In the wake of student demonstrations
      Nine Senegalese Deported
      
     
     Nine Senegalese nationals have been deported following the April 10 student demonstrations. 

      According to the Senegalese High Commissioner in Banjul, General Momodou Diop, those deported were arrested by security forces during the student demonstrations, and that seven of them were found 'not in possession of any document that warranted their stay in The Gambia.' 

      He added that the other two Senegalese were arrested when they made comments about the demonstrations in favour of the students.  

      'Yes it is true that they are not involved in any demonstration, but how can you stay in someone's country without any papers.I am totally against that,' he said, adding that such action could be regarded as criminal. 

      He added that the Gambia Government did not like the comments made by the other two deportees and that he considered it wrong for Senegalese nationals inside The Gambia to comment on such issues. 

      'In such a situation, they are also not expected to make any sort of comment,' he said. 

      He revealed that he was working closely with the immigration department during the investigations when it was discovered that the seven deportees had nothing to guarantee their stay in The Gambia.  

      Meanwhile, relatives and friends of the nine deportees have accused the authorities of  'unjustifiably targeting' and using the Senegalese youths as 'scapegoats'. 

      Some of the deportees' relatives and friends complained to The Independent that the mass deportation was 'unnecessary and unlawful' and that the Senegalese nationals deported had not been involved in the demonstrations. 

      Alieu Ngum, who said he was a Sene-Gambian, told The Independent that a Senegalese friend, who he said was 'running for his life' during the demonstrations, was arrested and deported without being able to notify his relatives in The Gambia.  He said his friend was always law-abiding and was definitely not involved in any demonstration.  

      'Look, other people are involved in more serious cases and are always set free.it is only because my friend has no money,' he alleged. 

      Modou Ndow, a Gambian businessman, said it was 'unimaginable' to deport the Senegalese nationals as Senegalese and Gambians are interrelated.  He said unless a 'dangerous crime such as treason or armed robbery' is committed, Senegalese nationals should not be 'thrown away' like this.  

      'I personally consider it totally wrong and as a Gambian, I would like to register my utmost disappointment with the actions of the Gambian authorities,' Mr. Ndow said. 

      One Yama Ndure described the action as 'immature' and said Gambians should not condone it.  She said using 'Senegalese or anybody else' as scapegoats will not solve the problem. 

      Another lady, Haddy Saine, also condemned the deportation, describing it as 'inhuman'. However, she claimed that certain foreigners were involved in unlawful activities and warned them to desist if they wanted to live peacefully in The Gambia.  'Our doors are open for them but they should not use it to create problems,' she said. 

      Aji Ceesay, a Gambian national resident in Germany, said she was not surprised that the Senegalese were deported.  She accused the Gambian Immigration department of causing the deportation of many Gambians in Europe 'out of jealousy'. 

      'If the authorities can cause the deportation of dozens of their brothers and sisters abroad, then I am not surprised at their action against the Senegalese nationals,' she reasoned. 

      Meanwhile, NRP leader Hamat Bah has said that acts of deportation are not proper between The Gambia and Senegal. 

      In an exclusive interview with The Independent, Mr. Bah said he doesn't believe that nationals of the two countries should be expelled from either country. He however said that the Gambia government has every right to deport Senegalese nationals but that he is totally against it. 

      He said an NRP government wouldn't have done such a thing and that they would have modified those laws when it comes to Senegal because of the bond of ties and the relationship between the two countries.  He said Senegalese nationals are the only aliens exempted from paying residential permit in The Gambia, so it would have been appropriate to make it possible for citizens of the two countries to be allowed to stay anywhere within the Senegambia region and be punished for any crimes they commit. 

      Mr. Bah stressed that the word 'deportation' doesn't surprise him because Lamin Waa Juwara, a citizen of this country was during a local government consultative workshop in Mansa Konko 'deported from Lower River Division to Western Division and the government corroborated and supported the action taken those individuals.' 

      He opined that if government can do it to its own citizens, then he saw no reason why it would hesitate to do it to other nationals such as the Senegalese.
     

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