Gambia president: Africa must have respect, power in the world

By Brian E. Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Oct 26, 2009 - 3:27:26 PM

UNITED NATIONS (FinalCall.com) - Strong words came over the podium during the 64th General Assembly of the United Nations from Gambian President El-Hajj Yahya Jammeh, who called for equity, respect and a greater role for Africa within the world body.

His condemnation of Western abuses and demands for greater benefit from African interactions with richer nations also comes as some groups at home accuse him of human rights violations.

President Jammeh challenged the imbalance of power at the UN, where the majority of member states are dominated by five countries who sit on the Security Council and have veto power over UN decisions approved by the General Assembly, which includes all member states.

President Jammeh said urgent reforms are needed in the “modus operandi” of the UN to ensure inequity is abolished and “the principle of equality among nation states, irrespective of their geopolitical size, location, or economic circumstances, race or religion are safeguarded.” He added that “double standards have no place in the United Nations.”

His appeal came at a time when there is renewed competition to exploit Africa's resources led primarily by China, the U.S. and the European Union.

President Jammeh, who has ruled The Gambia since leading a bloodless coup in July 1994, compared the scramble for African resources and the oppressive debt burden imposed by Western institutions to the “scourge of locust” and “drought” that leaves Africans in a poor state.

“This situation is brought about by the perennial locust invasion and their permanent presence in Africa. These locusts are present in all African resource rich countries today. This devastating permanent locust invasion is exacerbated by another destructive phenomenon, permanent drought which is affecting all African countries,” said President Jammeh.

“The locusts I am talking about are the Western multi-national companies that exploit our natural resources as well as agricultural produce, taking 95 percent of their financial value and leave us the owners of these resources with only five percent or less at most,” he complained.

Speaking about the continued wreckage and robbery of Africa over the last 500 years, President Jammeh declared “enough is enough.”

“The UN must come to the rescue of Africa, otherwise we Africans stand ready to liberate ourselves from this eternal bondage at any cost,” said President Jammeh.

“We will no longer accept less than 65 percent royalty for our natural resources. We, the Africans, have been suffering for too long at the hands of the Westerners and we will put an end to this. It is African sweat, blood, tears and natural resources that have built the North throughout almost five centuries of merciless and racist exploitation up until today.”

“Instead of being respected, we are being called all sorts of names and given all sorts of titles—dictators, corrupt leaders, failed states and even rogue states,” he said.

Critics of President Jammeh charged that the young leader was not a credible voice for responsive and reformed governmental institutions. According to a report on Ghana's Peace-FM website, civil society organizations in Accra have called on West African governments to condemn The Gambia for alleged brutality and “continued terror” they say President Jammeh has unleashed on human rights groups.

A press statement by the groups, read by Nana Oye Lithur, who is executive director of the Human Rights Advocacy Centre, said it was time West African leaders protested President Jammeh's “totalitarian” rule.

“We have monitored for some time the deterioration of the human rights situation in The Gambia and wish to call on ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) heads of state to take serious action in response to these developments,” the statement said.

According to media reports, President Jammeh responded to the human rights activists by saying he would kill anyone who wanted to destabilize The Gambia and his government would not guarantee the security and safety of human rights defenders.

Critics allege government abuses are not limited to Gambians alone, and say 44 Ghanaians were killed in 2005. They also accused President Jammeh with blatant disregard for human rights monitoring institutions, such as the ECOWAS Community Court, abuses of power and rule of law, and hindering freedom of the press.

Reporters without Borders said there is “absolute intolerance of any form of criticism” in Gambia, with death threats, surveillance and arbitrary night-time arrests on the lot of journalists “who do not sing the government's praises.”

Others say the Jammeh government should be given credit for improving the roads, increasing the number of schools and hospital services for its people.

The Gambia is a small nation populated by 1.8 million people. It is a favorite European tourist destination and gained independence in 1965.

Although President Jammeh has some turbulence on the home front, he is in the circle of younger African leaders vowing to lead the continent on newer and different terms with the world.

“We, the new generation of African leaders, would put an end to these humiliating, degrading and racist treatments by any means necessary. The world will not live in peace and security as long as this dehumanizing and racist status quo continues to prevail with regards to the continent of Africa and Africans,” President Jammeh warned.

“We have been forced to endure this for far too long and now we are going to put an end to it as we have ended apartheid in South Africa; by force if need be. We will defend our humanity, our dignity, our resources, our interests and our culture as from now,” he said.

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