Gambia:An Attack on Ban of Torture in The Gambia!

The menace of torture is taking its share of the physical and psychological wellbeing of families and individuals in different facets in The Gambia. With the existence of Convention Against Torture defiance to putting a stop to torturing is equivalent to a blatant attack on the Ban of Torture.

Despite the international campaign banning torture in all forms, the allegations of some people in power in The Gambia using torture to obtain information from suspects particularly those under custody, seems to be a consolidation grips on the act.

Whether physical or psychological, torture affects sanity in society and can quickly agitate the populace to develop an animosity for the status quo. There is no reason why an inmate or a suspect should undergo torture even if the person is arrested for criminal intent, or have committed a crime. The courts of law are here for redress. People in authority should have regards for the law. People who are under police custody should be presumed innocent until found guilty by a competent court of law.

It is a welcome position by the state to bring men and women in uniform to justice for allegedly torturing suspects to death or to point where they unduly suffer in their hands. It is not enough to see them charged but prosecuted quickly.

 This year alone, eight security officers were arrested, detained and facing trial for torturing suspects to death. In recent times, many suspects appearing in courts often complain of the use of torture when their cautionary statements were being obtained by security forces. In January 28, 2011, Dembo Sibi, a native of Numuyel village in Upper River Region, was beaten to death allegedly by four members of Police Intervention Unit (PIU). The officers were arrested and the case is before the Basse Magistrates' Court.

To say the least, the murder of Cherno Alieu Suwareh allegedly by four anti-narcotic Drug Enforcement Agency (NDEA) officers is unacceptable, cruel, degrading and inhuman. The government should not allow the spread of torture and must put a stop to torture as well as make people believe that the practice is unequivocally inhuman and deplorable.

The Gambia should develop on its weakness on human rights chronicles so that we can be recognized as respecter and promoter of human rights. In doing so, we must forbid torture in all circumstances and the security apparatus should be educated on the dangers and consequences of torture in our society. Bearing in mind that the execution of force on suspects to obtain information amounts to the violation of Convention against Torture, Cruel, Degrading and inhuman Acts signed by 146 states. What is amazing in this country is that those who have the mandate to protect people from harm, are the ones allegedly appearing before courts for   torturing people undercover. This is outrageous and inconceivable in any democratic state.

We would hasten to say that family members of victims of torture are in one way or the other victims of torture themselves. They undergo psychological torture like trauma.It is therefore, incumbent on authorities and judicial institutions to ensure that a stop is put to  torture and the law is observed in our everyday life as a nation.

The media has a stake in supporting authorities in this task and also for calling their attention to them if they fail in their duty. Out spoken and opinion leaders should make their voices heard in condemning the cruelest act - torture. It is believe that once torture always remains tortured.

 

Gambia News:PDOIS' Statement On The Current Registration Exercise

THE OUT SPOKEN OPPOSITION POLITICIAN HALIFA SALLAH WAS QUOTED AS SAYING "SOVEREIGNTY DOES NOT RESIDE IN THE PERSON WHO IS WITHOUT POWER AND VOICE TO  SAY WHO SHOULD GOVERN A COUNTRY".

 By Halifa Sallah                                                                    


The long awaited registration exercise has begun in earnest. The old voter's cards are now invalid. If one does not get a new voter's card one will not be able to vote in the next presidential and National Assembly elections or in any referendum held in 2011 and 2012.


The voter ´s card is what enables each Gambian to be equal to the other in power and voice to say who will manage the affairs of the country on one´s behalf. It is therefore important that every Gambian who has attained the age of 18 years or would attain the age of 18 years by 24th  November, 2011, to go to the nearest registration centre in one's constituency or one´s place of birth, to be registered as a voter.

As the registration of voter's commences Gambians are beginning to witness the crisis which has gripped our system of determining citizenship. Last week all Gambians who are exposed to the print media may have read the case of the elders resident at Kotu Quarry whose ID Cards were seized, despite the fact that they have lived in the Gambia for decades and have been allowed in the past to possess voter's cards. Their children who were born in the Gambia also could not hide their frustration and shock for having been rendered stateless by depriving their parents of Gambian citizenship.
46 years have elapsed since the Gambia gained the right to self determination. However no effort has been made to examine the laws on citizenship with the view to make them responsive to the demographic composition of the country.

