The National Movement for the Restoration of Democracy in The Gambia
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Petition Letter
John Cahill
Immigration Advisory Services
Liverpool
Dear Sir,
Pa Modou Bojang, a Gambian journalist, is in jail in the United Kingdom, awaiting order for his deportation to his native Gambia. This follows the denial of his application for an asylum, presumably, on the grounds that U.K. courts did not find that he faces risks to his wellbeing if he is removed to The Gambia. Without questioning the courts’ findings, it is our firm belief that the court erred in its decision. In our opinion, the finding of the law is subjective, and based primarily on the fact that since Mr. Bojang returned to The Gambia in July 2009, without getting into trouble, he therefore faces no risk to his life and limb. It would seem like a logical conclusion to draw under the circumstances, but justice in The Gambian operates outside the ambit of the law, of reason and commonsense. Sir, I say so deferring to those who are doing a remarkable job to make the law function in defense of the rights of all Gambians. From the point of view of law and our Constitution, Gambia is a jungle; lawless, barbaric and unapologetic. The regime of Yahya Jammeh continuously and consistently defy local and regional court rulings to free prisoners and detainees, and individuals set free by the courts, are regularly picked up as soon as they walk out of the court premises, and sent back to prison or detention, while fresh charges are prepared to ensure their conviction by the courts. The regime of Yahya Jammeh’s has given to itself the prerogative and the luxury to ignore the law whenever a court ruling fails to support the results the regime expects and wants. This overview above may be tangentially related to the case of Pa Modou Bojang, but it is relevant in so far as it lays out a picture of how the law functions in The Gambia in relation to the regime. The case has already been made of Mr. Bojang’s numerous brushes with the regime; his arrests and detentions; closure of his radio station and other indignities he endured in The Gambia, so I will not reiterate those facts here.
Sir, in directly addressing the case of Pa Modou Bojang’s claims of fear for his life, there is no doubt his fears are well-founded and meritorious. Sir, to begin with, it would be out of character for The Gambian media fraternity to put their prestige and honor behind any frivolous asylum application. The case of Mr. Bojang is only the second asylum case we in The Gambian media have supported in such a public manner and with such passion over the past decade and half of Jammeh rule. By now, the publicity behind his case is being closely monitored by the regime back in The Gambia, and the regime could be salivating in anticipation of laying their hands on Mr. Bojang. Since yesterday, Gambians across the globe have been in a state of shock over a death sentence The Gambian judiciary has handed down on seven defendants. And across the border in Senegal, Gambians who are not as lucky as those of us across Europe and the U.S, are flooding its capital Dakar, to escape Yahya Jammeh and his thugs. And most of the escapees into Senegal have had less odious contacts with the regime than Pa Modou Bojang, but Yahya Jammeh and his thugs hold the view that dissenters ought to stay at home to endure the humiliating and inhuman treatment most would likely receive at the hands of the regime's terrorist enforcers. And each day, as the regime of Jammeh’s becomes more and more unbearable, Gambian newspaper headlines across the globe scream for attention, even as fellow citizens flee the country in record numbers. It is evident from the newspaper headlines, that The Gambia is experiencing an earthquake, yet a few in the outside world seem to pay attention to our plight. Below is a sampling of a few of what Gambian news look like from day to day:
- Ex-Deputy IGP Recounts Harrowing Brutalities at Mile 2 Prison, The Gambia Echo, April, 2010
- Food poisoning, lack of medical care; kills 63 Mile 2 Prison inmates between 2006 and 2007, The Gambia Echo, May 15, 2010
- Over 100 Mile 2 Prisoners died of food poisoning; lack of medical care; more, since 2006, The Gambia Echo, May 25, 2010
- Death Sentence: Court sends former Gambian Army Chief; seven defendants to the Gallows, The Senegambia News, July 17, 2010
- Army Officer Sillah Kujabi Arrested! Dozens of Plainclothes Officers Dismissed, The Freedom Newspaper, July 15, 2010
- Gambia: Amnesty international calls for investigation of human rights violations committed by security forces, Amnesty International Report, June 11, 2010
It is easy to believe that jail will be the least Pa Modou Bojang can expect if he returns, but the jails are where Gambians are taken to die, and Gambians who have died in prison number several dozen. Today, the international publicity surrounding Mr. Bojang’s case has made him a marked man to the Jammeh regime, because deportees are on the top of the list of persons the regime’s agents have had under constant surveillance. There ample evidence to show that some outspoken deportees were and still are subject to harassment. In one particular instance, some deportees were rounded up and sent to detention centers as soon as they set foot on Gambian soil, and while some were tried and sent to the notorious Mile 2 Prison, others fled across the border into Senegal again.
Sir, Mr. Bojang’s previous unpleasant contacts with the regime has made him a vulnerable candidate to exert revenge on, as a way to further instill fear and secure compliance from The Gambian media and other dissident groups. Yahya Jammeh has an understanding of his unpopularity, and as history shows, he selectively terrorizes groups of people, in particular journalist, whom he subjects to repeated arrest, detention and, jail and dissident like Pa Modou Bojang, can never be safe anywhere in The Gambia. At Mile 2 Prison, where the number of deaths continues to rise, many of the dissidents were at one time arrested, released, arrested, tried and released and arrested again. It just never ends. Sir, to conclude, as an outspoken critic of the regime, Pa Modou Bojang will be an unwelcome person in The Gambia, at a time when Yahya Jammeh is trying to consolidate his infinite power and transform his rogue rule into a dictatorship. We, therefore, hope that authorities of United Kingdom Border Agency will reconsider Pa Modou Bojang’s case, and allow him to remain in asylum status in the United Kingdom, until such time the political situation improves in our country. Sir, it may interest the U.K authorities to know that most of us would prefer to return home, but the political situation there makes it dangerous for us to go home to the land of our births. Recently, a list of nearly sixty Gambians, who are wanted by the regime, leaked to the press, and I guarantee that the name of Pa Modou Bojang will be included in a revised list the state prepares for Gambian border authorities on a regular basis. We hope sufficient and convincing reason has been provided to British authorities by the combined efforts of parties involved in this case. Pa Modou Bojang who is more than just a journalist, but an outspoken dissident, deserves to be granted asylum to protect him from harm and we are hopeful the relevant authorities will grant him this request.
Yours sincerely,
Mathew K Jallow
Executive Director, NMRDG
Associate Editor, The Gambia Echo
cc.
Home Office; United Kingdom Border Agency, U.K
Louise Ellman; House of Commons
Prof. Kwame Karikari; Media Foundation for West Africa
Gambia Press Union, The Gambia