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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) 
 
 ¶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