In the 1980s, we made it abundantly clear that there are people who have lived in this country for decades but have not been told that they could naturalise and become Gambian citizens after a seven year stay. We told such people that they were being cheated by political interest groups whose members assist them to get National documents and voter's cards instead of assisting them to Naturalise to become Gambian citizens and get their National documents without any fear of being victimized in the future. We warned that those who failed to naturalise are turning their own children into stateless persons in the Gambia because the law on citizenship indicated that one could only be a citizen by birth if one was born before 1965, if one's parent or  grandparent was born in the Gambia or had naturalized to be  a citizen of the Gambia . Our wise counsel was largely ignored. We further indicated that according to the 1965 constitution those born in the Gambia before 1965 of parents who were not born in the Gambia were given the opportunity to be registered as citizen of the Gambia before 1967 but that the literate people of the day hardly knew what was in the constitution or did not have the interest to conduct civic education to inform the people. Hence 1967 elapsed without the people concerned knowing their rights. We spared no effort in telling the people that all those women who were married to Gambian men could have been registered to become citizens by marriage. This has also been largely ignored by those who should have benefited.

We made our duty to explain that the 1970 constitution has made it a requirement that a person born in the Gambia after 1965 could only be a citizen of the Gambia if one of his or her parents is a citizen of the Gambia . We cautioned that under such a provision a person could be born in the Gambia of parents who were not born in the Gambia and have a child who is born
in the Gambia who would not be considered a citizen of the country. Ridiculous and ambiguous Constitutional provision indeed , isn´t it?
During the review of the Constitution in 1996 we pointed out the shortcomings of the 1970 constitution on citizenship and called for reform.
We called for all those who would have been citizens by naturalization in 1996 but did not apply because of ignorance of the procedures to be mentioned in a provision which accords citizenship through registration. We also recommended a complete separation between citizenship by birth and citizenship by descent so that every one born in the Gambia would be qualified to be a citizen by birth and all those who are born abroad of a parent who is a Gambian citizen would qualify to be a citizen by descent. 

The 1997 constitution did not alter the provisions on citizenship in the 1997 constitution for the better. On the contrary, it made them to be more stringent. While a person had to stay in the Gambia for seven years and be qualified to apply for naturalization now one has to stay in the Gambia for 15 years to be qualified. Secondly, women married to Gambian citizens before 1997 could apply to be registered as citizens without any time stipulated regarding length of residence. Now both male and female have to stay in the country for seven years before one could be qualified to apply for citizenship by marriage.
The APRC executive and members of the National Assembly had done nothing to address the crisis of citizenship nor have they put in place proper procedures to register and provide documents for births and deaths that are durable. This is why attestations are relied on by tens of thousands of people to get voter's cards.
If we ever take charge of the country on our own or through a coalition we would put on the National agenda the policy of registering all those who would have been citizens of the country by birth, naturalization, marriage and descent if they were aware of what to do. All of them would get National Identity Cards. We would also ensure that all those who are already qualified to be Gambian citizens are granted National Identity cards. This would give us a good starting point in knowing who are the citizens of the country. This would be followed by appointing scribes for all village headmen or headwomen to record all birth and deaths which must be forwarded on a quarterly basis, to the central statistics department which shall have a branch in each region. All babies shall be issued with a birth certificate which shall take the form of a National Identity card. This card would be retained until one reaches 18 years and would be automatically utilised to
get a National ID card. This same National ID card would be utilised to get a voter's card. Under such a system there will be no need for attestation forms or disputes on citizenship. There will be no stateless persons. Hence all those stateless persons who are struggling underground to get voter's cards should blame the APRC for excluding them. They should form an association instead to demand for inclusion through constitutional and legal reforms on citizenship and the provision of viable procedures on citizenship by naturalization and marriage that are known to all and could be easily utilised to achieve one's aim. They are assured of such reforms if we are ever in charge or could influence executive policy.
Furthermore we have been following the registration exercise in Banjul , the Kanifing Municipality and the West Coast Region.
Some people are registering where they are not born or resident due mainly to ignorance. Section 12 of the Elections Act makes it a requirement for a person to be registered in the constituency where he or she is resident or born. The reason for this is simple. The Gambia  has a constituency system in determining the members of the National Assembly instead of a system based on proportional representation. This is why the law says that one must be registered where one is born or resident. In a system based on proportional representation one could be registered any where to vote anywhere since the number of seats a party is entitled to would be determined by the number and percentage of votes it receives nationally. The members who would qualify to be in the National Assembly would be based on a list of candidates. Proportional representation is the most inclusive form of determining representation, since people abroad would be able to participate in both
Presidential and National Assembly elections. This would be in line with the letter and spirit of the Constitution which states both under section 26 and especially section 39, that " Every citizen of the Gambia being eighteen years or older and of sound mind shall have the right to vote for the purpose of elections of a president and members of the National Assembly…." Gambians abroad should demand for an electoral system based on proportional representation so that their constitutional rights would be guaranteed.
Finally, it is very apparent that the existence of attestation forms is making outsiders to interfere with the registration exercise. Younger people have become Attestants of people who are older than them. Alkalos are providing documents to people who are not born in their villages. The APRC stalwarts have established council of elders or Yai Compins who sit close to registration centres to serve as attestants, despite the decision of the IEC for each party to have registration agents to monitor the process and free the registration teams from all party interference. A big battle is taking place between party representatives to discourage these party attestants from interfering with the process or sit where it would appear that they are part of the registration process and deceive claimants to think that they are in control. In fact, we even got report that Attestations forms were being sold by attestants for ten dalasis in one registration centre in
the West Coast region. Observers met the forms on the table of the attestants which is in contravention of IEC procedures of issuing forms only to claimants. The observers informed the attestants of the allegations which they could neither confirm nor deny and then advised them not to perpetuate such corrupt practices.
The person who is qualified to be registered must go to the registration centre and go directly to the Registering Officer to claim to be registered as a voter. The registering officer is required to accept a National Identity Card, a birth Certificate, a Passport, a document certified by a Chief or Alkalo confirming one's birth in a village or district, a document certified by five elders who know the person and could confirm that he or she is a citizen of the Gambia . This could be one's parents, uncles, aunts, godfather or godmother if one is a Christian. Citizens have family ties and do not need strangers to confirm their citizenship.
Those who are interested in standing for elections are providing funds for people to put their details on forms to attest to the citizenship of every Samba, Pateh, Kumba and Demba not realizing  that there names could appear before revising courts and they could be summoned to appear in court. Once this happens, those seeking political leadership will never accept responsibility for any fraudulent attestation.
PDOIS hopes that all Gambians, regardless of party affiliation will assist the IEC to enable each Gambian to have an equal say in determining who will run our affairs. We should not try to cheat posterity and destiny. After all we have the duty to utilise our power to create a better world for our children and our children's children. None of us should wait to be bribed or paid to contribute our quota in ensuring a free and fair registration exercise and make a difference.The future belongs to the honest and upright citizens who will not sell their birth right for a paltry price.

