Hundreds march in Sierra Leone against sexual violence

Yahoo – AFP, December 15, 2018

Sierra Leone wants to crack down on violence against women, particularly
sexual agression and rape (AFP Photo/ISSOUF SANOGO)

Freetown (AFP) - Hundreds of people demonstrated in Freetown on Saturday against sexual violence against women, days after the Sierra Leone government promised a crackdown on rape and sexual abuse.

Among the estimated 300 to 400 demonstrators was the country's first lady, Fatima Bio, who on Friday launched a programme called "Hands off our Girls" to combat sexual violence, child trafficking and prostitution, child marriage and teenage pregnancy.

The first ladies of Liberia, Niger, Ghana, Chad and Gambia gave their backing to the initiative.

Last month, President Julius Maada Bio called for life prison sentences for offenders.

The number of officially reported cases of sexual violence has risen from 4,750 in 2017 to 8,505 since the beginning of 2018, according to national police statistics.

The demonstrators were also joined by Justice Minister Priscilla Schwartz and Social Affairs Minister Daindu Dassama.

"I would advise the men in Sierra Leone to spare our girls," said Janet Kallon, an activist at the march.

"We want our daughters to go to school and to get an education."

Many sexual assault victims in Sierra Leone are teenagers, but younger children are also affected, with some abuse victims not even a year old.

On average every month, around 150 young women get pregnant due to rape, according to the Rainbow Initiative, a local organisation dedicated to the fight against sexual violence.

Gambia's Jammeh leaves power after 22 years

Yahoo – AFP, Jennifer O'MAHONY and Emil TOURAY with Mouctar BA in Conakry, January 22, 2017

Former Gambia president Yaya Jammeh, the country's leader for 22 years, looks
 through the window from the plane as he leaves the country on January 21,
2017 from Banjul airport (AFP Photo/STRINGER)

Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambia's veteran leader Yahya Jammeh flew out from the country he ruled for 22 years to cede power to President Adama Barrow and end a political crisis.

Jammeh refused to step down after a December 1 election in which Barrow was declared the winner, triggering weeks of uncertainty that almost ended in a military intervention involving five other west African nations.

The longtime leader, wearing his habitual white flowing robes, waved to supporters before boarding a small, unmarked plane at Banjul airport alongside Guinea's President Alpha Conde after two days of talks over a departure deal.

He landed in Conakry, Guinea's capital but set off again for Equatorial Guinea, where he will remain in exile, the president of the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), Marcel Alain de Souza, said at a Dakar press conference.

"No legislative measures" would be taken that would infringe the "dignity, security, safety and rights" of Jammeh or his family, ECOWAS said in a joint declaration with the African Union and United Nations.

Jammeh could return to The Gambia when he pleased, the statement added, and property "lawfully" belonging to him would not be seized.

The Gambian political crisis (AFP Photo/Aude GENET)

Jammeh finally said he would step aside in the early hours of Saturday morning and hand power to Barrow, who has been in neighbouring Senegal but is expected back in The Gambia imminently.

"I call on President Barrow to come in immediately and take over the supreme responsibility of president, head of state, commander in chief and first citizen of our republic," Jammeh said, according to remarks read out on state television before he left the country.

It would be improper not to "sincerely wish him and his administration all the best," he added.

Jammeh took power in a 1994 coup from the country's only other president since independence from Britain, Dawda Jawara, making this The Gambia's first democratic transition of power.

The choice of Equatorial Guinea for his exile helps ease concerns that Jammeh might interfere in his nation's politics if he stayed in Guinea, whose border is not far from The Gambia's eastern region.

Scenes of jubilation broke out almost immediately on streets near Banjul, the port capital, after the news filtered out that Jammeh had gone.

"We are free now. We are no longer in prison. We do not have to watch our back before we express our opinions," said Fatou Cham, 28, who was celebrating with her friends.

Activists will be keen to see Jammeh -- who controlled certain sections of the security forces -- refused amnesty for crimes committed during his tenure, which was marked by systematic rights abuses.

Jim Wormington, West Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch, called Jammeh's departure "the chance to usher in an era based on respect for the rule of law and human rights."

