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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BANJUL 000167 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DAKAR PLS PASS RAO, DAO, AND ODC 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/31/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KDEM KMCA KISL GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: UPDATE ON HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION 
 
REF: A. BANJUL 124 ET AL 
     ¶B. BANJUL 100 ET AL (ALL NOTAL) 
 
BANJUL 00000167  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: AMBASSADOR JOSEPH STAFFORD, REASON 1.4 (B AND  D) 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
 
¶1. (C) In recent discussions on the negative human rights 
trend here, our contacts were downbeat on prospects for early 
improvement.  A reform-minded Muslim cleric, Imam Baba Leigh, 
portrayed a cowed and co-opted Islamic relgious establishment 
as unwilling to confront President Jammeh over the GOTG's 
deteriorating human rights record -- exemplified by the March 
28 detention of a U.S.-based critic, Fatou Jaw Manneh, on her 
arrival at Banjul airport.  Editor-in-Chief of the private 
daily, the "Point," Pap Saine, spoke of a "climate of fear" 
among journalists and said he feared that authorities would 
close his paper and arrest him were he to publish stories 
about the controversy over Jammeh's HIV/AIDS and asthma 
treatment programs.  On a more positive note, two opposition 
politicians, National Assembly deputy Seedia Jatta of the 
National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) and 
former deputy Hamat Bah of the National Reconciliation Party 
(NRP), vowed to continue working through the political system 
-- despite the reduced "space" --  in order to promote 
liberalization.    The Embassy will continue to seek 
opportunities to press the GOTG for reversal of the negative 
human rights trend, but Jammeh's increasingly autocratic 
behavior serves as a major constraint on our and other 
Western reps' efforts.   END SUMMARY 
 
OVERVIEW 
--------- 
 
¶2. (C) Ambassador and  Emboffs recently held a series of 
meetings with Embassy contacts to get their assessments of 
the human rights situation here and prospects for 
improvement.  Our interlocutors included an Islamic religious 
leader, Imam Baba Leigh, editor-in-chief of an independent 
daily, Pap Saine, and two opposition politicians, 
parliamentarian Seedia Jatta, affiliated with the National 
Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD), and the head 
of the National Reconciliation Party (NRP), Hamat Bah.  Our 
sources were generally downbeat, dismissing prospects for an 
imminent reversal of the negative human rights trend evident 
in The Gambia over the past year and a half.  They portrayed 
the country's erratic, volatile President, Yahya Jammeh, as 
increasingly autocratic and -- despite the passage of time 
since the abortive coup plot in March 2006 -- still deeply 
preoccupied with the security of his government.  They 
expressed worry that, given Jammeh's authoritarian instincts, 
The Gambia's currently restrictive human rights and political 
arenas would likely persist for some time. 
 
ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS FIGURE'S CONCERN 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Imam Baba Leigh, known for his liberal,reformist 
outlook, registered special concern over Gambian authorities' 
disregard for the rule of law, citing the upsurge in such 
abuses as arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention without 
charge since the failed coup plot.  (COMMENT: In the most 
recent example of such abuses, we note the March 28 detention 
of a prominent U.S.-based Gambian journalist and 
anti-government critic, Fatou Jaw Manneh, on her arrival in 
the country for a family visit.  The NGO, Reporters without 
Borders, has issued a statement condemning authorities' 
action and calling for her release. The GOTG has issued no 
statement on her detention; according to our sources, she 
remains in custody and is being questioned by officials of 
the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). END COMMENT)  He 
lamented that the police and security forces seemed 
increasingly free to act with impunity, asserting that, by 
and large, neither the Justice Ministry nor the judiciary 
displayed the autonomy and assertiveness to bring officials 
to account for excesses. 
 