Daily News:Detention and Release of Our Own Baba Sillah

The arrest, detention and subsequent release of a judicial reporter of The Daily News are an act of another interruption and threat to independent journalists in their work. Baba Sillah was assigned to make further findings about the alleged murder of one Cherno Alieu Suwareh, who was allegedly tortured to death by four officers of National Drug Enforcement Agency of The Gambia.

He was carrying out an official assignment that is meant to clear the air surrounding the case. He was detained for almost half an hour and released. The cover of the reporter's notebook was torn and the notebook was searched through for any information concerning the murder case.The police Public Relations Officer, ASP Yorro Mballow told The Daily News that the judicial reporter has to be blamed for his detention; that he should have contacted him for any information.

Sillah had contacted the police PRO for comment but the officer said he could not comment, because the matter was still being investigated, that is why the reporter felt it necessary to find an alternative source of getting the facts.It is very unfortunate and indeed disappointing for the spokesperson of the Gambia Police Force to blame a reporter for his own arrest while investigating a matter from a station diary office of police.

Though there is no Information Act to enable journalists have access to public information to publish in the legitimate interest of the public, it does not make investigation of matters with security or concerned authorities a crime.Our judicial correspondent couldn't be more right than saying that what he did was what he and other journalists have been doing by going to the police spokesperson for confirmation and details for the sake of accuracy. If the police spokesperson has done it in other cases, why not this one. Or even parade them on GTRS as has become the norm for even suspects. There should be equality before the law.

The Gambia Press Union should consult and collaborate with the Gambia Bar Association and the National Assembly to work on mechanisms and come up with a Bill on Access to Public Information and even the reviewing and repealing of all draconian media laws that hang as deadly traps to ambush journalist in doing their noble job.They can after the formulation of the Bill convene an outreach forum to sensitise stakeholders on the significance of an Information Bill and barrier created by draconian media laws.

It was just last weekend that Babucarr Camara of sportsgambia.com was harassed by a GFA official and now our own Baba Sillah was arrested, detained and released on Monday while doing his legitimate job. These are unacceptable treatments meted out to independent journalists in The Gambia.The issue of free press and that of expression, which will be inconceivable without access to information, especially public information should be a public concern as well.

To attain this, the Gambia Press Union should learn from their colleagues in Sierra Leonea, Liberia, Ghana and Mali by consistently engaging Gambian authorities until there is press freedom and freedom of expression in The Gambia.Our Sierra Leonean colleagues have petitioned their government and handed a copy to their President Earnest Bai Koroma at their State House and one to the Speaker of the Sierra Leonean House of Representative.

