ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commended the "extraordinary" unity and leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the peaceful transition of Gambia.
In his address to the 28th African Union Summit on Monday, the UN secretary-general said the unity in ECOWAS and the restraint of the Gambian people in the face of possible conflict was commendable.
"The extraordinary union showed by ECOWAS is even a lesson to the world," he said.
"When we see so many conflicts multiplying, the only way to allow the international community to be able to address those conflicts, the only way to allow the international community to act boldly, is with unity of the countries of the region, able to serve together and in the same universal principles," he said.
"Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. Too often the world responds too late and too little. I look forward to exploring with you how to break that cycle."
Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh departed Gambia peacefully following ECOWAS' intervention after he had refused to hand over power to President Adama Barrow who beat him in elections held in December 2016, recalled a UN statement on Tuesday.
Guterres outlined several areas, including peace and security, where the UN and Africa could work together to improve the lives of the ordinary people.
The United Nations will step up its support to further promote good governance and reinforce the nexus between peace, security and development, said Guterres, adding the UN will support African efforts to realize its initiative to "Silence the Guns by 2020", or even before, including by strengthening support for the African Peace and Security Architecture.
"It is also very important that we are able to promote long-term thinking and commitment to building and maintaining peace after conflict ends to prevent backsliding," said Guterres.
The Secretary General has pledged his full commitment to working with AU in solidarity and respect to advance peace and security on the continent and realize the vision of Agenda 2063.
He said he intended to work with AU to present a set of concrete proposals to the Security Council on predictable, reliable and sustainable financing for AU peace operations.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the outgoing Chairperson of the AU Commission, led the assembled leaders in honoring ECOWAS for ensuring a peaceful transition in the Gambia.
Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf received a present on behalf of ECOWAS from the pan-African bloc.
"You made us proud as you stood by the people of The Gambia and defended the values of our Union," said Dlamini-Zuma.
"Our thank to all those who participated and remained steadfast. We are particularly proud that it was under your stewardship as our first elected female President. You are a pioneer and inspiration to all women and men."
31.1.17
Gâmbia: Guterres elogiou a CEDEAO
ADDIS ABABA, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has commended the "extraordinary" unity and leadership of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in the peaceful transition of Gambia.
In his address to the 28th African Union Summit on Monday, the UN secretary-general said the unity in ECOWAS and the restraint of the Gambian people in the face of possible conflict was commendable.
"The extraordinary union showed by ECOWAS is even a lesson to the world," he said.
"When we see so many conflicts multiplying, the only way to allow the international community to be able to address those conflicts, the only way to allow the international community to act boldly, is with unity of the countries of the region, able to serve together and in the same universal principles," he said.
"Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. Too often the world responds too late and too little. I look forward to exploring with you how to break that cycle."
Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh departed Gambia peacefully following ECOWAS' intervention after he had refused to hand over power to President Adama Barrow who beat him in elections held in December 2016, recalled a UN statement on Tuesday.
Guterres outlined several areas, including peace and security, where the UN and Africa could work together to improve the lives of the ordinary people.
The United Nations will step up its support to further promote good governance and reinforce the nexus between peace, security and development, said Guterres, adding the UN will support African efforts to realize its initiative to "Silence the Guns by 2020", or even before, including by strengthening support for the African Peace and Security Architecture.
"It is also very important that we are able to promote long-term thinking and commitment to building and maintaining peace after conflict ends to prevent backsliding," said Guterres.
The Secretary General has pledged his full commitment to working with AU in solidarity and respect to advance peace and security on the continent and realize the vision of Agenda 2063.
He said he intended to work with AU to present a set of concrete proposals to the Security Council on predictable, reliable and sustainable financing for AU peace operations.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the outgoing Chairperson of the AU Commission, led the assembled leaders in honoring ECOWAS for ensuring a peaceful transition in the Gambia.
Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf received a present on behalf of ECOWAS from the pan-African bloc.
