Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BANJUL444
2006-07-14 05:37:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Banjul
Cable title:  

THE GAMBIA: DAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD DISCUSSES HUMAN

Tags:  KMCA PGOV PHUM PREL AU GA 
pdf how-to read a cable
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DE RUEHJL #0444/01 1950537
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 140537Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANJUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6821
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANJUL 000444 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2016
TAGS: KMCA PGOV PHUM PREL AU GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: DAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD DISCUSSES HUMAN
RIGHTS CONCERNS

REF: BANJUL 396

BANJUL 00000444 001.6 OF 003


Classified By: P/E OFF E. SCHWEFLER, REASON 1.4 (b and d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BANJUL 000444

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/14/2016
TAGS: KMCA PGOV PHUM PREL AU GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: DAS THOMAS-GREENFIELD DISCUSSES HUMAN
RIGHTS CONCERNS

REF: BANJUL 396

BANJUL 00000444 001.6 OF 003


Classified By: P/E OFF E. SCHWEFLER, REASON 1.4 (b and d)


1. (C) SUMMARY. While visiting The Gambia to attend the
African Union (AU) Summit, Deputy Assistant Secretary for
African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield met with government
and civil society leaders to discuss concerns over the
negative trend in their country's human rights record (see
reftel for background). On 30 June, DAS Thomas-Greenfield
met with The Gambia's third-ranking official, National
Assembly Speaker Belinda Bidwell. On the same day, the
Ambassador hosted a luncheon with key human rights activists.
The treatment of detainees, the prospects for free and fair
elections (septel) and the state of The Gambia's independent
press were the recurrent topics of her meetings. With the
exception of the Speaker of the National Assembly, there was
consensus among the various interlocutors that President
Jammeh's autocratic behavior and governing style was hurting
the country. On the margins of the Summit, DAS
Thomas-Greenfield discussed The Gambia's suspension from MCC
eligibility with The Gambia,s Vice President and the
Minister of Finance. END SUMMARY.

-------------- --------------
National Assembly Speaker Defends Human Rights Abuses
-------------- --------------


2. (C) National Assembly Speaker Bidwell started her
conversation with DAS Thomas-Greenfield on a defensive note.
When asked what message she would like to pass to Washington,
Bidwell replied with what she said was the same answer she
gave the leaders of the International Bar Association when
they asked for her intervention on behalf of detained lawyer
Mariam Denton: "the world is different since 9/11 and Al
Qaeda, and when it comes to matters of national security and
the safety of the population, extraordinary measures must
occasionally be taken.8 She compared those detainees who
were picked up in connection with the failed coup plot in
March but who have yet to be charged with those in Guantanamo

Bay, pointing out that such things even happen in developed
countries. In response to the Speaker,s point, DAS
Thomas-Greenfield stated categorically that the detention of
alleged coup plotters and others in The Gambia could not be
compared to the Global War on Terror.


3. (C) According to Bidwell, in a further reference to the
failed coup plot, the low capacity and meager resources that
The Gambia has for investigating a crime as severe as treason
further complicate the situation. She took exception with
critics who focus on the human rights of detainees while
disregarding what she considered the human rights of the
entire population that was threatened by the coup plotters.
She speculated that there would probably have been bloodshed
had the coup plotters succeeded, and referenced the former
Speaker Sherif Dibba, who had been detained (subsequently
released) for possible involvement in the coup plot. Bidwell
stated "I know he doesn't like me and maybe if the coup had
succeeded I would be 6-feet deep today."


4. (C) Speaker Bidwell continued her defense of the
government's actions in the wake of the failed coup plot by
pointing out the violence and conflict that can be seen
throughout West Africa. She said that The Gambia does not
want to turn into a Sierra Leone, Liberia or Ivory Coast and
that "a firm stand is needed to establish peace." She
attempted to explain President Jammeh's severe crackdown
following the failed coup plot by citing his relative youth
(he is 41) and the fact that his ethnic group, Jolla, is
looked down upon by much of Gambian society. According to
Bidwell, the President "feels this pressure and feels a need
to assert himself, to be aggressive and show that he is the
boss." She acknowledged that he makes mistakes, but asserted
that he will listen to reason as long as he is not confronted
directly. NOTE: A similar opinion was expressed in an
earlier meeting with Anglican Bishop Tilewa Johnson, who
stated that the President acts like a different man when he
feels he has been &cornered.8 END NOTE.


5. (C) Bidwell did express concern for some of the detainees,
notably lawyer Mariam Denton and National Assembly member
Duta Kamaso. In the case of Mariam Denton, Bidwell said that
she believes Denton must have been involved in the coup
plotting. (See para 10 for more on Denton,s case.) As for
Kamaso, Bidwell said that she did ask the President for an
explanation about her colleague's detention and was told to
&stay out of it,8 and that Kamaso was a "danger to her
state and party." Bidwell explained that when her President
tells her such a thing she must respect it. Bidwell
rationalized her position by reiterating that, in matters of
national security, the human rights of detainees must be

BANJUL 00000444 002.4 OF 003


secondary to the protection of the nation; she remarked that
"even if I am a suspect, then I should be detained until
things are certain."


