      While in office, President Jawara was a beacon of responsibility
>when, elsewhere in Africa, political leaders turned a blind eye from graft
>and corruption in their midst. When corruption was brought to his
>attention, reported one British expert, Jawara would "pick up a broom and
>sweep out the cupboard." The military government, on the other hand, has
>been up to its neck in scandals: sacked government ministers have died in
>prison, another minister was decapitated in a mysterious car wreck, and
>journalists have been arrested and deported for reporting the news.
>
>      Most recently, Jammeh issued Decree 45, which curtails the right of
>individuals to be secure in their own homes and gives Jammeh and his
>underlings the capacity to arrest people without warrants. It gives the
>National Intelligence Agency sweeping powers designed to deter political
>dissent, saying, "An officer may search, arrest, or detain any person, or
>seize, impound, or search any vessel, equipment, plant, [or] property
>without a warrant."
>
>      Internationally, the inexperienced Jammeh has strengthened the
>Gambia's ties to Libya's terrorist government, and he has allowed smugglers
>to use the Gambia to carry guns to anti-government rebels in Senegal and
>Sudan. He confused the diplomatic scene when on July 13 he restored
>official ties to Taiwan without renouncing ties with China. It seems Jammeh
>wants to play both sides of the fence -- a precarious position for a tiny,
>resource-poor country.
>
>      President Jawara states that he seeks only to restore democracy in
>the Gambia. He intends to go home to oversee new elections for Parliament
>and the Presidency, but he himself will not be a candidate for President
>again. As soon as democracy is back in place, he will step aside and live
>quietly in retirement.
>
>      Representative Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) has drafted a congressional
>resolution decrying the Gambian military regime. Once passed, his
>resolution may impel the international community to take concrete action on
>behalf of human rights and democracy in the Gambia.
>
>      Let us hope that President Clinton, Secretary of State Christopher,
>and leading members of Congress remember the tragic anniversary of the coup
>that toppled a friend of the United States and a crusader for human rights
>and democracy. The world needs reminders of the quiet but bold heroes like
>Sir Dawda K. Jawara, who struggle for freedom of speech, of the press, of
>conscience, respect for the dignity of the person, and free enterprise.
>President Jawara deserves our attention and our prayers to commemorate that
>dark day in Banjul a year ago.
>
>* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
>
>      Richard Sincere writes widely on African economic and political
>issues.
>
>Back to "Africa" Menu
>
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