Press ReleaseMovement For Democratic Change–
U.S.A (MFDC-USA).
Brave members of the Movement For Democratic Change–Gambia (MFDC-G), the gallant soldiers of The Gambia armed forces, members of the national police force, members of the National Security Agency, and our most esteemed fellow citizens in The Gambia and around the world, July 22nd. 1994 was a day of infamy that changed our country forever. In the aftermath of the coup on that fateful day, the AFPRC military regime made a promise to usher in an era of transparency and accountability in governance to the citizens of our country. Instead, the AFPRC’s trail has been one of the most disastrous records of any government on the African continent. The past thirteen years have been a nightmare for Gambians, and there seems to be no end in sight to this historic dereliction of responsibility. That the history of the Jammeh government has been a curse to our country, and an aberration to the humane values that we as a society hold so dear, is an understatement. In it’s wake, the APRC military government has left a litany of broken promises, broken dreams, but most importantly, broken lives that have become synonymous with Yahya Jammeh’s arrogance of power. A cursory look at thirteen years of misrule shows a manifestation of Yahya Jammeh’s disposition to extreme cruelty towards citizens of our country. Gambians have borne the pain and the agony of this brutal dictatorship for far too long, and the Movement For Democratic Change (MFDC) has resolved that we as a country can no longer sit idly by as Yahya Jammeh’s government continues to destroy our motherland and tear our people apart. Our country, once renowned for our extremely peaceful and friendly people, has been turned into a virtual prison camp, where only Yahya Jammeh has a voice; ruling over our people in typical autocratic fashion. As we look back at more than a decade of Yahya Jammeh’s dictatorship, the record of his government, which is painted in the blood of our fellow citizens and the sweat and tears of families all across our country, speaks loudly and eloquently for itself.
Yahya Jammeh’s Murder &Torture Victims.
Since coming to power in 1994, countless innocent Gambians have lost their lives at the hands of Yahya Jammeh and his thugs at the NIA, the military and the citizen death squad, The Green boys, who operate under the umbrella of the APRC political party. Below is the most comprehensive, albeit still incomplete list of Yahya Jammeh’s murder and torture victims.
Ousman K. Ceesay-brutally urdered,body burnt
Deyda Hydara- shot and killed instantaneously
Sadibou Hydara-died from severe torture trauma
Cpl. Dumbuya- shot and killed in broad daylight
Ms. Sarjo Kunjang- beaten to death
Ebrima Barry- beaten and died in police custody
Daba Marenah- executed by firing squad
Lt. Almamo Manneh- brutally executed
Lt. Landing Sanneh- Shot at and then sentenced to 29 years
Sgt. Momodou Choppi Bah- executed
Lt. Basirou Barrow- executed by firing squad
Lt. Dot Faal- executed by firing squad
Cadet Amadou Sillah- executed by firing squad
Sgt. Fafa Nyang- brutally executed
Lt. Beran Saye- brutally executed
Cpl. Alpha Bah- executed by firing squad
Cpl. Ebou Lowe- executed by firing squad
Cpl. Manlafi Corr- Brutally executed
Omar Barrow- journalist, gunned down in broad daylight
UDP politician Ousman Ceesay- murdered at Tallinding
12 teenage students- mowed down and massacred by machine gunfire
45 Ghanaian nationals- butchered and massacred on false allegations
10 Other ECOWAS nationals- massacred on false allegations
Ousman Sillah- attorney (lawyer) attempted murder, escaped
Mai Fatty- attorney (lawyer) attempted murder, escaped
Alhagie Kebbeh- nearly killed in brutal beating, now disabled
Wassa Janneh –Tortured and detained for purely political reasons
Chief Ebrima Manneh- missing journalist, believed murdered
Kanyiba Kanyi- (Christian Children Fund) missing over a year
Marian Denton- jailed, tortured for more than a year; released
Ousman Rambo Jatta-UDP, jailed for more than a year; released
Tamba Fofana- teacher, jailed for more than a year, released
Fellow citizens, this is not an exhaustive list, and we urge every family to contact us with names of their missing loved ones.
State of the Military and Security Forces.
