Ladies and gentlemen: Attached is aletter we sent to President Olusegun Obasanjo last week. ________________________________________________ 3659 Buford Highway Suite G-10 Atlanta, Georgia 30329 August 14, 2000 His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo President of The Republic of Nigeria State House Abuja, Republic of Nigeria His Excellency: The situation in the Gambia is increasingly rapidly becoming alarming. There is a general consensus that immediate change is necessary to stop President Jammeh’s rampage. The Gambian Democratic Forum urges that the government charges people arrested or abducted from their homes with a recognizable criminal offence or immediately and unconditionally release them. Those charged should receive speedy trials according to international standards of fairness. Dumo and others are still languishing in captivity for several days only to be falsely charged with treason. Currently, not even their Attorneys are permitted visitation. This is a travesty of justice. Lack of accountability has resulted in corruption of tremendous magnitude. We ask that you look into the Crude oil saga. The contract made between Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Lagos and Republic of the Gambia (ROG) dated August 2.1996 allegedly benefited Jammeh personally. Quoting from the Independent Newspaper’s May 20 2000 issue Darboe talked about the specifics of the crude oil saga. ” Darboe recalled that during a press conference last year, he distributed a contract document dated August 23,1996 between Chantrils Commercial SA and the Gambia Government relating to the lifting of the crude oil in which a concession was granted to the Gambia Government by the Federal Republic of Nigeria under Sani Abacha. The offer, he said, might have been politically motivated after the Jammeh’s government took a pro-Nigerian stance at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting which called for Nigeria’s expulsion from the body following the execution of Nigerian human rights activist Ken Saro Wiwa and others in spite of widespread international pleas for clemency on their behalf.” Shortly after that Commonwealth Meeting, it was alleged that Jammeh dispatched a letter to Abacha urging him to kill all his political opponents. For all intent and purposes, Gambia’s National Treasury is synonymous with Jammeh’s Personal bank account. The Gambian people still don’t know the whereabouts of the $52 million five year development grant given to the Gambia by Taiwan. Few years back, He was asked about the source of his sudden riches, his reply was “ from God”. Now we know. The constant abuse of office and disregard for the rule of law has contributed to widespread human rights violations committed with impunity. Mr. Koro Ceesay, the late Finance Minister was brutally murdered and still no official inquiry has been done to attempt to solve the mystery surrounding his death and to hold somebody or some people to account. Recently, the ex-commissioner of North Bank Division, Mr. Alhagi Kanteh who is currently seeking refuge in Senegal, condemned Jammeh’s administration on Wal Fadjri Radio, and further disclosed that Jammeh and his cohorts murdered Foday Makalo, who up to the time of his alleged murder, was the secretary of the APRC party. The government’s official position is that Makalo is alive and on the run and is currently wanted for questioning. Since this man has some vivid details as to the whereabouts of Mr. Makalo, why hasn’t the authorities checked out his allegation? But like many of the alleged murder mysteries in the Gambia, this one will also remain unsolved. It is unconscionable for anybody to slaughter school children for exercising there constitutional right by staging a peaceful demonstration in protest of the brutal murder of one fellow student by firemen and the rape of a 13-year female colleague by a uniformed officer. This fateful day came in the Gambia on April 10 and 11 of 2000. When leaders of the society abuse office, use law enforcement apparatus to pursue political and personal ends, they send a foul message to the society at large that it is acceptable to ignore the rule of law and that the law does not apply to everyone equally. We have a president who has very little or no regard for the constitution. Judges are so vulnerable under this administration that fair trial is virtually impossible. He often threatens to dismiss magistrates and Judges who refuses to succumb to his pressure to influence the outcome of cases of interest to him. In one incident, he made good on his threat by firing Magistrate at Basse, Mr Boro Touray for not remanding into custody Mr. Ousainou Darboe, the leading opposition leader and 24 others after being charged with murder. The opposition parties are frequently denied permit to hold political rallies mainly because He claimed they always badmouth him. Recently at the July 22 anniversary celebration, He threatened to bury six feet deep anyone who dare defy his authority. Rampant arrest of political opponents and journalists with opposing views is the order of the day in the Gambia. Two newspaper editors from the Independent, Mr. Baba Galleh Jallow and Alhagi Mbye were arrested on July 26, 2000 for reporting that 17 prisoners went on hunger strike for being put in jail for years without being charged with a crime or taken to trial. Gambia is at the lowest ebb since it became independent on February 18,1965. We have gone from an independent nation to dependent fourth world country that likes to hobnob with a more powerful friend. APRC regime has unlashed a new brand of violence on its citizenry. The recent attack on Radio 1 FM early Thursday morning on August 10,2000 by unknown arsonists has the signature of trained terrorists written all over it. It was alleged that several masked men attacked the Radio Station with tear gases, poured gasoline all over the front door and set it on fire, thus injuring the owner George Christensen and two others. Although no group claimed responsibility, we all know that this is a state sponsored terrorist operation carried out by the defunct July 22 Movement, now known as the APRC Youth Action Group. They are the vigilante group trained by Libyans and modeled after the Revolutionary Wings of the Jamahiriyia in Libya. It is a known fact that Radio 1 FM airs programs that are critical of the government. It is also believed that these acts of terrorism are directed to the Radio Station in order to silence them Gambians are crying out for help to be saved from this sanguinary despot. The perpetual silence of the international community despite several outcries of human rights abuse is sending a wrong message to the likes of Jammeh. The perception that human rights violators like Jammeh will not be prosecuted and punished has contributed to the self-perpetuating cycle of abuse resulted in a climate of fear and hopelessness for ordinary people. We respectfully request that you: 1. Ask that your government assist in presenting a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council condemning the brutish murder of our children. 2. Set up an inquiry into the Crude Oil Scandal involving the NNPC and ROG, which allegedly benefited Jammeh and his cohorts. It has been proven in a British court that the proceeds from the sale of the crude oil was paid into a codified account in Switzerland in the name of Yaya Jammeh 3. Immediately dispatch a letter to the Gambia Government condemning the atrocities against its citizens, and demanding the release of people under custody or charge them with a crime. Sincerely, Momodou K Ceesay For: The Gambian Democratic Forum ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface ----------------------------------------------------------------------------