People celebrate in the streets of Banjul on January 21, 2017 after hearing

 of the confirmed departure of former Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh from the

country (AFP Photo/CARL DE SOUZA)

Avoid a 'bloodbath'

Jammeh's departure followed days of mediation led by Mauritanian president Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz and Guinea's Conde, who said in a statement he "welcomed the successful outcome of the crisis in The Gambia, which, through dialogue, avoided a bloodbath."

Jammeh attempted to build a personality cult and has left behind a small minority of diehard supporters, some of whom wept as his plane departed.

"We wanted to be behind this man for a century or more," said Alagie Samu, speaking on the tarmac. "He is the most successful, visionary leader in the entire world."

Dressed in green, the colour of his political party, some were loyal to the end.

"No human being is perfect, but for 22 years in the country here he has tried hard for Gambians," said a woman with cheeks wet from tears, who did not wish to be named.

The Gambia is one of the world's poorest nations and although education and health standards have lifted in recent years, poverty remains endemic.

With Jammeh gone, all eyes will be on the Barrow administration as they make their first steps as a government of reform and development.

"The will of the people has come to be at last," said Isatou Touray, a key official in the government-in-waiting. "Democracy is back, you can't stop the people."

Army chief Ousman Badjie, a former Jammeh loyalist, has pledged allegiance to Barrow along with top defence, civil service and security chiefs.

The first priority will be to help the tens of thousands who have fled in recent weeks fearing a bloody end to the crisis to return safely, Touray said earlier Saturday.

Barrow could leave Dakar as early as Sunday to return to The Gambia, a source told AFP.

Related Article:

'No money in the coffers' in Gambia says new President Adama Barrow

Ghana's new leader urges respect for democracy in Africa

Yahoo – AFP, Stephanie FINDLAY,  December 10, 2016

"I believe that those who are going against the idea of competitive politics,
electoral politics, are fighting the tide of history in West Africa and in the general
African region," the winner of Ghana's presidential election Akufo-Addo told
AFP (AFP Photo/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Accra (AFP) - The winner of Ghana's presidential election Nana Akufo-Addo on Saturday warned that African leaders who reject democracy were "fighting the tide of history", following his nation's high-stakes vote.

Defying predictions that the presidential race would be neck-and-neck, Akufo-Addo sailed to victory on a wave of anger over a sputtering economy, winning 53.8 percent of Wednesday's vote over incumbent John Mahama.

And fears of widespread violence and concerns over the independence of Ghana's electoral commission never materialised, cementing the West African country's reputation as a beacon of democracy in a region plagued by dictators and coups.

"I believe that those who are going against the idea of competitive politics, electoral politics, are fighting the tide of history in West Africa and in the general African region," Akufo-Addo told AFP in an interview at his modest house in the capital of Accra.

While praising the "consolidation of democracy" in Ivory Coast and Nigeria, Akufo-Addo hit out at leaders clinging to power.

"What is taking place in The Gambia is unfortunate," Akufo-Addo said, referring to longtime ruler Yahya Jammeh who had conceded defeat in last week's election but did a dramatic -- and unexpected -- U-turn on Friday, saying he would challenge the results.

"Our people appreciate and understand and are happy with the values of democracy," said the 72-year-old human rights lawyer, wearing a white collared shirt and his trademark round-rimmed glasses, which he buys in New York.

On the shelves in his home office is a white sculpture of an elephant -- the symbol of his New Patriotic Party (NPP) -- along with books ranging in topics from former British prime minister Tony Blair to pentecostal exorcism.

In his victory speech, Akufo-Addo said the win was the most "humbling moment in my life" and pledged to put Ghana "back on the path of progress and prosperity."

Ghana's President-elect and candidate of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), 

Nana Akufo-Addo speaks during an interview at his residence in Accra, on 

December 10, 2016, a day after winning the national election (AFP Photo/

Pius Utomi Ekpei)

'Get Ghana working again'

An apparent collapse of support in the battleground central region of Ghana seemed to have doomed Mahama's ruling New Democratic Congress (NDC) party, which lost with 44.4 percent of vote.

