Kemo Cham, AfricaNews reporter in Dakar, Senegal
The Gambia faces the prospect of expulsion from the Commonwealth for death threats made by its leader, Yahya Jammeh on national television in that country. The Commonwealth Secretariat has reportedly made recommendations for discussion with the Government of the Gambia surrounding the development.
Gambia’s president, Yahya Jammeh, has since come under series of condemnations for a statement he made last September, threatening to kill anyone who sought to destabilize his country in the name of human rights.
The Caribbean Centre for Human Rights based in Trinidad, and the India-based Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative have been championing calls to have any invitation for Jammeh to attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in the Trinidadian capital of Port-of-Spain withdrawn with his continued defiance to withdraw the said threats.
Although the host government, Trinidad and Tobago, has not responded yet to the calls by the human rights organisations, it announced early last week that Jammeh would not be part of his countries delegation to the summit.
‘Gambia’s situation an embarrassment’
Jammeh’s statement continues to attract more condemnations in the run up to the CHOGM, with the Director of the Commonwealth Foundation, Dr Mark Collins, been the latest to slam the Gambian leader.
Dr Collins told reporters in an interview at the University of the West Indies that “No one is above the law. The rule of law is one of the key principles of the Commonwealth. I will be very surprised if action is not taken against the President of Gambia. He has very strongly-held views, and there are concerns about what was expressed on television by the Gambia leader. His comments will create an atmosphere of fear,’’ the Sunday Guardian reported.
According to the Commonwealth Foundation Director, human activists are defenders of rights for education, proper health care, freedom of speech and much more. ‘‘What does he [Jammeh] means by saying these things?’’ he queried.
Dr Collins described the situation as embarrassing for the Commonwealth. He said that all free-thinking people know that there are some areas of human rights still surrounded by controversy, like cultural expressions and sexual preferences, and that these issues were all being discussed presently. He therefore wondered why the President of Gambia would make such a statement. ‘‘It reflects badly on the Commonwealth,” he stressed.
Dr Collins said he expected the issue to be high on the agenda for the Commonwealth Action Group (CWA) at its People’s Forum.
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