Despite President Yahya Jammeh’s rhetoric to turn The Gambia into a donor country remains a mystery as evidenced by the United Nations Human Development Index 2015. With a score of 0.441, The Gambia ranks 175 out of 188 countries.
The United Nations Development Program Resident Coordinator, Ms. Ade Mamonyane Lekoretje, unveiled the report in Banjul on Wednesday. She said the country’s score had increased from 0.330 to 0.441 over the last 25 years. This is an increase of 33.5 per cent or an average annual increase of about 1.21 per cent.
She said that using the most recent survey data, the Demography Health Survey 2013, 57.2 per cent of the country’s population (over one million) is multi-dimensionally poor while an additional 394,000, accounting 21.3 per cent, live near multi-dimensional poverty.
Adult literacy rate is as low at 52 per cent posing significant challenge for the economy to transform to a high value production path. In addition, over 19.2 per cent of children 5-14 years old are working.
Ms Lekoretje said close to 56 per cent of total employed people were classified as the working poor during 2003-2012 while only 10.8 per cent of the statutory pension ages are recipient of old age pension.
The Minister of Trade, Industry and Employment, Abdou Jobe, launched the report. “The report argues that societies urgently need institutional reforms and access to care services to address these major imbalances in paid and unpaid work,” Mr. Jobe said.
Not all Gambians jumped on the caravan of then Lt. Yahya Jammeh’s AFPRC [Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council] in 1994 when President Jawara was overthrown. There were quite a good number of formidable citizens who mobilised themselves and laid down their lives to restore the ousted PPP [People’s Progressive Party] regime in office. Their story needs to be told, understood and chronicled for the purpose of future use.
These gallent men and women planned to launch a massive pro-PPP demonstration opposite the American embassy compound in Fajara.
However, this was thwarted by members of Gambia National Army. On the day of the planned demonstration, soldiers hatched a strategy aimed at outsmarting the already energised demonstrators. They hijacked taxis and started driving on the streets of Banjul, Bakau, Serekunda and Brikama. These disguised taxi drivers lingered around strategic locations where they would pick up demonstrators with a promise to drop them off at the American embassy. Once they got in to these taxi their next stop would be Fajara military barracks where they would be detained and tortured. This was how many of the planned demonstrators found themselves in the lion’s den.
Those rounded up and detained illegally included former Minister of Agriculture Mr. Omar Amadou Jallow, Ousainou Njie of Banjul, Lang Hawa Sonko of Jarra Badumeh and Lawyer Ousanou Darboe. Ousainou Darboe (the current leader of United Democratic Party) who was at the time suffering from eye infection (apolo) was not physically tortured. But the soldiers intentionally placed 100 wats light bulbs over Mr. Darboe’s head purposely to destroy his eyes. Luckily, Darboe was released from detention by night fall.
These tortures were singlehandedly coordinated by Captain Edward Singatey, the former Defense Minister of the AFPRC. The torture team comprised of personal guards of Captain Singhatey and Sanna B. Sabally, the junta’s Vice Chairman who was later arrested, detained and court-martialed on a coup d’etat that was never contemplated.
Other AFPRC Council members visited the detainees and instructed Krubally, an army armourer to serve as the physical training instructor tasked with taking the detainees for early morning running exercise.
The torture team sent two soldiers – Micheal Secka alias Dukakis and Jallow – to the Gambia Public Transport Corporation (GPTC) headquarters to cut hard rubber on the edge of bus tyres. These rubbers were used to beat the arrested men and women most of whom were stripped naked from head to toe. Another soldier with the last name Krubally was sent to bring gallons of petrol and cotton wool. The torture team inserted petrol soaked cotton in detainees’ ears and private parts and forced to bend in front of table and stand fans. The team relaxed and enjoyed how the detainees grimaced in excruciating pain emanating from their most holy body part. They felt like dying anytime the fan blew air, one source said.
Not every detainee was subjected to this horrible type of torture. One female relative of the ousted President Jawara was among those who tasted this hard-to-swallow pill. For moral and other reasons, this lady’s identity will be hidden. Sound of her cries for help filled the air yet she was allowed to suffer in pain. She bled profusely, a clear sign that she might be going through some womanly complications but the heartless soldiers never gave in, insisting she was going through her monthly menstruation. The woman survived the torture, although she would surely develop gynecological problems along the way but her four months old pregnancy baby died. Worst of all, the soldiers who took the innocent lady to hell roamed the streets with pride as if they were not brought into this world by a woman, God’s dignified creation tasked with the noble responsibility of conceiving and giving birth to babies.
Majority of the tortured detainees, including Omar Amadou Jallow who sustained serious injury on his eyes (this is why he wears lenses), were physically tortured. Many died months after their release.