During the heated campaign, Mahama had criss-crossed the country inaugurating splashy infrastructure projects, earning the nickname "general commissioner" for the number of ribbon-cutting ceremonies he attended.

But soaring debt, high inflation and a weak cedi currency were ultimately too much to swallow for the frustrated electorate.

In 2015, Mahama was forced to go to the International Monetary Fund for a $918 million bailout.

This year Ghana grew at its slowest pace -- around 3.3 percent -- in over two decades.

Akufo-Addo had promised to act quickly to stop a "borrowing binge" that "mortgaged our future".

Underscoring his commitment to the economy and creating jobs, he appointed Mahamudu Bawumia, a former deputy governor of the Bank of Ghana to be his running mate.

Describing the economic climate as a "difficult situation," Akufo-Addo admitted "there is a hanging debt of considerable proportions."

In his election manifesto, he laid out a plan to restore economic stability and encourage investment by slashing the corporate tax rate and abolishing taxes on everything from real estate sales to domestic flight tickets.

"The measures that can stimulate agricultural production, the measures that can stimulate industrial activity and manufacturing, this is the main focus," Akufo-Addo said, promising to "get Ghana working again."

'Joyous moment'

Ghanaians seem thrilled to give him the chance.

Outside his house, hundreds of supporters were still celebrating his election in the streets, blowing horns and dancing.

For many, Akufo-Addo's victory validates Ghana's democracy.

"It's a joyous moment," said Daniel Ofori, 28, who was wearing a big red, white and blue NPP flag as a cape.

"It's been happy for us because our democracy is growing and is maturing," Ofori said.

"This has been the most free and fair election in our country."

Related Article:

Nana Akufo-Addo wins Ghana presidential election

UN Security Council demands Gambia's Jammeh hand over power - New

Gambia's Jammeh concedes defeat, congratulates opponent Barrow

Yahoo – AFP, December 2, 2016

Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh (centre) leaves a polling booth in Banjul
on December 1, 2016 (AFP Photo/MARCO LONGARI)

Banjul (Gambia) (AFP) - Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh conceded defeat to opposition leader Adama Barrow on Friday night, accepting that Gambians had "decided that I should take the backseat".

Speaking to the public on Gambian television after Thursday's presidential poll, Jammeh congratulated Barrow for his "clear victory", adding: "I wish him all the best and I wish all Gambians the best."

Official results earlier showed Barrow, a businessman and political unknown until six months ago, comfortably winning Thursday's poll with 45.54 percent, capping a remarkable rise to prominence.

"I have always made it very clear that I will never rule this country without your mandate, since we started elections," Jammeh told Gambians, many of whom have only ever known him as president.

"I will never cheat or dispute the election because this is the most transparent, rig-proof elections in the whole world," he added, referring to The Gambia's unique system of voting with marbles.

Jammeh, who has ruled The Gambia since taking power in a 1994 coup and is a devout Muslim, said he "would never question Allah's decision today or at any material time," ultimately putting the decision down to fate.

He had a jovial coversation with Barrow by phone that was also broadcast, in which he joked of a possible future career as a farmer back in his hometown of Kanilai.

According to the Gambian constitution Jammeh has 60 days to leave power.

Gambians take to the streets in outpouring of joy after election defeat of President Yahya Jammeh https://t.co/HLYwmsAQgv pic.twitter.com/I4WA5bHZSU

— AFP news agency (@AFP) December 2, 2016

Related Articles:

UN Security Council demands Gambia's Jammeh hand over power - New

Angola's dos Santos says to quit after 36 years in power

Maldives quits Commonwealth over rights row

Yahoo – AFP, October 13, 2016

Flags of the Commonwealth nations fly outside the House of Commons in
London on March 10, 2013 (AFP Photo/Justin Tallis)

Malé (Maldives) (AFP) - The Maldives angrily quit the Commonwealth on Thursday after years of wrangling over its human rights record since the toppling of its first democratically elected leader four years ago.

The troubled honeymoon island nation said it had been treated "unjustly and unfairly" by the bloc, a voluntary association of more than 50 countries, mostly former territories of the British empire.

"The decision to leave the Commonwealth was difficult, but inevitable," said a statement from the foreign ministry.

