THE GAMBIA: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER REMOVED,

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000233

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DAKAR PASS RAO, DAO, AND ODC

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/18/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PINS CASC ASEC PHUM KMCA GA SG
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: NATIONAL ASSEMBLY SPEAKER REMOVED,
PRO-JAMMEH RALLY

REF: A. BANJUL 212


B. BANJUL 193

C. BANJUL 225

D. BANJUL 222

E. BANJUL 230

BANJUL 00000233 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (B AND D)

SUMMARY
--------------


1. (C) The National Assembly Speaker, Sheriff Dibba,
suspected of involvement in the failed coup plot, was
released from detention April 15, but removed from the
National Assembly by President Jammeh. A senior National
Intelligence Agency official, Keemo Balajo, was also released
and his job restored. Amidst GOTG's ongoing silence over the
detainees, we estimate their current number at around 25;
besides the General Manager and Editor-in-Chief of the
journal,"Independent," one of its journalists is now also in
detention. At the pro-Jammeh rally April 15, the irascible,
blunt-speaking Jammeh justified his own successful coup in
1994, vowed to remain in power "at least thirty years,"
(i.e., via re-election),asserted -- in a possible reference
to Senegal -- that he feared no other country, "particularly
within our sub-region," and harshly attacked the opposition
parties. It remains to be seen whether, following Jammeh's
outburst, any semblance of the improved dialog in recent
months between the GOTG/APRC and the opposition parties will
survive. END SUMMARY.

SPEAKER'S REMOVAL
--------------

2.. (SBU) The reverberations from the March 21 aborted coup
plot here continue, as the GOTG announced April 13 President
Jammeh's decision, effective that day, to remove the
country's third ranking official, National Assembly Speaker
Sheriff Dibba, from his post and the Assembly itself. In its
statement, the GOTG noted that Dibba was a
presidentially-appointed Assembly deputy and cited the
specific constitutional provisions authorizing Jammeh's
action. Jammeh designated Majanko Samusa (unknown to us) to
fill Dibba's Assembly seat, while Deputy Speaker Belinda
Bidwell continues to serve as Acting Speaker, according to
the announcement.


3. (SBU) The GOTG's statement cited Dibba's "alleged
involvement" in the failed coup plot as the reason for his
removal, but gave no details of such involvement. As
previously reported (ref a),authorities had detained Dibba
April 6; subsequent to his removal, the media reported his
release from custody on April 15. (COMMENT: Rumor has it
that, if the coup plot had succeeeded, Dibba would have
appointed interim head of the new regime, but, if he was
indeed implicated, the reason for his release is unclear. END
COMMENT.)

STATUS OF DETAINEES
--------------


4. (SBU) By our reckoning, Dibba's release leaves one
Assembly deputy still in detention, Dembo Dem, associated
with the ruling APRC party. Following another recent
release, that of National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Keemo
Balajo -- who has resumed his duties as NIA's Deputy
Director General -- we estimate the current number of
detainees at around 25; among them are three members of the
staff of the still-closed daily, "Independent," besides the
previously detained General Manager Madi Ceesay and
Editor-in-Chief Musa Saidykhan (ref b),a journalist with the
paper, Lamin Fatty was detained April 10, according to media
reports. Meanwhile, the GOTG remains silent about the
precise number and identities of detainees as well as
possible charges against them and trial dates. To our
knowledge, all detainees continue to be held incommunicado;
we will continue our demarches to the GOTG to urge granting
of access (including Embassy access to Amcit Tamsir Jasseh)
and respect for detainees' rights generally (refs a and c
report our approaches to senior Presidential adviser and
Foreign Affairs Permsec).

PRO-JAMMEH RALLY
--------------


5. (SBU) The much-heralded public rally in support of Jammeh
occurred on schedule April 15 (ref d),featuring a march
through downtown Banjul to an outdoor sports stadium.

BANJUL 00000233 002.2 OF 002


Although the event's slogan was "say no to coups and yes to
democracy," it had a distinctly partisan component; ruling
APRC party banners were plentiful as were baseball caps and
other apparel emblazoned with APRC insignia among the several
thousand attendees. Judging from extensive television
coverage of the several-hour event, there were no opposition
party representatives on hand; the diplomatic corps was
invited, but Ambassador declined and few attended (Cuban
Ambassador, Liberian and Nigerian Charges appeared in the
footage).

JAMMEH'S REMARKS -- A VINTAGE PERFORMANCE
--------------


6. (SBU) Following remarks by various GOTG Ministers and
others known as APRC stalwarts, Jammeh himself addressed the
assemblage (full text of his remarks will be sent to AF/W).
It was a vintage performance by the irascible, blunt-speaking
Jammeh, who began by justifying his own successful coup
attempt in 1994, saying he had acted out of a sincere
commitment to "move the country forward" and make it "a
beacon of hope for all of Africa." He went on to assert that
coups undertaken out of "tribalism" or concern for power and
materia aggrandizement were unacceptable, while those (such
as his) undertaken to "rescue the country from the brink of
catastrophe," should be welcomed.


7. (SBU) Jammeh stressed his love of country and dedication
to seeing it progress, stating, "if I ever betray The Gambia,
any patriotic Gambian can overthrow me." Addressing
prospects of his stepping down, he vowed not to do so until
the country's development process is complete and it "becomes
a superpower." He referred on various occasions to his
concern for the proper exploitation of the country's oil
wealth. (COMMENT: In fact, the magnitude of Gambian oil
reserves -- and whether they are commmercially viable -- is
unknown. END COMMENT) He warned would-be successors that
they would have "at least thirty years" to wait before he
handed over power. (COMMENT: At this point, we inclined to
interpret Jammeh's vow to stay in power for "thirty years"
not as signifying an intention to abrogate the constitution
or scrap elections, but rather as an expression of confidence
that he will continue to win re-election as President for
some time to come. END COMMENT)


8. (SBU) Turning to foreign relations, Jammeh defiantly
stated, "there is not a country that we are scared of today,
particularly within our sub-region." He asserted that he
would not permit any country to "tamper" with The Gambia's
"peace, progress, and oil" and that it had ample means to
defend itself. In this regard, he remarked, "what we have
in terms of weapons, I will not show, but if anyone wants to
test it, I will show it and use it on you." (COMMENT: Amidst
the heightened tensions with Senegal over the failed plot --
see ref e -- in making the foregoing remarks, Jammeh may well
have had in mind The Gambia's far more powerful neighbor,
Senegal. END COMMENT)


9. (SBU) Jammeh used the occasion to take a swipe at the
opposition, saying it lacked the patriotism and sincere
desire for the country's development of a "genuine
opposition." Instead, he continued, The Gambia's opposition
movement is composed of "tribalists, a group of hate-centered
greedy parasites" who failed to congratulate the government
for "positive developments" and instead focused only on
criticizing it. Alluding to the 2006-7 Presidential and
National Assembly elections, he stated that "the lunatics"
comprising the opposition were doomed to failure because of
their allegedly tribalist orientation.

COMMENT
--------------


10. (C) Jammeh had heretofore refrained from cracking down on
the opposition parties in the aftermath of the failed coup
plot, and his harsh criticism of them was nothing new.
However, given these parties' gestures of late -- i.e.
statements condemning the plot -- the ferocity of Jammeh's
attack on them at an event ostensibly designed to promote
national solidarity is worrisome. It remains to be seen
whether, following Jammeh's outburst, any semblance of the
improved dialog between the GOTG/APRC and the opposition in
recent months will survive. END COMMENT.
STAFFORD