Leadership (Abuja)
Ebahi Ifidon-Ekurehare
12 November 2008
Abuja — Even as efforts to tackle human rights violation gets support across the world, 10 Nigerians have been reported killed in The Gambia alongside others from various African countries.
They were allegedly killed by Gambian security agents acting on orders of the Gambian President to secure the border of The Gambia while it was stated that the Nigerians may have been fleeing for greener pastures.
Nana Oye Lithur, Regional Coordinator, Common Wealth Human Rights Initiative, made this disclosure yesterday when Amnesty International received a report on the Gambian situation entitled : 'Gambia : Fear Rules'
Lithur, who spoke on behalf of her organisation, decried the impunity which exists amongst African leaders and the rate at which human rights were being violated by them.
Tania Bernath, an official from Amnesty International, gave a run down of unlawful arrests, torture and detention which had been meted out to citizens of Gambia by the Yayah Jameh administration.
For Bernath, the Gambian presidents' regime had been marked by human rights violation.
"We urge the African Commission to address the human rights situation in the Gambia as a priority and to adopt a resolution that would help end torture, arrests and killings by the local security forces.
We urge all African leaders to put pressure on Gambia to end the long standing culture of impunity for human rights violations in the country", Bernath said.
While speaking at the occasion, the Amnesty International official condemned the subject of the general repression of the press which had led to censorship at all degrees which, she maintained, is going against professionalism in any society.
"The media, for the most part, censors itself in the face of arrests, fines, threats and physical attacks on those accused of criticizing the government. All public protests have ceased".
Clement Nwankwo, Director Civil Liberties Organization (CLO), while speaking at the forum upheld that it is regrettable for African countries including the Nigerian government to remain silent and do nothing to deal with the state of affairs in the Gambia.
Amnesty International has however called on the international community and African leaders including the African Union to see that the rule of law is adhered to in order to end the entrenched culture of impunity and bring to a halt further violation of human rights, not only in the Gambia but Africa in general.
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How can Africa ( Gambia) killing Africa(Nigerians? what would Africans say if the Europeans doing this to Africans living in Europa?
Who killed them? Anyway, the soupist occupier state in the GBambia is a sham, led by a barely literate KILLER, one Janneh. The point: catch the killers NOW, OR ELSE!
What do you expect from ignoramuses parading as 'pollitcians.' The soupist murderer HAD better nab the killers like yesterday before he feels the wrath of the most powerful military soupist machine in West Africa: soupist occupied Nigeria, under the complete and unequivocal control of the NORTHERN CONTROLLERS, the NORTHERN whatever.
Kindest Felicitations.
Please be informed europeans're already doing this (KILLING AFRICANS)long ago with impunity incase you don't know this,please know it now.this is a place i h've lived in for past 15years.so don't tell europeans don't kill africans.i don't know how/where you got your facts from but this is a debate am open to should you choose to dispute this fact.
Dude, you must be rocking in strastophere irrelevant. Did I say anything about what you call "Europeans" in my jeremiad against Soupist Janneh?
Get your facts right, and should you want to 'debate', then I will only debate undecibable issues rooting in rock solid facts.
Regards.
Nobody shouldn't be surprised the president of gambia is an ardent supporter of the villainous butcher in harare. And what reason(s) or excuse(s) does the Dr. President of gambia proffer for his actions ? Your guess is as good as anybodys but it wouldn't be far from and bizzare as this: european neo-colonialism.
If the referent of "the villainous butcher in [H]arare" is Mugabe, then would you please advise about the EVIDENCE that supports the predicate you've wrapped around his neck?
Regards.
PS. To compare the juvenile Janneh with Mugabe, may I suggest, is un-African, set aside the fact that Janneh, as far as I know, is a quasi-literate SOUPIST, perhaps in the same box as another soldier turned 'politician', Valentine Strasser of the soupist occupied territory of Sierra Leone, who had the guts to execute a pregnant woman for a lie, lie, coup in 1991.
No wonder he is now destitute and, according, to some reports, a junkie.
Imagine: a fetus is coup maker!
Regards again.
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so sad,but Gambian is a peaceful country,