The former British protectorate has come under intense international pressure since the controversial conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism charges.

The Commonwealth put Male on notice after Nasheed stood down as president in February 2012 and said he had been forced out in a coup.

It has since criticised the government over its crackdown on dissidents and its controversial judiciary, and sent a special envoy to try to improve the archipelago's rights record.

In its statement Thursday, the Maldives, which had previously threatened to pull out of the bloc, accused the London-based Commonwealth Secretariat of interfering in its affairs.

"The Commonwealth has sought to become an active participant in the domestic political discourse in the Maldives, which is contrary to the principles of the charters of the UN and the Commonwealth," it said.

"The Commonwealth Secretariat seem to be convinced that the Maldives... would be an easy object that can be used, especially in the name of democracy promotion, to increase the organisation's own relevance and leverage in international politics."

The Commonwealth's watchdog committee of foreign ministers last month voiced "deep disappointment at the lack of progress" in Maldives.

It said it would consider suspension at its next gathering in March 2017.

The Maldives has come under intense international pressure since the

 controversial conviction of former president Mohamed Nasheed on terrorism 

charges (AFP Photo/Ben Stansall)

Hope for return

In a statement received by AFP, Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said the organisation's members and peoples "will share my sadness and disappointment" at Maldives' decision to quit.

"The Commonwealth Charter reflects the commitment of our member states to democracy and human rights, development and growth, and diversity," she said.

"We will continue to champion these values and to support all member states, especially small and developing states, in upholding and advancing these practically for the enduring benefit of their citizens.

"Therefore, we hope that this will be a temporary separation and that Maldives will feel able to return to the Commonwealth family and all that it represents in due course."

The United States has said democracy is under threat in the strategically located archipelago, which sits on key international shipping lanes.

Washington has criticised the rush trial against Nasheed and demanded his release.

A UN panel has also ruled that Nasheed's imprisonment last year was illegal and ordered the regime of President Abdulla Yameen to pay him compensation.

The Maldives has become the latest country to leave the Commonwealth after

Gambia, which quit in October 2013 (AFP Photo/Sanka Vidanagama)

Political unrest

The country of 340,000 Sunni Muslims is famed for its coral-fringed islands but has been gripped by political unrest since the fall of Nasheed and there are regular anti-government protests.

The government faces allegations of corruption as well as cracking down on any dissent while all its opposition leaders are either in exile or in jail.

Nasheed secured political asylum in Britain this year after travelling to London for medical treatment while on prison leave from a controversial 13-year prison sentence.

He travelled to neighbouring Sri Lanka last month to meet with other exiled Maldivian dissidents in a bid to agree on a plan to "legally topple" Yameen.

While dissidents met in Sri Lanka, Maldivian police raided the offices of the Maldives Independent website in the capital Male hours after Al Jazeera aired a documentary accusing Yameen and his government of massive corruption and money laundering.

The country becomes the latest to leave the Commonwealth after Gambia, which quit in October 2013.

Gambia urged to drop life sentences for gays

Yahoo – AFP, 10 Sep 2014

President Yahya Jammeh of Gambia, seen here at a summit in Yamoussoukro,

Ivory Coast, on March 28, 2014 (AFP Photo/Issouf Sanogo)

DAKAR (AFP) - Rights campaigners called Wednesday for Gambian President Yahya Jammeh to reject proposals by lawmakers to introduce a punishment of life in prison for "aggravated homosexuality".

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a joint statement that a bill passed by parliament on August 25 could be used to target "repeat offenders" and people living with HIV.

"President Jammeh should not approve this profoundly damaging act that violates international human rights law," said Stephen Cockburn, Amnesty's deputy regional director for west and central Africa.

"Gambia's national assembly and the president should not endorse state-sponsored homophobia."

Jammeh, a former military officer who seized power in a 1994 coup, brooks no dissent in a country often blasted by rights bodies for abuses and homophobia.

He has repeatedly denounced homosexuality and once vowed to behead gays, although he later retracted the threat.

Last year, Jammeh told the United Nations General Assembly that "those who promote homosexuality want to put an end to human existence".

