THE GAMBIA: AN IRASCIBLE PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000011

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DAKAR PLS PASS ODC, DAO, AND RAO

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KMCA SG GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: AN IRASCIBLE PRESIDENT JAMMEH IN
YEAR-END INTERVIEW

REF: A. 06 BANJUL 11


B. BANJUL 5

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

SUMMARY
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1. (C) In a year-end television interview, an irascible
President Jammeh delivered a familiar diatribe against
Western donors while also taking a swipe at Senegal. His
derisive remarks about the opposition are hardly encouraging
in the runup to the National Assembly elections January 25.
END SUMMARY.

RESENTMENT TOWARD THE WEST
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2. (U) In a year-end interview with the national television
service (GRTS),an angry and defiant President Yahya Jammeh
turned in a vintage, shoot-from-the hip performance. He
asserted that, as a sovereign state, The Gambia would not
allow any foreign power to "dictate" to it. Jammeh alluded to
the controversy over his invitations to the Iranian and
Venezuelan leaders to the GOTG-hosted African Union Summit in
July 2006, asserting that the latter "have not done anything
wrong, and if I were to do it again, I would still invite
them."


3. (U) He delivered a familiar diatribe against the West,
accusing it of ignoring Africa's needs while pressing it over
human rights. Jammeh stated, "if an African government needs
something, the West will tell you -- democracy, human rights,
good governance." He asserted that, in response to Western
pressure, "you (African governments) have to allow the press
to accuse you of all that is bad; then, you are the champion
of human rights, and they (West) give you chicken change."
Continuing in this vein, Jammeh said, "if you allow that to
happen (i.e. permit the press attacks),the press will spark
a war or riot; if they give you one million dollars, the riot
will destroy ten million people, and you go back to square
zero."


4. (U) Jammeh elaborated further on the theme of the West and
other major donors giving Africa short shrift and focussing
on other regions in dispensing assistance. He accused the
G-8 member states of failing to meet their pledged financial
commitments for NEPAD while providing large amounts of aid to
Iraq, Afghanistan, and others. Jammeh remarked, "In Iraq,
billions of dollars in debt was cancelled, yet Africa cannot
even get debt cancellation."

SWIPE AT SENEGAL
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5. (U) Alluding to the August/October 2005 crisis with
Senegal over border and transportation issues and the
attendant closure of the Senegalese border with The Gambia,
Jammeh stated that "the border closure was imposed on us
without any justification." His next remark, "and then they
sponsored the coup," indicated Jammeh's ongoing suspicions of
a Senegalese hand in the abortive coup plot here in March

2006.

DISMISSIVE OF THE OPPOSITION
--------------


6. (U) Jammeh was also critical of The Gambia's political
opposition, describing its members as "not genuine," "just
selfish," and "supported by foreign elements who do not wish
Africa well, let alone The Gambian people."

COMMENT
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7. (C) We have not seen either video footage of Jammeh's
remarks or a full transcript; this report is based on a
synopsis of his remarks contained in a local private journal,
"The Point." Nonetheless, the foregoing themes -- e.g.,
criticism of the West, derisive commentary on the opposition
-- were prominent in his year-end interview in 2005 (ref a)
and surface frequently in his other public statements. There
was no mention of the U.S. by name, but his anti-Western
diatribe was doubtless targetted in part at us; we believe
that he remains deeply resentful over the suspension of The
Gambia's MCA eligibility in June 2006. His sniping at
Senegal -- also unmentioned by name -- points up the ongoing
bilateral strains (ref b),although of late Jammeh had

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refrained from going public about his sense of grievance
toward the Senegalese. Jammeh's negative remarks about the
opposition, while nothing new, hardly serve as an encouraging
backdrop for the National Assembly elections scheduled for
January 25. END COMMENT
STAFFORD