¶4. (C) In response to our question, Baba Leigh ruled out the 
possibility of The Gambia's Islamic religious leaders 
approaching Jammeh to press for an end to abuses. He 
explained that these leaders -- e.g., members of the Supreme 
Islamic Council -- had been cowed or co-opted by Jammeh, and 
hence were unwilling to confront the President.   Baba Leigh 
added that he personally had repeatedly sought an appointment 
with Jammeh, but had been rebuffed.  Baba Leigh acknowledged 
U.S. pressure  on Jammeh to improve the human rights 
situation, describing as "appropriate and justified" the 
Millenium Challenge Corporation's June 2006 suspension of The 
 
BANJUL 00000167  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Gambia's eligibility for the Millenium Challenge Account 
program due, inter alia, to slippage in eligibility criteria 
in the "ruling justly" category. 
 
RESTRICTIVE MEDIA ENVIRONMENT 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (C) Editor-in-chief Pap Saine stated that there was no 
sign of an easing in The Gambia's restrictive media 
environment and spoke of a "climate of fear" among private 
journalists.  He said the GOTG's suspected involvement in the 
still-unsolved December 2004 assassination of his partner at 
the "Point," Deyda Hydara, remained very much on journalists' 
minds.  Adding to journalists' worry, he continued, was the 
GOTG's further media crackdown following the failed coup 
plot. (NOTE: Saine was referring to authorities' closure of a 
private journal, the "Independent," and prolonged detention 
of several members of its staff. END NOTE) Saine observed 
that the crackdown was continuing, citing the "disappearance" 
and presumed detention since July 2006 of journalist Ebrima 
Manneh, formerly with a pro-government journal, the "Daily 
Observer."   Indicative of the restrictive environment, Saine 
said self-censorship by private media institutions had become 
common and cited the controversy over Jammeh's HIV/AIDS and 
asthma treatment programs as a case in point (ref a).  He 
said that he dared not publish stories about skepticism over 
the effectiveness of the treatment and about reported patient 
deaths, as to do so would likely prompt authorities to shut 
down his paper and arrest him. 
 
¶6. (C) Saine said that while he did not expect authorities to 
permit the "Independent" to resume publication, he still held 
out some hope that they would permit a radio station shut 
down in October 2005, Senegalese-owned SUD FM, to resume 
broadcasting.   According to Saine, Senegal-based SUD FM reps 
had recently travelled here to seek restoration of their 
broadcasting license, but their visit had proved fruitless, 
as they had been unable to meet with concerned GOTG 
officials.  Despite this setback, Saine expected SUD FM's 
management to continue  efforts to return to the airwaves. 
 
OPPOSITION POLITICIANS' DETERMINATION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) Opposition politicians Seedia Jatta and Hamat Bah 
echoed our other interlocutors in bemoaning the deterioration 
in the overall human rights situation and the less tolerant 
political arena.  At the same time, both stressed their 
determination to continue to work within the system and 
promote liberalization. Jatta, the sole incumbent opposition 
deputy among three in the National Assembly to win 
re-election in the January ballotting, vowed to work closely 
with the four newly elected deputies affiliated with the 
rival opposition United Democratic Party (UDP). (NOTE: The 
opposition parties hold five out of 53 seats in the National 
Assembly.  END NOTE)  As for Bah, a former parliamentarian 
narrowly defeated in the January contest by the ruling APRC 
party's candidate, he asserted that he would be a 
presidential candidate in the next presidential election, 
scheduled for 2011. He said  that, in preparation for his 
presidential bid, he planned to launch soon a nationwide 
campaign to develop his party's membership and structures. 
While recognizing Jammeh's and his APRC party's dominance of 
what little remained of "political space" in The Gambia, Bah 
insisted that there was still sufficient room for him in that 
"space" to make his party-building and presidential 
initiatives feasible. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶8. (C) The GOTG itself has shown little willingness in recent 
months to engage with us in substantive fashion on human 
rights issues, declining our proposal to consult on steps it 
could take to address human rights-related and other concerns 
and thereby begin the process of seeking restoration of MCA 
eligibility (ref b).  The GOTG has maintained silence over 
our recently-published Country Report on Human Rights 
Practices, which amply documents the deterioration in the 
GOTG's human rights record in 2006. We will continue to look 
for ways to press for reversal of the negative human rights 
trend here, but President Jammeh's increasingly autocratic 
behavior serves as a major constraint on our efforts and 
those of other Western representatives, e.g, the UK and 
European Union.  END COMMENT 
 
 
STAFFORD