Courtesy: Local News Glasgow / Alieu Ceesay
London listens to Gambia Campaigners
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The
campaigners at Westminster: from left: Grace Franklin, Austin
Sherridan, Nicole Piche, Parliamentary Human Rights Coordinator, MP Anas
Sarwar, Paul Welch of West Africa Desk, Alieu Ceesay.
In a whirlwind day in London, representatives of the Scottish
Campaign for Human Rights in the Gambia made ‘useful progress’,
according to Vice Chair Austin Sheridan.
Through Westminster MP Anas Sarwar, who has kept his
pre-election promise to support the Campaign, Austin Sheridan, Member of
the Scottish Youth Parliament (MYSP) and committee members Alieu Ceesay
and Grace Franklin met with Parliamentary coordinator for
Human Rights, Nicole Piche, Paul Welch who is team leader for the West
Africa desk and Agnes Annels from the Foreign Commonwealth Office Human
Rights department.
The Campaign updated the officials on their events, past and future, to
tell people in Scotland about the increasing number of Gambians
‘disappearing’ in the Gambia, or who are imprisoned and tortured because
they say something which offends the President.
They include journalists, opposition party leaders and many ordinary citizens.
The Scottish Campaign is backed by the National Union of Journalists and
Amnesty International which has published a report on the situation in
the West Africa country which is a popular holiday destination.
A further meeting in the offices of Amnesty International enabled the
Scottish Campaign to see where their work fitted into the 17 cities
around the world which are also active in pressing for Human Rights to
be restored in the Gambia. Until recently, Gambia had a Constitution and
a Legislature which protected its citizens. But increasingly draconian
laws and edicts from the President’s Palace – including the activating
of the death penalty this month – have brought fear to the nation. The
legal system has been corrupted with mercenary judges from Nigeria hired
by the President to impose his will.
Currently the President Yahya Jammeh, is encouraging hereditary Chiefs to campaign for him to be made King of Gambia.
The Scottish Campaign’s next public meeting will be in Edinburgh
on Thursday 16 December at the Justice and Peace Centre and hosted by
that organisation.
In the Scottish Parliament, Patrick Harvie MSP has put forward a motion
condemning the catalogue of human rights abuses in Gambia including the
case of the missing journalist Ebrima Manneh and urges government
pressure to be put on the Gambian Government in defence of human rights.
By Thursday 18 November, fifteen MSPs had signed the motion.