The military and security forces are today a mere shell of their former selves, as these services no longer commanded the respect and admiration of our citizens. This government has turned them against our people, and they live each day on a fishing expedition trying to identify and ferret out perceived enemies of Yahya Jammeh and his government. Today, every waking moment of our men and women in uniform is consumed by the need to protect Yahya Jammeh and keep him in power. But, tribalism emanating from Yahya Jammeh, and displayed with reckless abandon, is threatening to tear the fragile military and security services apart. Additionally, Yahya Jammeh is widely suspected of recruiting mercenaries and training them in Kanilai, because he has lost confidence in his military and security forces. It is evident from the insider information that our brave brothers and sisters in the media are putting out each day, that our forces are no longer thinking and walking lock step with Jammeh on anything. Yahya Jammeh’s dream of growing a large and robust army around his tribesmen is bound to fail, as there is only so much a limited population can produce and provide. Besides, there are indications that a segment of Jammeh’s tribesmen are uncomfortable and embarrassed by the way he is making them stand out in such a negative way. We are therefore calling on all our gallant armed and security forces not to allow themselves to be divided by tribe or any other discriminating factors. We also call on them to stand with the Movement For Democratic Change (MFDC), to reject the divisive policies and endemic corruption of this evil and incompetent government. In the preceding segment above, our men and women in uniform can clearly see what Yahya Jammeh’s government represents. Among the long list of dead are your former comrades who did not deserve to die, yet each and everyone of you knows the brutality with which most of them lost their lives. No human being has the right to take the life of another, and certainly no government has the right to sanction the mass killing of its citizens without a reason or justification. Yahya Jammeh’s government has done so much damage to our country that he has lost long the legitimacy to govern any longer.
The struggle to change our government has now begun in earnest, and we call on all patriotic men and women in our military and security forces to join the noble struggle to remove the government of Yahya Jammeh for the sake of freeing our people from bondage. In the coming days and weeks, we will provide you with a list of civilian alternative to this corrupt and murderous government: Gambians that are representative of all our tribes and geographic areas, equipped with high caliber education and committed to the cause of developing our country. It will be necessary to rebuild the military and security services into neutral institutions that cannot be manipulated by any future government, with respect for the rule of law, civil and human rights, and above all as an institution that serves to protect our people from harm, outside aggression and from brutality sanctioned by their own government.
The Failing Economy
Our country is in the worst shape it has ever been since independence, and last week, members of our MFDC-Gambia chapter analyzed the state of the economy. Any manipulation of our currency by executive order from State House will be counter-productive, as it will disrupt the normal course of business at both the supply and demand side of the market. Equally importantly, our country is still an agricultural economy, and our desire to consume must be balanced by our need to produce. Tourism and commercial activity alone cannot at this point sustain our economic development, thus making it imperative to focus on developing both our agricultural and horticultural sectors, in order to meet the needs and demands of our tourism industry and our growing population.
Yahya Jammeh’s explicit threats to our business community will not help ameliorate the worsening economic situation; instead, it will only worsen it. We must return to being a country of laws where the government can bring charges of mafias against businesses to the judiciary for prosecution. It is not Yahya Jammeh’s business to prosecute and pass judgment on any business for the sake of cheap political propaganda.
Today, remittances from overseas Gambians is helping to keep the country afloat; from the construction boom around the country, to the commercial activity concentrated around a twenty square kilometers of Kombo St. Mary’s. With nearly half the country’s population now living within Kombo Brikama, Kombo North, Kombo St. Mary’s and Banjul area, there has been a wholesale abandonment of the countryside for the few jobs available around the Banjul, Bakau and Serekunda area. Consequently, the unemployment rate among young people is, according to some accounts, a staggering eighty percent, perhaps the highest in the world. Additionally, Yahya Jammeh’s government must understand that it cannot bully and intimidate the business community into doing what is in his personal interests as opposed to their own personal and business interests.
