VZCZCXRO6629
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHJL #0465/01 2011716
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 201716Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANJUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6845
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000465 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DAKAR PLS PASS RAO,ODC, AND DAO 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/20/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: MEDIA CRACKDOWN CONTINUES 
 
REF: A. BANJUL 396 ET AL 
 
     ¶B. BANJUL 422 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (D) 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1. (C) The GOTG's crackdown on the media continues, as the 
journal, "Independent" remains closed and there are reports 
of authorities preventing publication of another journal, 
"Daily Express."  The international NGO community has wasted 
no time in reacting to the crackdown, as exemplifed by the 
July 14 statement of the Committee to Protect Journalists 
expressing concern over the plight of individual journalists. 
  U.S. concern over the media crackdown remains a key topic 
in our dialog with the GOTG. END SUMMARY. 
 
ONGOING CRACKDOWN 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) The Gambia's privately owned media institutions 
continue to be targetted by authorities in the negative human 
rights trend here in recent months.  As previously reported 
(ref a), in late March, following a failed coup  plot, the 
GOTG closed the offices of a journal, "Independent,"  known 
for its harsh criticisms of President Yahya Jammeh and his 
government, and it has yet to resume publication. 
Subsequently, the foreign-based online publication, "Freedom 
Newspaper," also anti-Jammeh in outlook, claimed that 
pro-GOTG hackers had been responsible for the disruption of 
its website and public disclosure of subscribers' names; 
authorities reacted by calling in locally resident 
subscribers for questioning. 
 
¶3. (C) Besides closing the "Independent," authorities 
detained the paper's  General Manager, Madi Ceesay, and Chief 
Editor, Musa Saidykhan, for several weeks before releasing 
them without charge.  A  journalist with the paper, Lamin 
Fatty, was also picked up and held for over two months before 
being released on bail.  He now faces trial on  charges of 
"printing false information." 
 
THE SAGA OF "DAILY EXPRESS" 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Most recently, there are reports of authorities 
preventing publication of another local journal, "Daily 
Express," following its initial appearance on newsstands July 
¶1. Madi Ceesay, in his capacity as head of the Gambia Press 
Union (GPU), in a public statement, claimed that the National 
Intelligence Agency (NIA) had detained the journal's owner 
(and RFI correspondent), Sam Obi and associate Abdou Gafar, 
both Nigerians, and, after several days in custody,  released 
them earlier this week.  However, the NIA reportedly has 
informed the pair that they will face further questioning. 
According to Ceesay and other sources, the "Daily Express" 
earned the GOTG's displeasure for, inter alia, an article in 
its initial edition that -- coinciding  with the African 
Union Summit here -- reported the GOTG's refusal to permit a 
pre-Summit gathering of NGO's to discuss freedom of 
expression in The Gambia. 
 
REACTIONS BY FOREIGN NGO'S 
-------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) The international NGO community has wasted no time in 
registering concern over the deteriorating media environment 
here and the plight of individual journalists.  In its July 
14 statement, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 
cited the case of Ebrima Manneh, a journalist with the 
government mouthpiece, "Daily Observer," reporting that he 
had been missing since July 7.  The CPJ asserted that another 
journalist,  Sulayman Makalo, formerly with the "Independent" 
and "Daily Express,"  had gone into hiding to avoid arrest. 
It also noted that a former journalist, Malick Mboob, picked 
up May 26 by the NIA, remained in detention without charge. 
(COMMENT: Our contacts indicate that Manneh and Makalo may 
well have fled to Senegal and that Mboob was detained when 
authorities determined that he was among local sources of 
information for "Freedom Newspaper."   END COMMENT) 
 
THE CASE OF DEYDA HYDARA 
------------------------ 
 
¶6. (C) Meanwhile, the December 2004 murder of prominent 
journalist Deyda Hydara, associated with the independent 
journal,  "The Point," remains unsolved, amidst persistant 
allegations of GOTG involvement. 
 
COMMENT 
 
BANJUL 00000465  002 OF 002 
 
 
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¶7. (C) U.S. concern over the media crackdown remains a 
prominent topic in our dialog with the GOTG, and visiting AF 
DAS Thomas-Greenfield reiterated that concern in her July 2 
meeting with President Jammeh (ref b).  Jammeh, for his part, 
does not conceal his distaste for the private journals and 
their anti-GOTG criticisms, and it is uncertain whether he 
will ever permit the "Independent" to resume publication. 
With the "Independent" closed, the two principal independent 
journals still operating and producing any semblance of 
objective reporting (including measured anti-GOTG criticism) 
are the daily "The Point" and "Foroyaa," which appears 
several times a week. Under pressure from authorities, "The 
Point," in particular,has noticeably eased its criticism of 
Jammeh and his government in recent  months. END COMMENT. 
 
 
STAFFORD