6. (C) In their presentation to the Speaker, both DAS
Thomas-Greenfield and Ambassador stressed that the United
States has regarded The Gambia as a friend in recent years,
and that President Jammeh should be proud of his achievements
on behalf of the country,s development, but that his current
behavior was unhealthy for our relationship and the nation.
They expressed that his decisions and actions have made it
impossible to defend him and were a factor behind the
regrettable but necessary decision to suspend The Gambia's
eligibility for the Millennium Challenge Account. Bidwell
acknowledged these concerns and stated that she would raise
these issues with the President when she meets with him
following the Summit. At the end of the meeting, the Speaker
urged U.S. funding to strengthen the capacity of the National
Assembly. COMMENT: Though initially defiant, in the course
of the conversation Bidwell seemed to come around to the U.S.
position and her manner eventually indicated a frustration
with the President. Though it is doubtful that she would
firmly push the President on human rights issues, she gave
the impression at the conversation,s end that she did not
completely believe in the statements she had made earlier on
his behalf. END COMMENT.

-------------- --------------
Activists Condemn Human Rights Abuses, Broken Judiciary
-------------- --------------


7. (C) At a June 30 luncheon hosted by the Ambassador, human
rights activists presented DAS Thomas-Greenfield with a bleak
picture of the human rights situation in The Gambia.
Luncheon attendees -- Gambia Press Union Secretary Ndey
Sesseh, Foundation for Legal Aid, Research and Empowerment
(FLARE) Chairperson Almani Taal, Gambia Committee on
Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP) Secretary General Dr.
Isatou Touray, and Gambia Bar Association President Amie
Bensouda -- acknowledged progress in some areas of
development (e.g., upgrading infrastructure) under President
Jammeh, but agreed that power has become too centralized and
that the country would be better served by a new leader.
There was little optimism expressed for the prospects of a
free election or transfer of power in the current
environment.


8. (C) All of the luncheon attendees expressed a lack of
confidence in The Gambia's judicial system. Several examples
were given of people going to the courts for remedy (i.e.
visitation rights, detention without charge, &The
Independent's8 closure, by-election irregularities),only to
be met with unnecessary delay and general inaction. Bar
Association President Amie Bensouda cited the case of Mariam
Denton as a blatant example of The Gambia,s failed judicial
system, noting that Denton claimed that she was being pressed
to reveal information that her client, detained alleged coup
plotter Tamsir Jasseh, may have revealed to her about his
plans. Further, according to Bensouda, Denton believes that
she remains in detention because the President is angry about
her refusal of his offer to join his government and the APRC.



9. (C) The activists further asserted that Jammeh's tendency
to fire or arrest those who question or criticize has
resulted in a government filled with powerless ministers and
incompetent senior officials. Dr. Touray made a strong plea
for U.S. funding to be given directly to those CSO's that are
struggling to make a difference, as opposed to channeling
money through the government. It was the group's opinion
that government will only give funding to those organizations
that "toe the party line."

10.(C) Despite the group's overall skepticism towards the
political process, one participant, Dr. Touray, stated that
she is resigning her position with GAMCOTRAP, a
government-linked institution, to focus full time on human
rights activism and grass-roots political mobilization. She
explained that the success she had mobilizing women to press
their Deputies to vote without reservation in favor of the AU
Protocols on Women last month had motivated her to devote
herself to a range of women,s issues and to encourage women
to run for office in January's National Assembly elections.
COMMENT: Dr. Touray claims no interest in running for office
"at this time", but clearly presents herself as someone with
political potential and aspirations. END COMMENT.

-------------- ---
Gambian Officials Disappointed by MCA Suspension
-------------- ---


BANJUL 00000444 003.4 OF 003



11. (SBU) On the margins of the AU Summit, DAS
Thomas-Greenfield met briefly with Gambian Vice President
Isatou Njie-Saidy and Minister of Finance Mousa Bala Gaye to
discuss The Gambia's recent suspension from MCA eligibility.
The Finance Minister expressed sincere disappointment with
the suspension, noting that he looked forward to working with
us to address GOTG performance slippage raised in the
suspension notification.


12. (SBU) The opposition leaders and civil society
representatives who met with DAS Thomas-Greenfield all
expressed appreciation for U.S. concern and interest in the
The Gambia,s human rights situation and urged that we keep
the pressure on the GOTG to reverse the current negative
trend.


13. (C) COMMENT: The civil society representatives, negative
assessment of The Gambia,s human rights situation was
generally consistent with their past assertions to us ) but
the stridency of their presentations on this occasion
underscored the deterioration in the GOTG,s human rights
record in the aftermath of the failed coup plot. That
deterioration has overshadowed recent positive elements in
the GOTG,s performance, e.g. improved efforts to combat
trafficking in persons and ratification, without reservation,
of the AU Protocol on Women,s Rights. As for MCA, we
believe that it and the prospects of reinstatement of
eligibility remain a useful source of leverage in our efforts
to get the GOTG to take steps to reverse the policy slippage
in human rights and other areas that led to the suspension of
The Gambia,s MCA eligibility. END COMMENT.


14. (U) This cable was cleared by DAS Thomas-Greenfield.
STAFFORD