This was preceded by procession on the streets to serve these public officials with copies of the said petition at their respective offices. We are appealing to the umbrella body of media, The Gambia Press Union to take the bull by the horn and address issues that affect the freedom and liberty of its membership by mounting an effective national campaign.The Gambia is at a crossroad of freedoms that are fundamental, which is why everybody should be a stakeholder, for justice to guide our actions towards the common good.

Author: dailynews

Gambia News:Father’s Detention Traumatises, Forces Girl Out of School

Source: Daily News

Adama Jammeh

An 18-year-old girl, Adama Jammeh has quit school as a result of trauma from the long detention of her father.  The girl was not born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but her parents are not face with what is seen as an easy choice for some not-so-well-off Gambian parents: to educate a boy child, if the income is not enough to cater for the girl child.

A grade eleven student at Kairaba Senior Secondary School, Adam Jammeh has taken a sudden decision to stop going to school when her family could still foot her education bills.
 However the tragic death of her mother and worst still, the continuous detention of her father for her mother's death devastated the young girl.  
I cannot concentrate in class with this sort of a problem tormenting my memory, she told The Daily News.
Adam lost her mother in a tragic arson incident in mid 2010, when fire engulfed her mother's house in Bundung Borehole. The rescue was late. The mum was laid to rest, but the controversy surrounding the fire and the death is not put to rest. Adam's brother, who is said to be mentally imbalanced has fled, but later turn himself up to the police, who are keeping him for the alleged murder of the mother, a family member told The Daily News.

Adama's 60-year-old father, Ebrima Jammeh had endured severe injury in the late effort to rescue her wife, a family source said. He has been hospitalised.Yet Mr. Jammeh was arrested and detained for two-days in October 2010, but not charged, a family source confirmed. Again in March 2011, Mr Jammeh was re-arrested. He's being detained at Mile 2. He was taken to court for murder in April but the case could not proceed.

The continued detention amid lack of progress in the trial, is an added stress, Adam said, she could not cope with the situation in school.

Author: Saikou Ceesay

Gambia News:Rights Activist Urges Ouattara to Reconcile Ivorians

By: Saikou Ceesay

President of Ligue Ivoirienne Des Droits De L'Homme (LIDHO), a human rights organisation based in Abidjan, has called on President Alasana Ouattara to bring unity and national reconciliation in Cote d'Ivoire.
"The condition for peace is justice," said Dr. Kamate Banhouman Andre in an exclusive interview with The Daily News. "Both Gbagbo and Ouattara forces committed atrocities, raids and gross human rights violations that devastated the lives and properties of the innocent civilian population."
The activist told this paper that at the 49th African Commission Session that election standoff began in October 2010 that showed Alasana Ouattara as the winner of the Presidential election as declared by the independent electoral commission which followed the endorsement, recognition and backing of the international community including ECOWAS and UN.
He explained that fighting resumed on the 24 February 2011 over the impasse on the election results. This showed the new rebel forces loyal to Ouattara capturing strategic areas toward the capital, Abidjan. The much talked about Ivorian civil war erupted on 19 September 2002, and split the country in two, with a rebel-held north and a government-held south.
In light of the neutrality of human rights defenders in the impasse, Dr. Kamate further noted that he is of the view that 'justice must be done' in the hands of the Ivorian national tribunal that wanted to prosecute the erstwhile Head of State, Laurent Gbagbo, and Ouattara's forces alleged to have committed violations in West Africa's biggest Coco producing country.
 
'Situation of rights defenders'
The leader of Abidjan-based rights organisation observed that the atmosphere surrounding the operations of human rights defenders was bad since 2002, but turned to worse during the election impasse as Gbagbo and Ouattara forces did not spare rights defenders in their struggle for power.
Gbagbo forces saw many human rights defenders as 'allies of Ouatarra' thus employed systematic attacks on individuals and offices belonging to rights organizations.
On May 21, 2007, the Ivorian League of Human Rights Organisation and Action for Protection of Human Rights were attacked and ransacked by a pro-Gbagbo camp (student organization FESCI) on the pretext that the rights organisations undermined former president Gbagbo and his government.
"Office furniture and other materials were stolen in the presence of police officers and nothing was done about it, despite Gbagbo and his Justice Minister's visit to the scenes," Dr. Kamate said.
He stressed that the three-month campaign organised by security forces under the control of Gbagbo and militias that supported him gave every indication of crimes against humanity and that it should be clear to know who did what ,when and why. The prevailing environment forced many prominent human rights defenders to flee Ivory Coast, citing the case of Mr. Drissa Trawle of Ivorian Movement of Human Rights.
Kamate narrated that during the election stand-off vehicles of rights defenders were set ablaze, and defenders were deliberately put under siege by pro-Gbagbo militias. He optimistically said human rights will be respected and preserved under President Alassane Ouattara who many brand as a respecter of democratic values.