"You made us proud as you stood by the people of The Gambia and defended the values of our Union," said Dlamini-Zuma.
"Our thank to all those who participated and remained steadfast. We are particularly proud that it was under your stewardship as our first elected female President. You are a pioneer and inspiration to all women and men."
In his address to the 28th African Union Summit on Monday, the UN secretary-general said the unity in ECOWAS and the restraint of the Gambian people in the face of possible conflict was commendable.
"The extraordinary union showed by ECOWAS is even a lesson to the world," he said.
"When we see so many conflicts multiplying, the only way to allow the international community to be able to address those conflicts, the only way to allow the international community to act boldly, is with unity of the countries of the region, able to serve together and in the same universal principles," he said.
"Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. Too often the world responds too late and too little. I look forward to exploring with you how to break that cycle."
Former Gambian President Yahya Jammeh departed Gambia peacefully following ECOWAS' intervention after he had refused to hand over power to President Adama Barrow who beat him in elections held in December 2016, recalled a UN statement on Tuesday.
Guterres outlined several areas, including peace and security, where the UN and Africa could work together to improve the lives of the ordinary people.
The United Nations will step up its support to further promote good governance and reinforce the nexus between peace, security and development, said Guterres, adding the UN will support African efforts to realize its initiative to "Silence the Guns by 2020", or even before, including by strengthening support for the African Peace and Security Architecture.
"It is also very important that we are able to promote long-term thinking and commitment to building and maintaining peace after conflict ends to prevent backsliding," said Guterres.
The Secretary General has pledged his full commitment to working with AU in solidarity and respect to advance peace and security on the continent and realize the vision of Agenda 2063.
He said he intended to work with AU to present a set of concrete proposals to the Security Council on predictable, reliable and sustainable financing for AU peace operations.
Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the outgoing Chairperson of the AU Commission, led the assembled leaders in honoring ECOWAS for ensuring a peaceful transition in the Gambia.
Liberian President Johnson Sirleaf received a present on behalf of ECOWAS from the pan-African bloc.
"You made us proud as you stood by the people of The Gambia and defended the values of our Union," said Dlamini-Zuma.
"Our thank to all those who participated and remained steadfast. We are particularly proud that it was under your stewardship as our first elected female President. You are a pioneer and inspiration to all women and men."
29.1.17
Gâmbia: A necessária reconstrução
Alhaji Adama Barrow who,was sworn-in in Senegal returned to Banjul, The Gambian capital on January 26 to a tumultuous welcome to begin his tenure as the next president of his country following the exit of Yayah Jammeh who stepped down from the presidency and proceeded to exile on January 20.
The crowd that greeted Barrow on arrival at the Banjul airport was indicative that his popularity which saw him trounce Jammeh at the polls last December 1, was still intact.
The circumstances of Barrow’s assumption of office have imposed additional burden on him as he confronts the task of rebuilding The Gambia.
For the 22 years that Jammeh held sway in the tiny West African country, Gambians never really experienced a free society that is the hallmark of democracy as Jammeh was a dictator who operated under the camouflage of democracy to sustain himself in power for over two decades.
Jammeh’s dispensation had no room for opposition. Anybody who raised a voice against his government was either arrested and jailed, or was eliminated by his agents.
Even in the December election in which he lost, Jammeh seized and detained Chairman of the opposition coalition party and other opposition politicians and only released them from detention after he lost the election.
Jameh’s era was hostile to the press, human rights and pro- democracy groups.
Against this background therefore, it behooves the new president to restore the dignity of the Gambians by organizing transparent elections in the future, guaranteeing freedom of speech and association, promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law all of which suffered greatly under the exiled former president.
Closely associated with the issue of good governance is the worsening poverty and gross infrastructural deficit in the country. The Gambia with a population of about 1.9 million people, has its economy anchored on the diverse eco systems which provides tourism opportunities and a source of income for the government.
The Gambia depends largely on trade, specifically tourism since very little manufacturing takes place in the country.
