FOREIGN MINISTER BLASTS JAMMEH'S GOVT-BLAMING THEM FOR NOT RESPECTING TRANSPORT REGULATIONS BY STAFF WRITER -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- September 11, 2005 It seems that the Senegalese/Gambia border dispute is far from over, as latest reports reaching the ALLGAMBIAN online Newspaper, speak of the Senegalese Foreign Affairs Minister Cheikh Tijan Gadio blaming the Gambian authorities for "not respecting the regulations governing transportation and the free movement of persons or goods between the two countries. A statement received by this reporter, quoted Foreign Minister Gadio as saying that the action of The Gambian authorities in "introducing exorbitant ferry tariffs was a total contravention of the ECOWAS protocol and all other regulations government trade plus other moves that are geared to towards integrating our economies within the sub regional." Mr. Gadio's statement on the month long border impasse, followed the recent visit of Gambia's government officials led by Foreign Affairs minister Musa Balla Gaye to neighbouring Senegal, to mediate in the ongoing border crisis. It was during a meeting with the diplomatic corps in Banjul that his counter part in The Gambia informed the Senegalese charge d'affaires in Banjul about this unilateral and or unfriendly move coming from the Gambia government." said the statement. Adding insult to injury said our source, The Gambian authorities after taking this unfriendly move on the 15th day of august 2005 , did not budge to inform Dakar officially until the 17th day of august. This the statement went on, indeed did not go down well in Dakar, as "Gadio did not mince his word therefore supported the move taken by the unionists in Senegal." Meanwhile, The Gambian authorities are still adamant in their exorbitant ferry charges, which compelled the Senegalese transporters to boycott traversing the Gambia via Yellitenda or Barra. Following the declaration that emanated from Gadio's office said our sources, the Senegalese Community both at home and abroad applauded what they called as such a patriotic move taken by their government. In another development, sources reaching us say the Banjul delegation which recently visited Senegal experienced problems in meeting key individuals instrumental in the border talks, as they were reportedly snubbed by Dakar. Sources say the delegation had not yet reached any definitive agreement on the border impasse, despite recent reports by the Observer that the said borders had been reopened. A highly placed source who spoke to us during the Weekend warns that if the Gambia/Senegalese border dispute is not handled with care and maturity it might degenerate to full blown border dispute, which our source say can paralysed tiny Gambia economically. The source also blames The Gambia government for its hostile relation towards the people of Senegal, arguing that there is no justification for government to impose such exploitative revenue collection tactics. Go To Top -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2004 AllGambian.Net. All Rights Reserved. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _________________________________________________________________ Express yourself instantly with MSN Messenger! Download today it's FREE! http://messenger.msn.click-url.com/go/onm00200471ave/direct/01/ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