Response to Mr. Mbenga’s report.
Demand Regine change through the ballot box
Well stated Mr. Mbenga. Allow me to add a few pointers to the incredible resistance meted both in New York and Washington DC in September and October. As you put it, we must act and act now. There is a report in Jollof News that the Gambian government(Central Bank) has finally began to recognize what the World Bank and IMF have been reporting in the past few years that the national economy is driven mostly be remittances from the Diaspora.
In that report, the Director of Research Ismail Jarju was quoted as saying that the remittances from us has grown from a mere 2.5% to 10% in 2012 totaling about $85 million which although huge, merely scratches the surface the money we wire home. If other economic sectors such agriculture and tourism which are the two other major drivers of the economy are struggling, then we must now rise up and demand for change with stipulated conditions.
Our families need to realize that we have responsibilities, yet we continue to sponsor them stimulating the economy. Because we’ve been deemed enemies of the state and have no right to vote we need them to rise up and give this government a vote of no confidence.
How do we get here? I say we send the government these simple demands and failure to enforce them will trigger a moratorium on remittances. They voted for Yahya and while we are appalled at the state of our country I believe in democracy. Yahya has the political will to defend his record. Let the people decide in 2016 if they want him or not.
Here are 6 demands that I strongly advocate for:
1. A demand that on November 24, 2016 every Gambian both inside and outside the country eligible to vote, will have a right to vote. If funding to provide members of the Diaspora are a concern, our organizations will raise the funds to allow everyone the right to vote overseas.
2. That international observers will be allowed to monitor the elections both inside and outside the country with observers embedded within the IEC.
3. That all political parties will have a right to campaign free of intimidation and all parties will be held to the same standards. All parties will have access to the media and public funds to run their campaign
4. That all prisoners arrested and jailed incommunicado must be released without delay and due process must take hold
5. That anyone arrested for violating any crime must either be charged or released within 72 hours as dictated by the constitution. A violation of civil rights will trigger law suits for families to claim redress
6. That the government begin to put safeguards in place to protect the rights of every newspaper and radio station; that the government begin a process of dismantling all of the extrajudicial campaigns such as using so called “Jungulars” or shady military operations of arresting and killing political prisoners. That the NIA will refrain from any such arrests and instead focus on intelligence gathering and reporting.
A failure to meet these demands triggers a coordinated moratorium where none of us in the Diaspora remits funds to our families for one month with the option to extend it if conditions aren’t met. That our leaders in the US, Europe and Gambia sign off and send this memorandum to President Jammeh to sign with deadlines stipulated. Thank you, Ama Umbam