Agriculture which ranks as the second most viable sector has unfortunately not provided for the food needs of Gambians.
Consequently, the country has faced severe food shortages in the last few years and had to rely on fellow West African countries for food supplies with the national economy depending on foreign loans and development grants to survive.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) of 2007/2008 listed The Gambia as 155 out of 177 countries in the poverty index. The country’s IT infrastructure is perhaps one of the worst in West Africa with only 14 per cent of the population having access to Internet as at 2013.
In the face of this grueling poverty, corruption took centre stage with Jammeh, its greatest beneficiary living in opulence. The former president was believed to have owned nearly half of the successful businesses in The Gambia including choice landed property.
The allegation that the former president left with about $11 million into exile, though yet to be proven speaks of the level of corruption that had bedeviled the Gambian political and economic system in the 22 years that Jammeh held sway.
As Barrow settles down to the task of governance, he should be inspired by two concerns. First, the need to give his nationals cause to smile once again by ensuring that there is a clean break with the 22 years of misrule that characterized Jammeh’s era. He will have to move quickly to enthrone policies that open up the political space, encourage basic freedoms and protect the fundamental human rights of the Gambians.
The second is the need to reciprocate the efforts and contributions of the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who stood firmly to ensure power transition peacefully to him by providing the kind of leadership that makes the leaders justify their involvement in the The Gambian political impasse.
President Barrow equally has a duty to rebrand the Gambia before the international community having suffered severe image loss due to Jammeh’s intransigence to hand over power after his electoral defeat.
The task ahead may appear herculean but it’s dependent on the calibre of persons who the president would assemble in his cabinet to assist him in the great task of rebuilding The Gambia.
History beckons on President Barrow to change the story of The Gambia for the better.
What he makes of this rare opportunity to change the story of The Gambia therefore will be left for posterity to judge.
Leadership, jornal da Nigéria
The crowd that greeted Barrow on arrival at the Banjul airport was indicative that his popularity which saw him trounce Jammeh at the polls last December 1, was still intact.
The circumstances of Barrow’s assumption of office have imposed additional burden on him as he confronts the task of rebuilding The Gambia.
Jammeh’s dispensation had no room for opposition. Anybody who raised a voice against his government was either arrested and jailed, or was eliminated by his agents.
Even in the December election in which he lost, Jammeh seized and detained Chairman of the opposition coalition party and other opposition politicians and only released them from detention after he lost the election.
Jameh’s era was hostile to the press, human rights and pro- democracy groups.
Against this background therefore, it behooves the new president to restore the dignity of the Gambians by organizing transparent elections in the future, guaranteeing freedom of speech and association, promoting respect for human rights and the rule of law all of which suffered greatly under the exiled former president.
Closely associated with the issue of good governance is the worsening poverty and gross infrastructural deficit in the country. The Gambia with a population of about 1.9 million people, has its economy anchored on the diverse eco systems which provides tourism opportunities and a source of income for the government.
The Gambia depends largely on trade, specifically tourism since very little manufacturing takes place in the country.
Agriculture which ranks as the second most viable sector has unfortunately not provided for the food needs of Gambians.
Consequently, the country has faced severe food shortages in the last few years and had to rely on fellow West African countries for food supplies with the national economy depending on foreign loans and development grants to survive.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Human Development Index (HDI) of 2007/2008 listed The Gambia as 155 out of 177 countries in the poverty index. The country’s IT infrastructure is perhaps one of the worst in West Africa with only 14 per cent of the population having access to Internet as at 2013.
In the face of this grueling poverty, corruption took centre stage with Jammeh, its greatest beneficiary living in opulence. The former president was believed to have owned nearly half of the successful businesses in The Gambia including choice landed property.
The allegation that the former president left with about $11 million into exile, though yet to be proven speaks of the level of corruption that had bedeviled the Gambian political and economic system in the 22 years that Jammeh held sway.
