The Gambia Remains An Outsider In United Nations & Commonwealth

BY TIJAN NIMAGA, Bronx, New York

The Commonwealth is the second largest political organization in the world. It is second only to the United Nations in terms of political power and biannually, Commonwealth member states come together to discuss issues of international interest, like good governance, special events involving Non-governmental Organizations, (NGOs) and key issues affecting the Youth. All of these events are carefully watched and acted on if the need be by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The organization itself began in the early 1800s and became a beacon of hope for smaller nations trying to establish what many considered to be a reminiscence of colonialism.

Some countries, which had been partly colonized by Great Britain, embraced the organization and became its member states, the two most important in this category being Cameroon and Canada.

This year, while every Head of State was preparing for the summit in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, The Gambia’s President, Yaya Jammeh, was preparing his excuses for being unable to attend. He has refused to attend very important summits on three occasions this year and, as President of the second Republic of The Gambia, he has been found guilty of abusing the very Constitution he himself swore to uphold.

Ideally, It is the President that we Gambians want to see answering the questions the international community would like to ask him, not the Vice president or any other representative of The Gambia.We Gambians must watch closely the direction in which our country is heading and how the regime of Yaya Jammeh continues to affect us. There are millions of ways in which the President has been defaming and tarnishing the good image and name of our country, which was established by our master politician and the former President of The Republic of The Gambia, Alhagi Sir Dawda Jawara. Ill health would have been an excuse but internal problems are not a good enough reason for his absence.

The President Yaya Jammeh refused to attend the United Nations General

Assembly held in New York this year. This was attended by almost all the Heads of State of all the countries in the world. Though its Vice president represented The Gambia, Yaya Jammeh himself should have been there to answer the questions they wanted to ask. The United Nations itself has been the nexus of important global discussions providing the world with a common forum to share views on various critical issues. This has always been the trademark of the UN and, if the decision maker of any country is absent from the forum, he severely risks future political survival.

What President Yaya Jammeh refuses to understand is that hearing personally and being told are two different things for a Head of State. There is no doubt that one of the subjects he would have been asked about if he had attended the UN General Assembly is the truth about his ability to cure AIDS and why he expelled the UN’s senior official from the Gambia just because of her statements about his claim that he could cure the pandemic.

President Jammeh also refused to attend the African Union summit held in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, this year and this refusal clearly leads on to his absence at the UN General Assembly. A man whose security forces slaughtered 40 innocent nationals of any nation would never be welcome by their government or civilian populace.

President Yaya Jammeh is a coward, scared to face both the AU and the Ghanaian government since he has no proof that those innocent foreign nationals were trying to destabilize the government of The Gambia. Jammeh gave the reason for not attending as internal problems, but these did not stop him from paying a secret visit to Cuba this year. Mr. President, you may ask why we are watching your every move. The reason is clear. It is our constitutional right to voice things that are wrong and also criticize the way in which our country is governed. If don’t like it just resign and let someone else take over peacefully.

             Jammeh has, just refused to attend the recently concluded Commonwealth Summit in the Ugandan Capital, Kampala. The Commonwealth itself renewed its declaration in its Australian Summit to meet its enduring commitment of the 21st century, which is to establish strong democracy, the rule of law, good governance, freedom of expression and the protection of human rights. It also determined to establish the pluralistic nature of our societies and the tolerance that promotes and opposes all forms of discrimination, whether rooted in gender, race, color, creed or political beliefs. The list goes on and on.

Every Head State was made to sign this document during the Australian summit. I don’t know if Yaya Jammeh attended this summit but, if he did, then he also signed this 21st Century Commitment document. From what we know Yaya Jammeh has abused the Common Wealth’s 21st century declaration. He has violated all the laws established by the organization and that is the reason he can’t face any of the Heads of State of the 52 member states. He has made himself a political prisoner based on the fact that is not able to face his colleagues at any summit meeting.

Mr. Jammeh, you were elected to represent our country in international organizations of this nature. If you are not able to do this, stand aside and let someone else take on the job. Making numerous excuses not to attend these summits will not set you free. Only telling the truth can do that.  Your absence as Head of State from these summits is like leaving The Gambia at the bottom of the parrot’s cage while every other nation rejoices as their leaders return from these fora. 

Information from inside The Gambia is that the President feigns internal problems. What kind of problems? He must explain. Gambians want to know. We hope that it is not the traditional musician’s party held at Atlantic hotel recently? That is why the absence of Alhagi Sir Dawda will always felt.