"Gambia News : Gambian authorities ban independent radio station"

"The Gambian authorities on Thursday shut the only independent radio station in the nation that has continued to broadcast news, according to local journalists.

According to a press release issued by the New York-based media watchdog, Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday, quoting local journalists, said officials of the state security outfit, the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) summoned Ismaila Ceesay, managing director of Taranga FM, a community radio station based in Sinchu Alhagie village, southwest of Banjul, for interrogation and ordered the station off the air until further notice.

Journalists told CPJ the ban was in reprisal for the station’s “news review” program in which local newspaper stories were read on the air in English and local languages. It was however unclear what story or stories prompted the ban.

“With a small independent press corps weakened by years of government intimidation and repression, the Gambia counts only a handful of private radio stations, which mostly cover sports and entertainment, and a few independent newspapers operating under intense self-censorship. The government operates a television and radio network known as GRTS (Gambia Radio and Television services), which broadcasts only officially approved news. Arrests, torture, physical and verbal intimidation, arbitrary closures of news outlets, repressive legislation, and unsolved murder and disappearance of journalists have forced dozens of independent journalists to flee into exile,” the release said.

“With the closure of Teranga FM, the Gambia confirms its status as one of Africa’s most censored countries,” said CPJ Africa Advocacy Coordinator Mohamed Keita. “Radio is a vital source of news in Africa, but listeners in the Gambia can now hear only a government mouthpiece. The authorities should restore Teranga FM and all independent broadcasts to return to air.”

The release adds that several independent news outlets have been shuttered by the government in recent years, including Citizen FM, Radio 1 FM, a local bureau of Senegalese station Sud FM, and The Independent newspaper, according to CPJ research.

The ban on Teranga FM came a week after Gambian Justice Minister Edward Gomez dismissed suggestions of human rights abuses in the country as “mere speculation,” according to an interview published in the private Daily News. In the same interview, Gomez threatened to prosecute any exiled Gambian who dared criticize the government’s actions.

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"Gambia News : Gambian justice minister issues threats against journalists, rights defenders"

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Gambia’s Justice Minister, Edward Gomez has been quoted issuing threats to exiled journalists and rights defenders, saying that they would be prosecuted if they returned for “painting a grim picture ” of the country.

According to a press release issued Monday by the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA), Gomez, who was reacting to a publication in a privately-owned Daily News about an international campaign against the systematic human rights violations in the country, said : “we will wait here for them to come (home).”

The Justice Minister said the advocates were “evil members” of society” who have taken refuge abroad and were “putting every nonsensical story in newspapers and on radio to tarnish the good image of the government.”

“MFWA sources attributed the minister’s threats to a campaign mounted by an exiled Gambian journalist Alieu B Ceesay and the Scottish Society of Human Rights. The sources said in December 2010 the campaign received a boost with 24 British parliamentarians appending their signatures to a motion calling on the international community to ensure that the deteriorating human rights in Gambia are improved,” the release said.

On the repression of Gambians including abductions and gruesome killings, which was the basis of the motion, Gomez said those were mere speculations and unfounded allegations."
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"Gambia News : Gambia cuts relations with Iran"

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Gambia News : Gambia cuts relations with Iran

Nov 23,2010 by
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The Gambia has said it is cutting all ties with Iran and ordered all Iranian government representatives to leave within 48 hours.

Officials from the small West African nation gave no reason for the move.

But last month Nigeria said it had intercepted an illegal arms shipment in Lagos from Iran, destined for The Gambia.

Senior Iranian official Alaeddin Borujerdi has said the move was taken under US pressure.

The Nigerian authorities said they had discovered the weapons, including rocket launchers and grenades, in containers labelled as building materials.

The France-based shipping company CMA CGM which transported the shipment said attempts were made to send it to The Gambia before the Nigerian police seized it.

Mr Borujerdi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's parliament, confirmed that a private Iranian company had sent the arms to The Gambia but said this was "in line with international laws", reports the official Islamic Republic News Agency (Irna).

Rana Rahimpour from the BBC's Persian Service says the breaking of ties does seem to have taken Iran by surprise and officials appear to be playing it down.

She says Mr Borujerdi's comments are the first from an Iranian official to confirm that the arms were destined for The Gambia.

Nigeria has reported the seizure to the UN Security Council.

Iran is under UN sanctions because of its nuclear programme and is banned from supplying, selling or transferring arms.
'Embarrassed'

"All government of The Gambia projects and programmes, which were [being] implemented in co-operation with the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have been cancelled," the Gambian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Correspondents say ties between Tehran and Banjul - which have both faced criticism over their human rights records - became closer after Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh came to power in 1994.

When The Gambia hosted the African Union summit in 2006, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a guest of honour.

The Gambia has been among those developing nations who have defended Iran's right to nuclear power.

Charlie Zrom, who has published a paper on Iranian foreign policy for the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, says the move will be an embarrassment for Iran.

"Iran has sought partners around the world especially as sanctions have come on the table in the last few years," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"West Africa has been a key priority for them and we've seen a number of visits both from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and from the defence minister.

"It's a tool by which Iran tries to prevent measures harmful to it, or it believes harmful to it, being passed at the United Nations."