As Barrow settles down to the task of governance, he should be inspired by two concerns. First, the need to give his nationals cause to smile once again by ensuring that there is a clean break with the 22 years of misrule that characterized Jammeh’s era. He will have to move quickly to enthrone policies that open up the political space, encourage basic freedoms and protect the fundamental human rights of the Gambians.
The second is the need to reciprocate the efforts and contributions of the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who stood firmly to ensure power transition peacefully to him by providing the kind of leadership that makes the leaders justify their involvement in the The Gambian political impasse.
President Barrow equally has a duty to rebrand the Gambia before the international community having suffered severe image loss due to Jammeh’s intransigence to hand over power after his electoral defeat.
The task ahead may appear herculean but it’s dependent on the calibre of persons who the president would assemble in his cabinet to assist him in the great task of rebuilding The Gambia.
History beckons on President Barrow to change the story of The Gambia for the better.
What he makes of this rare opportunity to change the story of The Gambia therefore will be left for posterity to judge.
Leadership, jornal da Nigéria
Gâmbia: Mantém-se a polícia secreta
Le nouveau président gambien Adama Barrow a annoncé samedi une "refonte complète" du gouvernement, mais précisé que le très redouté service de renseignement continuerait à exister et qu'il garderait le chef de l'armée, le général Ousman Badjie. Lors de sa première conférence de presse depuis son retour jeudi du Sénégal voisin, M. Barrow a affirmé que la Gambie était un république, mais pas une « république islamique » comme l’avait décrété en 2015 son prédécesseur Yahya Jammeh, ce qui devrait aboutir au rétablissement de la semaine de cinq jours, le vendredi n’étant plus chômé.
Il a indiqué qu’il comptait achever la composition de son gouvernement en début de semaine prochaine.
« Mon gouvernement examinera tous les domaines et il y aura une refonte complète du système », a assuré M. Barrow.
Concernant l’Agence nationale du renseignement (NIA), considérée comme l’instrument de répression du régime Jammeh, à l’origine de nombreuses arrestations et disparitions, « c’est une institution qui doit continuer mais le nom changera », a indiqué le nouveau chef de l’Etat.
« Je pense qu’ils (les agents de la NIA) recevront davantage de formation pour être plus professionnels », a-t-il ajouté.
Quant aux forces de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Cédéao) mobilisées pour contraindre Yahya Jammeh à céder le pouvoir, dont le commandement sénégalais a annoncé une « réduction progressive » des effectifs, « aucune date n’a été fixée » pour leur départ, a déclaré M. Barrow.
Vainqueur de l’élection du 1er décembre face à Yahya Jammeh, qui avait initialement reconnu sa défaite avant de se raviser le 9 décembre, M. Barrow a été accueilli le 15 janvier, à la demande de la Cédéao qui craignait pour sa sécurité en Gambie tant que M. Jammeh était en place.
Il a prêté serment le 19 janvier à l’ambassade de Gambie à Dakar. Peu après, la Cédéao lançait une opération pour forcer au départ M. Jammeh, qui a finalement quitté le pays le soir du 21 janvier pour être accueilli par la Guinée équatoriale. Jeune Afrique
Il a indiqué qu’il comptait achever la composition de son gouvernement en début de semaine prochaine.
« Mon gouvernement examinera tous les domaines et il y aura une refonte complète du système », a assuré M. Barrow.
Concernant l’Agence nationale du renseignement (NIA), considérée comme l’instrument de répression du régime Jammeh, à l’origine de nombreuses arrestations et disparitions, « c’est une institution qui doit continuer mais le nom changera », a indiqué le nouveau chef de l’Etat.
« Je pense qu’ils (les agents de la NIA) recevront davantage de formation pour être plus professionnels », a-t-il ajouté.
Quant aux forces de la Communauté économique des Etats de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (Cédéao) mobilisées pour contraindre Yahya Jammeh à céder le pouvoir, dont le commandement sénégalais a annoncé une « réduction progressive » des effectifs, « aucune date n’a été fixée » pour leur départ, a déclaré M. Barrow.
