The decades-long civil unrest that has plagued the southern Senegalese region of Casamance since 1982 topped the agenda of the discussions of a day's working visit to the Gambia Sunday by the new Senegalese President Macky Sall, who was making his maiden overseas trip as head of state.

Sall, who arrived to a tumultuous welcome, arrived The Gambia a little over 1500 hours in what was seen as a fulfillment of his earlier promise to make his maiden overseas trip to The Gambia, and especially in engaging it to help in resolving the upheaval in the southern part of his country.

At a news conference at the Coco Ocean Resort & Spa shortly after a three-hour closed-door discussion, President Sall hastened to stress that the Casamance crisis has been on for more than three decades, while underscoring the importance of dialogue in solving the impasse. To this end, he enjoined his Gambian counterpart, President Jammeh to help in finding a solution to the crisis, saying that the peace in that region is in the interest of the two nations.

"I know that this is something that cannot be solved only through military ways and I know that over the years war did not bring any solution," Sall said, and added: "We need peace in Casamance to have peace in The Gambia and the Senegambia region. Without peace there is no development – so the priority is to bring peace so that we can bring about development . I know that for peace to come to Casamance you [President Jammeh] is the key and this is why I told you during our discussion that even though I am your elder, you have been in this position as president for many years. So you can help me."

President Sall, while noting that he has trust in the Gambian leader in finding a lasting solution to the crisis, assured him of Dakar's commitment to make peace and friendship with Banjul.

"I have told you that by God willing we are going to tie the bond to make peace between the two nations because we were both elected democratically and I assure you that we will not allow anything that will distabilise The Gambia," he stated.

Historical ties

The Senegalese president said he is grateful to God for enabling him fulfill his wish of making his first official overseas trip to The Gambia as promised during the race to the presidency.

"Why made this visit to The Gambia is because in historical point of view, The Gambia and Senegal are the same people. During the tete-a-tete, you [President Jammeh] pointed out to me that there is no language spoken in The Gambia that is not spoken in Senegal; and I added that there is no ethnic group in Senegal that is not in The Gambia. We are united by a common destiny, we have no other obligation but to be together and stand together in friendship and cordiality," he underscored.

Trans-Gambia Bridge

President Macky Sall also told the news conference that their discussion also touched on the bridge over River Gambia at Bambatenda-Yellitenda crossing point. Sall said his country has the problem of connecting the northern part to the southern part, saying "we need the continuity of the country which goes through The Gambia because it is a straight line."

"We have other possibilities to go through Tamba Kunda but it is not a straight way," he stated.

The Senegalese president, while noting that they are all Pan-Africans, eulogized the Gambian leader's commitment to the construction of African unity.

"Today more than ever before we have reciprocal trust in our relationship," he concluded.

Also addressing the news conference, President Yahya Jammeh who gave a detailed background about his country's efforts to bring lasting peace to Casamance before a change of government in 2000 that hindered the process, assured Sall of his commitment to bring an end to the crisis.

"I want to assure you since you are the first president of Senegal to make The Gambia his first official visit, I will stand with you all the way to make sure that the problem of Casamance becomes history," he stated.

The Gambian leader opined that the problem of Casamance would have been history by now if Abdou Diouf had won the elections in 2000 given the agreement at the time, but noted with dismay that the agreement was never respected by then Wade-led new government, which asked The Gambia to distance itself from the crisis.

"At that time we had agreed and have a comprehensive agreement with the MFDC - they wanted to transform MFDC into a political party and the others will be reintegrated into the Senegalese armed forces; and we went further to involve the European Union - they were supposed to finance the demining of Casamance, the training of the combatants into useful people and to see how some of them can be reintegrated into the Senegalese armed forces. All these were signed and it was endorsed by the United Nations and the European Union and the commission was inaugurated in Ziguinchor before the election. In fact a Gambian was appointed to be the chairman of the commission but unfortunately after President Wade won the elections, he said that it is an internal matter and Gambia has no role in it," the Gambian leader asserted.

He however assured President Sall of his assistance to bring peace in that region, while appealing to him to select a honest and trustworthy committee that can work with him to bring the crisis to an end.

While assuring that The Gambia will not play host to any anti-Senegalese dissident, President Jammeh also stressed that Senegal must not also be a host to Gambian dissidents that are against his government.

Shifting his comment to the bilateral ties that bind the two countries, the Gambian leader hailed his Senegalese counterpart for making history in view of the fact that he is the first Senegalese president to make his first overseas visit to The Gambia.

His words: "This has never happened in the history of the two countries and this symbolizes the importance you have attached to the bilateral relations between the two countries. This is the sort of relationship that we have always yearned for between the two. The Gambia's interest is to make sure that there is an excellent relationship between the two [Gambia and Senegal] because we are one people divided by colonialism and this is why 16 years ago I stated that The Gambia and Senegal can become a model for African integration but unfortunately, our wish was not reciprocated. But now that you are at the helm of affairs, every Gambian hopes that we will turn a new page of excellent relationship where the two citizens will feel at home in either country."

Bridge

Also commenting on the River Gambia bridge, President Jammeh said: "With regards to the bridge, we have the money - if we had wanted we would have started the tenders about three months ago but we didn't do it for obvious reasons."

Communique

Meanwhile, the Foreign Affairs ministers of the two countries, Dr Mamadou Tangara and Alioune Badara Cisse respectively earlier read the Joint Communique that was produced at the end of the day's working visit.

In a three-page communique, President Jammeh described Sall's visit as a clear testimony and manifestation of the common historical and cultural values, as well as a reflection of the exemplary and cordial ties between the two nations and their peoples.

President Sall, according to the communique, also pointed out that his first working visit which he undertook since accession to power manifests the high priority that he attaches to the promotion of the fraternal and friendly relations within the Senegambia family.

"In discussing common issues of concern in the sub-region especially on the developments in Mali and Guinea Bissau, and also on the African continent, the two heads of state stressed their conviction that there can be no internal stability without regional peace, and therefore undertook to fight all forms of threat to peace, security, and progress in the sub-region and the African continent," it concluded.