Correspondents say the decision to expel all Iranian diplomats will bring an end to several projects funded by Iran, such as the $2bn (£1.2bn) agreement to supply The Gambia with heavy and commercial vehicles."
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"Gambia News : Gambia sacks, detains 2 military officers"

"Two officers of the Gambia Armed Force (GAF), Pa Yusupha Jatta and Sanna Sanyang, have been arrested, dismissed from the force and were also being detained, according to the Public Relations Officer (PRO), of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA), Chief Inspector Abdoulie Ceesay, PANA.

Ceesay told journalists that the two were found in possession of 18 bundles of cannabis sativa.

The suspects, attached to the Gambia National Guard (GNG), were arrested following a tip-off.

Ceesay said the soldiers had been handed over to the NDEA and are currently helping the narcotics officers in their investigations and are likely to face charges in accordance with the Drug Control Act.
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"Gambia News : Gambian leader unseats National Assembly speaker"

"Acting under the powers vested in him by the Constitution of the Republic of The Gambia, President Yahya Jammeh on Thursday revoked the nomination of Elizabeth Yamide Renner as member and Speaker of the National Assembly, a press release from the Office of The President, signed by Dr. Njogou L. Bah, secretary general and head of the Civil Service, revealed.

The press release did not give reasons for the revocation but said 'this clearly indicates that Renner has lost her seat in parliament.'

Renner was the third female speaker in the second republic after succeeding Mrs. Fatoumatta Jahumpa Ceesay in 2008.

She served in the first republic and part of the second republic as teacher, retiring as principal of St. Augustan's high school in Banjul. "
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"Gambia News : Gambia’s tourism authorities unveil new logo as new season kicks off"

"The director of marketing at the Gambia Tourism Authority, Mr Lamin Saho, on Thursday told journalists that his organization has initiated a new logo and slogan with a view to marketing the Gambia as an eco-tourism and bird watching destination.

He was briefing journalists on the new tourists’ season which commenced on 28th October 2010 with the arrival of the first batch of Scandinavian tourists.

He said, "The logo depicts The Gambia as a haven for eco-tourism and bird watching."

According to Saho, the logo portrays the River Gambia and flying birds which he said signifies bird watching.

He remarked, "We have been saying that The Gambia has more to offer than sea, sun and sand and this logo and slogan are to enable us project our country not only as a sun, sea and sand destination, but as a haven for eco-tourism.”

Saho told journalists that his organization and stakeholders will embark on aggressive marketing in prominent tourism markets with a view to selling The Gambia as a tourist destination."
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"Gambia News : His majesty? Gambian president may become king ‎"

"Gambia's president once claimed to have developed a cure for AIDS that involved an herbal body rub and bananas. His administration rounded up nearly 1,000 people last year in a witch hunt. And now he may soon have a new title in this tiny West African nation: His majesty.

Tribal chieftains are touring the country to rally support for President Yahya Jammeh's coronation.
"The president has brought development to the country, and for that he deserves to be crowned King of The Gambia," said Junkung Camara, chief of the western region of Foni Brefet. "This is the only way the Gambian people can express our gratitude to a leader who has done a lot for his country."

Like many rulers in this part of Africa, Jammeh, 45, came to power in the wake of a coup. He was elected president two years later, and is currently serving his third elected term in the tiny country surrounded on three sides by Senegal.
If he were crowned king, he could dispense with the formality of elections altogether.

For a ruler who likes to be called His Excellency the President Sheik Professor Alhaji Doctor Yahya Jammeh - identifying himself as a doctor, scholar, and elder, among other honorifics - "king" would suit him well.

"It's image construction," said Abdoulaye Saine, professor of political science at Miami University in Ohio who specializes in Gambian politics. "He's not a scholar, he's not a doctor, he's not a professor. But he covets these titles."
Saine says Jammeh's coronation would give him a new title but would not change anything politically.
"Jammeh is already king," Saine said. "He practically owns the country of Gambia. He controls the press, the opposition, the clergy, and the coffers of the state."
While sub-Saharan Africa has just one remaining absolute monarchy - in the southern African nation of Swaziland - other leaders have tried to similarly solidify their role. Idi Amin, the brutal dictator who ruled Uganda during the 1970s, titled himself His Excellency President for Life. And Central African Republic's Jean-Bedel Bokassa crowned himself emperor in 1977.

The call for Jammeh's coronation is the latest in a series of controversial events that have marked his presidency. In 2007, the ruler claimed to have developed a cure for AIDS and insisted that patients stop taking their antiretroviral medications so his cure could have an effect.

More recently, Jammeh's administration rounded up nearly 1,000 people last year in a witch hunt that spanned the nation of 2 million. Authorities forced the supposed witches to drink a hallucinogen that caused diarrhea and vomiting. The unidentified liquid led to serious kidney problems, and two people died after the forced treatment, according to international rights group Amnesty International.
Sam Sarr, editor of the main opposition newspaper Foroyaa, says Jammeh's move to be crowned king will never work.

"It's unconstitutional," Sarr said. "According to the constitution, his position is an elected position. Sovereignty resides in the people." Not that making Jammeh king would change much.

"The presidency is already like a monarchy," Sarr said. "As far as power is concerned, he has absolute power."
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