Vainqueur de l’élection du 1er décembre face à Yahya Jammeh, qui avait initialement reconnu sa défaite avant de se raviser le 9 décembre, M. Barrow a été accueilli le 15 janvier, à la demande de la Cédéao qui craignait pour sa sécurité en Gambie tant que M. Jammeh était en place.
Il a prêté serment le 19 janvier à l’ambassade de Gambie à Dakar. Peu après, la Cédéao lançait une opération pour forcer au départ M. Jammeh, qui a finalement quitté le pays le soir du 21 janvier pour être accueilli par la Guinée équatoriale. Jeune Afrique
28.1.17
Gâmbia: Torturador queria ir para Bissau
Police in Senegal say the Gambia official accused of overseeing the torture of prisoners under former leader Yahya Jammeh has been arrested.
Borra Colley was arrested Wednesday while trying to make his way to Guinea Bissau.
A police statement says general
Colley had been director of the notorious Mile Two prison. He also led the Jungulars, Jammeh's personal military of some 50 officers who reportedly went into exile with him last weekend in Equatorial Guinea.
Some former Gambian officials fled the country during the political crisis that ended this week with the arrival of new President Adama Barrow. The Globe
27.1.17
Nigéria: Riscos para a segurança nacional
If President Muhammadu Buhari periodically goes on a foreign medical holidays, specifically to the United Kingdom (UK) to keep appointment with his doctors who have been treating him over the years, as one of his aides suggested, then there is a very poor understanding by himself and his government of current status as the embodiment of sovereignty of the Nigerian State and the grave danger, such under-appreciation poses to our national security.
The prospect of the Nigerian president, an embodiment of the nation’s sovereignty and the repository of her most guarded state secrets lying helplessly in a foreign hospital at the mercy of a foreign doctor, who is obviously a mole or accessory to a mole of foreign intelligence service is scary and harrowing, especially with the probability that any listening device even mind-control or behaviour modification micro-chips could easily be inserted in the body of the Nigerian leader as part of routine medical checks.
Intelligence services and the espionage communities do not have the ethical restraints or the constitutional and democratic draw-backs of normal civil authorities even in the most advanced western democracies. They are the dark room and nerve centre of the state, far beyond the normal civil authorities and they constitute the deep state on which the normal governments rely.
To guarantee the survival of the state and advance its interests beyond the routines of the normal government is the core duty of the intelligence services and in the pursuit of this duty, they are not often mindful of the niceties of constitutionalism or morality.In the ruthless world of intelligence services, every act is fair in the preservation and advancement of the interest of the state. No intelligence service, worth its salt, even of those of banana republics, let alone of an advanced western country, would watch a head of state of an important country, walk in and out of its domain for routine medical check-ups or holidays, without setting up apparatus to gain advantage in information and leverage on it to advance its own national interest.
From the time former U.S. President, Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, his favorite barber in his home state, Chicago was always ferried to Washington for the hair-cut of the then president, under the watchful eyes of the U.S. intelligence and this is within the same country, not to imagine the prospect of the U.S. president travelling to another country to indulge himself in the pleasure of a hair-cut.
If the example of a U.S. president is far-fetched, think of this: no single Asian leader has travelled out of his country for a holiday or medical check-up. In the intelligence community, friends, allies and even enemies have little value. Edward Snowden, the U.S. intelligence contractor, blew the lid on how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, CIA routinely spies on the U.S. European allies, causing particular distress to the German and French political leaders, who claimed publicly to be hurt by the friendly fire, but would secretly blame their intelligence services for not building sufficient deterrent capacity.
In transmitting his letter to the Senate and the transfer of his powers temporarily to the vice president to act, on his behalf, Buhari and his handlers are reveling in their adherence to constitutional provision but seemed totally oblivious of grave security implications, of care-free foreign medical holidays.