As a human rights and media activist, I felt the need to dig into this very important but forgotten or less understood story. I will do my best to bring more unreported or forgotten crimes committed by our “Soldiers with a Difference.” Indeed, they were soldiers who spoke to us in a language we didn’t understand in 1994. That is the language of tyranny, brutality, disappearances, extrajudicial killings, among others.
Employees of the Daily Monitor newspaper with their mouths taped shut, sing slogans during a protest against the closure of their premises by the Uganda government, outside their offices in the capital Kampala May 20, 2013. Police raided Uganda's leading independent newspaper on Monday and disabled its printing press after it published a letter about a purported plot to stifle allegations that Uganda President Yoweri Museveni is grooming his son for power, a senior editor said. REUTERS/James Akena
(Kampala) – Ugandan government and ruling party officials are intimidating and threatening journalists and activists in an effort to limit criticism of the government, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Uganda will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on February 18, 2016.
The 48-page report, “‘Keep the People Uninformed’: Pre-Election Threats to Free Expression and Association in Uganda,” documents how some journalists and activists are facing increased threats as the elections loom. While print journalists working in English have some relative freedom, radio journalists – particularly those working in local languages whose listeners are based in rural areas – face harassment and threats from an array of government and party officials. These include the police; resident district commissioners, who represent the president; internal security officials; and the Ugandan Communications Commission, the government broadcasting regulator
“Fair elections require a level playing field in which all candidates can freely campaign and voters can make informed decisions,” said Maria Burnett, senior Africa researcher at Human Rights Watch. “How can Uganda hold fair elections if the media and independent groups can’t criticize the ruling party or government leaders without fear?”
Human Rights Watch interviewed more than 170 journalists, activists, members of political parties, government officials, and witnesses to specific events across Uganda for the report.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, is running for president for his ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party. Dr. Kizza Besigye, who has challenged Museveni in the last three elections, is running for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Amama Mbabazi, Museveni’s longtime ally and former prime minister, has left the ruling party and is running under his party, Go Forward.
Journalists have been suspended under government pressure, and radio stations threatened for hosting opposition members as guests or when panelists expressed views critical of the ruling party. Radio show hosts in Jinja, eastern Uganda, in July 2015, and in Hoima, western Uganda, in April 2014, were suspended after Besigye appeared on their shows.
When guests or radio hosts have made statements deemed critical of the government, journalists have received phone calls or visits from government representatives, threatening them with firing or suspension, and closure of their media organizations. Radio journalists told Human Rights Watch that party representatives offered them money, trips, and training, in exchange for favorable coverage of the ruling party.
Journalists also said that the government’s response to political reporting is having a “chilling effect” on their coverage and analysis of political news and is preventing voters from receiving information.
“I think government intends to keep the people uninformed,” one journalist told Human Rights Watch. “You see, uninformed people are easy to manipulate. Cases of intimidation are prevalent…. As journalists, we are forced to cover up. In the reporting you don’t hit the nail on top. You have to communicate carefully. In election season we see this very clearly.”
The government has likewise clamped down on domestic organizations, particularly those working on human rights, including voter education and oil sector transparency. Staff members of these groups said that, like media organizations, they faced visits from the police, summons by resident district commissioners, and, in some instances, closure of their public meetings. These actions violate free association rights and obstruct access to information.
“What happens here is that organizations are in a state of self-censorship,” one activist said. “They know things are wrong but people don’t want to get onto bad terms with government…. They are afraid to question things.”
On November 26, 2015, the Electoral Commission wrote to the Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy Uganda (CCEDU) to inform them that their information campaign, called Topowa, Honor Your Vote, was “biased, contrary to law.” The electoral commission chairman and the spokesman accused the Topowa campaign of being partisan and pushing for “change,” though the campaign was eventually permitted to resume.
In June 2015, the Special Investigations Unit of police arrested an information and security analyst with USAID in Kampala, the capital, for allegedly posting criticism of the president on social media. Charges against him of promoting sectarianism and offensive communication are pending.
In December, the Uganda Communications Commission issued ad-hoc orders to media organizations not to host the president’s former press secretary, who had allegedly insulted the president and members of his family. This type of blanket banning – without any clear means to challenge the orders – violates guarantees of freedom of expression and rights of due process, Human Rights Watch said.
The new Non-Governmental Organisations Act, recently passed by parliament but not yet signed by the president, threatens to further shrink the space for independent organizations. It contains vague and ill-defined criminal offenses for staff members, such as engagement “in any act, which is prejudicial to the interests of Uganda and the dignity of the people of Uganda.” The act fails to define what “interests” or “dignity” mean.
“Government and ruling party officials have a legal obligation to allow the expression of a variety of viewpoints on issues of public concern as the country prepares for the election,” Burnett said. “Muzzling free expression and prompting fear, especially outside Kampala where there is so little international scrutiny, doesn’t bode well for Uganda’s ability to hold free and fair elections in February.”