The Civil Service and Yahya Jammeh
By all accounts, our civil service has been battered, bruised and left in total disarray. The discipline and order that existed among its ranks has dissipated in thin air, and everyone is living and working for the moment. Every government and every employer owes a great degree of stability, predictability and respect to their employees, and employment statutes must be in place to prevent and protect the rights employees in both the government and the private sector. Yahya Jammeh’s continued usurpation of the power of the Public Service Commission, which should recruit, hire and discipline public sector employees, is illegal. Our government has long ago ceased to exist as a legitimate entity that exists to serve the people, because no government can function in the absence of a disciplined and skilled public service that is responsible and know what they owe the public they serve. The constant and never-ending appointment and dis-appointment of public service employees has taken a toll on the ability and effectiveness of government to deliver services to the public. The most knowledgeable and experienced civil service employees are being sidelined, ignored and replaced by inexperienced and mediocre workers who lack the depth and breath of skills necessary to move the country forward. This is a recipe for failure, and we are now seeing the results, as the government has effectively come to a screeching halt. The governmental corporations that have revenue-generating components are failing and going bankrupt, and the demise of Gamtel portends more disastrous economic failure for other similar quasi-government companies. The government has forgotten that its primary obligation is to help develop the human capital of our people in order to give them the tools to be productive citizens. There is an acute shortage of teachers in many schools, and the low wages of teachers and nurses is a far cry from the millions that are wasted at Jammeh’s monthly Kanilai and State House beach parties. But, worst than that, as these parties are regularly staged, some civil servants are often not paid until a whole month has passed, which is unacceptable. As long as Jammeh remains, things are going to get worst. We must all resolve to accept the challenge of removing Yahya Jammeh before it is too late.
Yahya Jammeh’s wealth.
The past thirteen years have seen Yahya Jammeh’s metamorphosis from a poor military recruit without an account in his name in any bank, to perhaps one of the wealthiest head of a government in Africa. His salary as a Head of State is clearly insufficient to afford him all the wealth he has accumulated for himself over the years. It is obvious that Yahya Jammeh has been engaged in the looting of our state treasury, making no distinction between what belongs to the Gambian people from what belongs to him personally. The practice of using our nation’s resources for personal reasons under the assumption that he is himself the state has become commonplace. Jammeh has assumed for himself so much power, that it is difficult for many Gambians to distinguish between the state and Yahya Jammeh the person. This behavior only happens in political environments with dictatorial rule. Apart from the funds Jammeh collects periodically from businesses and individuals around the country, the Taiwanese government’s gift to the Gambian people always ends up in Yahya Jammeh’s pockets to finance his lifestyle and further swell his bank accounts. As of now, Yahya Jammeh is believed to have more money that the government he is heading. But, even as Yahya Jammeh’s real estate, his financial empire and his fortunes grow by the day, the government’s rural projects are stalling due to lack of funding. The road network around the country is in a disastrous state. A four-hour road trip to Basse now takes nearly twenty hours due to the extremely poor condition of the country’s major and only highway. The construction and commercial activity confined to a twenty square kilometer of Banjul, St. Mary’s Island and Kombo North is mistakenly confused to represent the whole country, when in reality, the rest of the country is hurting from Jammeh’s policies. The monies sent by Gambians living abroad is the engine that keeps the construction industry booming, and most Gambians have become dependent on overseas relatives for their daily sustenance. This is a new phenomenon, which is the result of joblessness, increased poverty and a government that is not able or prepared to address the new migrants from the provinces and the hundreds of students who graduate from school each year. Unless we can stop the continuing deterioration of our country’s economy, we as a country, are heading for a disaster. The meltdown is not too far away, for as Jammeh loots our national treasure each day, the rank and file of his military and security services, and the vast majority of our countrymen are finding it impossible to support their families. Fellow Gambians everywhere, it is time to put an end to this tyranny and restore democracy and the rule of law in our country. Each and every one of us has a duty to defend and protect our country from this corrupt government that is determined to destroy it. Join the struggle now. Yahya Jammeh must go, and he Must Go Now. The Movement For Democratic Change-U.S.A, in support of the clarion call of The Movement For Democratic Change-Gambia, urges Gambians everywhere to join this historic struggle. Long Live The Gambia. Down with the dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh.
The Movement For Democratic Change-U.S.A. (MFDC-USA).