The Washington Times
`Culture of fear' blamed for defection
October 20, 1995
Section: A

WORLD
Edition: 2
Page: A15
Ben BarberTHE WASHINGTON TIMES
Illustration: Map, GAMBIA, By The Washington Times

A member of the military council that seized power in the West African nation
of Gambia last year has defected to the United States, saying he left after the
No. 2 man on the five-man council boasted of killing the finance minister with
a baseball bat.

Capt. Ebou Jallow said he defected last week because of a "culture of fear"
spread by the military regime and the establishment of Libyan camps to
indoctrinate Gambians in the philosophy of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi.

He said that when the chairman of the Armed Forces Ruling Council, Capt. Yahya
Jammeh, who led the 1994 coup, was told that people in the streets knew of the
killing of Finance Minister 0usman Koro Ceesay, "he said, `Let them talk.'
Doing nothing was like giving his blessing to it."

Capt. Jallow said in an interview this week that the vice chairman of the
council, Edward Singhatey, was drunk and "revealed this to me - how they
invited the finance minister to another colleague's house and how they smashed
his head with a baseball bat."

"Then the finance minister was shot, dragged into his official car, driven
outside the city, and they set the car on fire," the defector said.

Capt. Jallow, 28, was spokesman for the council until he fled to Washington. A
State Department official said Capt. Jallow had met with Africa bureau
officials but they had not received word of his application for asylum.

The United States and Britain cut aid to Gambia after the July 1994 overthrow
of President Dawda Kairaba Jawara, who fled the capital, Banjul, aboard a U.S.
Navy ship that was in the harbor at the time.

A source close to the former government said Libya has established training
camps in Gambia, in part to support an insurgency against the government of
Senegal, which surrounds the sliver of West Africa called Gambia.

The purpose is to punish Senegal for backing the U.S.-led coalition against
Iraq, the source said.

"Libya has ambitions and tried to get Gambia for a long time," Capt. Jallow
said. "Gambia can transport to the whole region. It is strategically located,
and you could send by road weapons to Burkina Faso, Senegal - it is the gateway
to the whole of West Africa."

The coup ostensibly was intended to halt corruption by the government. The
president had held power since 1962.

"Somewhere it has gone off target and deflected from their mission," Capt.
Jallow said. "There is a culture of fear.

"I think the U.S. should put on very strong pressure. What is going on in
Gambia is an insult to the whole of humanity. Put maxium pressure and scare
these people out of power. They have to step down as soon as possible."

In interviews with the Voice of America and The Washington Times, Capt. Jallow
denied an allegation by Gambia's ruling council that he stole $3 million before
he fled the country.

"When the murder took place, I was in Libya seeking a soft loan of $2 million,
which they never gave us," he said.

A Clinton administration official said of Capt. Jallow: "We know who he is and
are aware of his charges and take them seriously. But we don't have any
independent confirmation of them.

"We are concerned about the human rights situation in the Gambia and continue
to urge the government to respect human rights and the rule of law and release
all political detainees.

"We are aware of reports of Libyan activities in the Gambia and take them very
seriously, but we have no confirmation of that."

Capt. Jallow was studying at the U.S. Naval War College when the coup took
place. Six months later he was invited to join the ruling council.

"I decided last week to flee the country," he said. "There are a lot of arrests
of political activists, attempted abductions, stabbings and mugging in the
streets."

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