Mr. Dampha,

I see the point you have painstakingly been trying to put accross. We did
not get on the list of 96 countries most notoriously known for torture
because of Mr. Chongan.  What we are dealing with here is an
institutionalized system of torture in Gambia.  This is the monstrousity we
have to stop.  The sooner we stop apologizing for these criminals the better
for all Gambians.

Lamin Jeng

The article below was culled from www.gambianet.com.
----------------------------------
GAMBIA ON TORTURE COUNTRIES LIST Posted Friday, July 6, 2001 by Editor
The Gambia has been included in a long list of countries where torture is
believed to be a routine practice, invoking fear among ordinary people in
the course of their political and social activities.

According to the international standard document on world conflict and human
rights prepared each year by the Interdisciplinary Research Programme on
Causes of Human Rights Violations at Leiden University, in the year 2000 The
Gambia, among others practised systematic, widespread, common, frequent or
routine torture, which has political undertones.

The list released since June 25 was in support of Sister Diana Ortiz' vigil
outside the White House last Tuesday as she tried to draw attention to
torture, which like genocide, is seen as a repressive measure that both
dehumanizes the victim, and inspires local revolution and regional
instability that will inevitably threaten U.S. interests.

The list contains 96 countries, where torture is said to be the norm. It was
intended to inform President George Bush and Congress about the global trend
of the human rights situation amidst calls to place high priority on
directly reducing US taxpayer assistance to countries where torture is seen
as widespread. It is not clear what stance the new United States government
would take following persistent reports of violations of human rights and
torture although there has been speculation that a tough line against human
rights transgressors would be pursued.

Since the 1994 coup, which brought a change of leadership in The Gambia,
there has been a steady increase in cases of torture by security agents of
individuals thought to be threats to the security of the state or political
opponents of the administration. Journalists had also borne the brunt of
torture by state security agents.

In 1999 Shyngle Nyassi, a youth leader of the United Democratic Party was
abducted and was released after 26 days, showing signs of being tortured
while in the custody of NIA agents. Lamin Waa Juwara the UDP's propaganda
secretary was also arrested for political reasons and kept incommunicado
around the same time.

Recently a US country report indicted The Gambia for what it viewed as a
worsening human rights record over the past year. It cited the torture of
students and other individuals who were thought to be linked with last
year's student demonstration in which fourteen people were killed. Alhagie
Nyabally a former vice president of the main student body Gamsu was detained
and allegedly tortured by the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) after he
delivered what was seen as a blistering speech to commemorate the student
tragedy. He was said to have spoken of state hypocrisy and the lack of depth
of the administration to address the situation.

The death of Ebrima Barry in March 2000 was said to have resulted from
torture. Dumo Sarho and five others - Lt Lalo Jaiteh, Lt Omar Darboe, Ebrima
Barrow, Momodou Marenah and Ebrima Yarbo were arrested and held
incommunicado for more than four months for allegedly conspiring in a coup
plot to unseat the government. In a separate incident, Lt Landing Sanneh was
arrested for allegedly plotting a coup and was detained for a long period
without being charged. He was charged in June 2000 for treason.

This latest document states that torture, like genocide, is a detail of
international life that most presidents would rather not address.

Other countries on the list include Libya, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria,
Bolivia, Colombia, El Salvador, Haiti, Cambodia, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria,
Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Mauritania, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and
Angola.


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