"It is becoming an epidemic and we Muslims and Africans will fight to end this behaviour," he said.

Under current law, same-sex relationships are already punishable by up to 14 years in jail in Gambia.

In 2012, 15 men were arrested in a popular bar and charged with "indecent practices in a public place" -- a euphemism for homosexual acts.

The president has two weeks to sign the proposals into law or return them for further review.

Ban Ki-moon: FGM a 'human rights violation' that must end

UN secretary general says 'practice must cease' and backs Guardian campaign to end female genital mutilation in the US

theguardian.com, Amanda Holpuch in New York, Monday 12 May 2014

Jaha Dukureh, from Atlanta, is leading the campaign to end FGM
in the US. Photograph: Mae Ryan/The Guardian

The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, on Monday described the practice of female genital mutilation as a “human rights violation” that needed to end, on the day the Guardian threw its weight behind a campaign against the practice in the US.

Jaha Dukureh, a 24-year-old American who was mutilated as a child, is leading the campaign to end FGM in the US with a Change.org petition urging the Obama administration to commission a report into how many women are affected and at risk today.

Dukureh launched the campaign at the Guardian’s New York office with UN representative Nafissatou Diop, US congressman Joe Crowley and Guardian editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger.

“I know it's hard to believe, but a lot of girls in New York, in Atlanta and throughout America have been through FGM, and even though our storylines might differ, the pain, trauma and horror are the same for every single one of us,” Dukureh said.

Dukureh, a mother of three who lives in Atlanta, was mutilated at a week old in Gambia, where she was born. Later, as a child bride, she endured the practice of "reopening", in New York, where she moved when she was 15.

The US government outlawed FGM in 1996, but at least 228,000 women in the US are thought to be affected, according to research from Brigham and Women’s hospital in Boston.

“At times, I feel like the government is afraid to address FGM because they fear dealing with our African cultures,” Dukureh said. “I say: history has taught us to do away with harmful cultures and traditions. Slavery was a culture in America for over 300 years. If culture is harmful and if culture triggers human rights violations, then that piece of the culture must go. I am a proud African woman from this culture, and I say not one single ounce of good comes of mutilating girls.”

Ban Ki-moon endorsed the campaign, and sent Diop, of the UN’s United National Population (UNFPA) and Unicef joint program on FGM, to the camapign's launch.

“This is a serious health and human rights issue,” said Diop, speaking on behalf of Ban. “The effects include depression, insecurity, pain, infections, incontinence and deadly complication in pregnancy and childbirth. While some may say FGM is a tradition, it constitutes a human rights violation that must cease.”

The UN’s program is aimed at helping those communities that practice FGM to abandon it. “These agencies have adopted a human rights-based approach to encourage communities to act collectively, so that girls or their families who opt out do not jeopardize their marriage prospects or become social outcasts,” Diop said.

Rusbridger said he was hopeful about the campaign’s success in the US because of the Guardian’s experience in the UK, where Fahma Mohammed, a young British activist, spearheaded a campaign that led education secretary Michael Gove to write to all schools in England and Wales, warning teachers about the dangers of FGM.

"I think the hope of everybody involved in this field is that it is possible to eradicate this, and that there is the real, tangible hope of improving the health, expectations and happiness of million girls and women in more than 30 countries where this problem affects so many lives,” Rusbridger said.

Crowley, the Democratic congressman for New York’s 14th district, also spoke at Monday’s event, where he said he is looking to emulate the work done in the UK.

Crowley is circulating a letter around Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the State Department, calling for greater awareness among professionals who might come into contact with FGM victims.

Ban Ki-moon and Fahma Mohamed. Photograph: Irene Baqué for Guardian

Related Articles:

Ban Ki-moon puts UN weight behind Guardian-backed FGM campaign

Malala Yousafzai backs campaign against FGM

Malala Yousafzai with the anti-FGM campaigner Muna Hasan.
Photograph: David Levene

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dear and beloved Kryon: What should we know about "Brit-Mila" (Jewish circumcision)?

Answer: All circumcision was based on commonsense health issues of the day, which manifested itself in religious-based teaching. That basically is what made people keep doing it. This eighth-day-from-birth ritual is no more religious today than trimming your fingernails (except that Brit-Mila is only done once, and it hurts a bit more).