Source:https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/01/10/uganda-intimidation-media-civic-groups
Beirut) – Saudi courts are sentencing prominent reform advocates, activists, and writers to lengthy jail terms – and even death – on vague charges related to the peaceful exercise of free expression.
Most recently, on December 21, 2015, a Saudi court sentenced Zuhair Kutbi, a peaceful critic who called for domestic political reform, to four years in prison, a five-year travel ban, and a 15-year ban on media appearances. It is only the latest in a series of harsh judgments against peaceful advocates during King Salman’s first year.
“Human rights advocates hoped that King Salman would rein in his country’s repression of peaceful dissidents, but the authorities harass and jail people for peacefully expressing reform-oriented opinions,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director. “The king should put an end to this sustained assault on free expression and release all peaceful activists and writers.”
Human rights advocates hoped that King Salman would rein in his country’s repression of peaceful dissidents, but the authorities harass and jail people for peacefully expressing reform-oriented opinions. The king should put an end to this sustained assault on free expression and release all peaceful activists and writers.
Sarah Leah Whitson
Middle East Director
During 2015, at least six men, including prominent writers, dissidents, and reform advocates, were punished for peaceful expression of their opinions. One was sentenced to death and the others to lengthy prison terms. At least four were also banned from traveling abroad for five to 10 years. Most faced broad, catch-all charges designed to criminalize peaceful dissent, such as “sowing discord,” “reducing the government’s prestige,” and “inciting public opinion.” The Specialized Criminal Court, set up in 2008 to try terrorism cases but often used to prosecute peaceful dissidents, convicted four of the men.
The authorities have harassed Kutbi for his peaceful writings since the 1990s and have detained him at least six times, according to Saudi activists. His most recent arrest followed an hour-long appearance on the television program Fi al-Sameem (In-Depth), on the Arabic satellite channel Rotana Khalejia. Kutbi spoke about what he regarded as necessary reforms, including transforming the country into a constitutional monarchy and combating religious and political repression.
The court convicted Kutbi on December 21, 2015, on a host of vague charges, including “sowing discord,” “inciting public opinion,” and “reducing the government’s prestige,” according to court documents Human Rights Watch reviewed, primarily based on Kutbi’s tweets, writings, and calls for a constitutional monarchy. The court also decided that Kutbi’s media appearances violated a 2013 pledge not to “incite public opinion,” which he made in relation to other writings.
In addition to his prison term, which was reduced to two years, and the bans on travel and writing, he was fined 100,000 Saudi riyal (US$26,634) and ordered to delete his Twitter account and the websites he maintained that were mentioned in the case.
On November 18, 2015, an appeals court upheld a sentence of two years and 200 lashes against Mikhlif al-Shammari, a well-known human rights activist, for, in part, “sitting with Shia” citizens. Al-Shammari has sought to improve relations between Sunnis and Shia and made national headlines in 2008 when he visited a Shia mosque in Qatif and prayed next to a Shia religious leader in a show of solidarity.
On November 17, a Saudi court sentenced a Palestinian man to death for apostasy for alleged blasphemous statements in a discussion group and a book of his poetry. Ashraf Fayadh, 35, denied the charges and claimed that another man made false accusations to the country’s religious police following a personal dispute.
In October, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced three men to extended prison terms in separate trials. Two of them, Abd al-Kareem al-Khodr and Dr. Abd al-Rahman al-Hamid, were among the co-founders of the banned Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA), several members of which had already been imprisoned for their activism. The third, Abd al-Aziz al-Snaidi, is an independent dissident. The sentences ranged from eight to 10 years, plus eight- to 10-year travel bans. All of the charges against the three men were tied solely to the men’s peaceful advocacy.
In addition to the most recent convictions, more than a dozen prominent Saudi activists are serving long jail sentences as a result of their peaceful activism, including Waleed Abu al-Khair and Fadhil al-Manasif, both sentenced to 15 years in prison by the Specialized Criminal Court as a result of their peaceful human rights work.
Saudi authorities regularly pursue charges against human rights activists based on their peaceful exercise of freedom of expression, in violation of international human rights obligations. The Arab Charter on Human Rights, which Saudi Arabia has ratified, guarantees the right to freedom of opinion and expression in Article 32. The United Nations General Assembly’s Declaration on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders states that everyone has the right, individually and in association with others, to “impart or disseminate to others views, information and knowledge on all human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
“Outlandish sentences against peaceful activists and dissidents demonstrate Saudi Arabia’s complete intolerance toward citizens who speak out for human rights and reform,” Whitson said. “Saudi Arabia shouldn’t be sending people to prison for their peaceful opinions, and these cases certainly have no business in a terrorism court.”
source:https://www.hrw.org