The Guardian
The prospect of the Nigerian president, an embodiment of the nation’s sovereignty and the repository of her most guarded state secrets lying helplessly in a foreign hospital at the mercy of a foreign doctor, who is obviously a mole or accessory to a mole of foreign intelligence service is scary and harrowing, especially with the probability that any listening device even mind-control or behaviour modification micro-chips could easily be inserted in the body of the Nigerian leader as part of routine medical checks.
Intelligence services and the espionage communities do not have the ethical restraints or the constitutional and democratic draw-backs of normal civil authorities even in the most advanced western democracies. They are the dark room and nerve centre of the state, far beyond the normal civil authorities and they constitute the deep state on which the normal governments rely.
To guarantee the survival of the state and advance its interests beyond the routines of the normal government is the core duty of the intelligence services and in the pursuit of this duty, they are not often mindful of the niceties of constitutionalism or morality.In the ruthless world of intelligence services, every act is fair in the preservation and advancement of the interest of the state. No intelligence service, worth its salt, even of those of banana republics, let alone of an advanced western country, would watch a head of state of an important country, walk in and out of its domain for routine medical check-ups or holidays, without setting up apparatus to gain advantage in information and leverage on it to advance its own national interest.
From the time former U.S. President, Barack Obama won the presidency in 2008, his favorite barber in his home state, Chicago was always ferried to Washington for the hair-cut of the then president, under the watchful eyes of the U.S. intelligence and this is within the same country, not to imagine the prospect of the U.S. president travelling to another country to indulge himself in the pleasure of a hair-cut.
If the example of a U.S. president is far-fetched, think of this: no single Asian leader has travelled out of his country for a holiday or medical check-up. In the intelligence community, friends, allies and even enemies have little value. Edward Snowden, the U.S. intelligence contractor, blew the lid on how the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, CIA routinely spies on the U.S. European allies, causing particular distress to the German and French political leaders, who claimed publicly to be hurt by the friendly fire, but would secretly blame their intelligence services for not building sufficient deterrent capacity.
In transmitting his letter to the Senate and the transfer of his powers temporarily to the vice president to act, on his behalf, Buhari and his handlers are reveling in their adherence to constitutional provision but seemed totally oblivious of grave security implications, of care-free foreign medical holidays.
The Guardian
Gâmbia: Detido antigo ministro
Switzerland on Thursday detained former Gambian interior minister Ousman Sonko, who is under investigation for crimes against humanity during the regime of ex-president Yahya Jammeh.
The arrest and probe come as The Gambia on Monday welcomed their new president Adama Barrow, who had fled to Senegal after winning a landmark election as Jammeh refused to give up power sparking a political crisis.
Bern prosecutor Christof Scheurer told AFP that Sonko was being investigated under article 264a of the Swiss criminal code, which covers crimes against humanity.
Sonko had been one of Jammeh's top aides, serving in his presidential guard before heading the interior ministry from 2006 to 2016.
Jammeh sacked him in September and Sanko fled to Sweden where his request for asylum was rejected.
Sonko was detained in the Swiss capital Bern following a complaint filed by rights group TRIAL.
"He will be interrogated soon," Amael Gschwind, a spokesman for Bern prosecutors told AFP, confirming the arrest.
TRIAL, which campaigns for the Swiss judicial system to act on crimes committed abroad, described Sonko as one of Jammeh's "strongmen" and claimed he must have been aware of the violations committed under the fallen authoritarian regime.
"Sonko could not have ignored the large-scale torture that political opponents, journalists and human rights defenders suffered," charged Benedict de Moerloose of TRIAL's criminal law division.
According to TRIAL, Sonko arrived in Switzerland in November and applied for asylum.
It was not immediately clear where he had lived between his arrival and his arrest.
TRIAL urged Switzerland to move forward with prosecution, suggesting it could give positive momentum to the unprecedented political developments under way in The Gambia.
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