It's time to start seeing these things for what they are. Common sense is not static. It's dynamic, and related to the culture of the time. Yesterday's common sense about health changed greatly with the discovery of germs. It changed again with practices of cleanliness due to the discovery of germs, and so on. Therefore, we would say that it really doesn't make a lot of difference in today's health practices. It's done almost totally for cultural historic and traditional purposes and holds no energy around it other than the obvious intent of the tradition.

This is also true for a great deal of the admonishments of the Old Testament regarding food and cleanliness, and even the rules of the neighborhood (such as taking your neighbor's life if he steals your goat, or selling your daughter in slavery if you really need the money... all found in scripture). The times are gone where these things matter anymore, yet they're still treated with reverence and even practiced religiously in some places. They're now only relics of tradition, and that's all. If you feel that you should honor a tradition, then do it. If not, then don't. It's not a spiritual or health issue any longer.

Be the boss of your own body and your own traditions. Follow what your spiritual intuition tells you is appropriate for your own spiritual path and health.

Gambia pulls out of Commonwealth

Google – AFP, 3 October 2013

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh speaks at the UN General Assembly

on September 27, 2013 in New York (Pool/AFP/File, Andrew Burton)

Banjul — The Gambian government announced that the former British colony is pulling out of the Commonwealth with immediate effect, saying it would "never be a member of any neo-colonial institution".

"The general public is hereby informed that the government of the Gambia has left the Commonwealth of Nations with immediate effect," it said in a statement.

"(The) government has withdrawn its membership of the British Commonwealth and decided that the Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism."

The Commonwealth bloc is a voluntary association of more than 50 countries, many of them former territories of the British empire.

Flags of the Commonwealth nations are

 displayed outside the House of 

Commons in London on March 10, 2013,

 the eve of Commonwealth Day (AFP/File, 

Justin Tallis)

No further details were given but a foreign ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that the decision came after the government rejected a proposal by the Commonwealth last year to create commissions in Banjul to protect human rights, media rights and fight against corruption.

The proposal followed an April 2012 visit to the Gambia by Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma, during which he met with President Yahya Jammeh and other top government officials.

Jammeh, who is regularly accused of rights abuses, has ruled mainland Africa's smallest country with an aura of mysticism and an iron fist since seizing power in 1994.

Earlier this year, the Gambia was singled out for its poor rights record in Britain's annual Human Rights and Democracy report, which cited cases of unlawful detentions, illegal closures of newspapers and radio stations and discrimination against minority groups.

A spokesman at the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said early Thursday: "We would very much regret Gambia, or any other country, deciding to leave the Commonwealth."

He noted however that "decisions on Commonwealth membership are a matter for each member government".

The Gambia is a tiny sliver of land wedged into Senegal. It suffers from widespread poverty but its miles of palm-fringed beaches are a favourite among sun-seeking European tourists.

The west African anglophone nation, the smallest on the mainland, has long been dogged by rights concerns under Jammeh's administration.

Jammeh, who seized power in a 1994 coup, brooks no criticism. He has been re-elected to power three times.

The man who claims he can cure AIDS and other illnesses is often pilloried for rights abuses and the muzzling of journalists.

In 2010, the EU, the country's top aid donor, cancelled 22 million euros ($30 million) in budget support for Banjul because of concerns over human rights and governance.

In August 2012, Jammeh came under attack from Amnesty International and others for sending nine prisoners to the firing squad and promising many more would go the same way.

File picture shows protesters holding a
banner reading 'Gambia. Stop unfair trials'
outside the Gambian embassy in Senegal
last year (AFP/File, Seyllou)

Many top officials have found themselves charged with treason, often related to coup plots which observers have said are a sign of paranoia by Jammeh, who has woven an aura of mysticism around himself, dressing in billowing white robes and always clutching his Koran.

Last year he warned foreign diplomats that his country would not be "bribed" with aid to accept homosexuality.

"If you are to give us aid for men and men or for women and women to marry, leave it. We don't need your aid because as far as I am the president of the Gambia, you will never see that happen in this country," he said.

In January this year Jammeh accused the European Union of trying to destablise Gambia, after the EU set out a 17-point checklist of demands for reforms.

They included calls for Gambia to abolish the death penalty and to re-open newspapers and radio stations closed down by the authorities.

The president regularly insists that he will not bow to external pressures for reform.

Gambia suspends executions of death row inmates

Deutsche Welle, 15 September 2012

Gambia has placed a moratorium on the execution of death row inmates. The president of the west African nation sparked international outrage when he vowed to execute all 47 death row prisoners by mid-September.

Gambian President Yahya Jammeh succumbed to regional and domestic pressure on Saturday, announcing that he had suspended the pending executions of the remaining 38 inmates on death row.

"It is hereby made clear that it is only a moratorium on executions and what happens next will be dictated by either a declining violent crime rate in which case the moratorium will be indefinite, or an increase in the violent crime rate, in which case the moratorium will be lifted automatically," the president's office said in a release. 

President Jammeh said that the
moratorium  is temporary and
executions may be reinstated

Jammeh announced on August 19 that his government planned to execute all the prisoners on death row by the middle of September. Nine of the original 47 inmates on death row were shot dead by firing squad on August 28. All nine had been convicted on murder charges.

Neighboring countries such as Ivory Coast, Mauritania and Senegal had pressured Gambia to stay the executions. Gambia is completely surrounded by Senegal, with the exception of a small strip of Atlantic coastline.

But Jammeh's office said that despite the death penalty moratorium, "no amount of bad mouthing or pressure can make the president shy away from upholding the oaths that he has sworn as president."

Jammeh seized power in a 1994 coup and has long been criticized for his government's poor human rights record.

slk/jlw (AFP, Reuters)

African Union urges Gambia to stop prisoner executions

BBC News, 24 August 2012

Related Stories 

• African viewpoint: Jammeh, Aids and infertility
• Jammeh eyes 'billion-year' rule
• Gambia: Praise singers and witch-hunts

President Yahya Jammeh won a
fourth term in office last year

The African Union has asked Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh to renounce plans to execute all death row prisoners next month.

Mr Jammeh made the comment during a speech he gave to celebrate the Muslim festival of Eid.

A Gambian pressure group says many of the 47 death row inmates are political prisoners or have faced unfair trials.

According to Amnesty International, no executions have been carried out in The Gambia for 27 years.

The death penalty was abolished when former President Dawda Jawara was in power but reinstated in 1995 shortly after Mr Jammeh seized power in a military coup.

'Messages of peace of love'

"By the middle of next month, all the death sentences would have been carried out to the letter; there is no way my government will allow 99% of the population to be held to ransom by criminals," President Jammeh said in an speech on Sunday, which was broadcast on national television the next day.

In response, Benin's President Thomas Boni Yayi, who is the current chair of the African Union, sent his foreign minister to The Gambia.

"After having learned of the imminent execution of a number of prisoners sentenced to death, President Yayi, who is very concerned, wished that President Yahya Jammeh not carry out such a decision," Beninois Foreign Minister Nassirou Bako Arifari told BBC Afrique.

The president's remarks have also caused much distress amongst death row inmates and their families, Civil Society Associations Gambia (Csag) and UK-based Amnesty International said in statements.

"Csag is particularly disturbed that on the day of Eid al-Fitr, when Muslims the world over seek forgiveness, extend messages of peace and love, show solidarity with one another and those in distressing conditions that President Jammeh chose once again to show his brutality and repressive nature by informing Muslim leaders that he would execute prisoners," the group said.

Amnesty International said death sentences in The Gambia were "known to be used as a tool against the political opposition".

It added: "Furthermore, international standards on fair trials, including presumption of innocence, access to lawyers and exclusion of any evidence obtained as a result of torture, are often not respected."

Mr Jammeh's human rights record has often been criticised by international organisations, with particular concerns over press freedom.

Last year, after winning a fourth term in office in widely criticised polls he told the BBC that his critics could "go to hell" because he feared "only Allah".

The tiny West African state is a popular tourist destination.

Related Article:

Nine executed in Gambia, says Amnesty International