By Baba G. Jallow When Creighton University’s African Students Association (AFSA) approached me to give a guest lecture at their annual banquet on the topic “Redefining Africa”, I knew exactly where they were coming from. However, I still asked them what they had in mind: Well, they said, we just want people to move away from all the negative stereotypes they associate with Africa; we want people to know that Africa is beautiful, that Africa is not all about the wars, the poverty, the disease and despair that are the common staple of western television and other media. We…
Author: Gainako
[image] Obituary: The Late Seydou Ba By Yero Jallow I was alerted to the death of Mr. Seydou Ba, a Senegalese national, whom I happen to know from early 2000. Seydou was my neighbor in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Seydou was in his mid-forties. According the news report (Source: http://www.wbaltv.com/news/mans-body-discovered-monday-in-car-in-millersville/29772530), Seydou was found in his car and pronounced dead on the spot in the early hours of Monday November 17th 2014. Seydou studied in Russia to the level of graduate studies, after which he moved with his Russian wife to Maryland. He continued studying while in the Washington DC area. He was…
‘Aproves 85 Million Dalasis Wasteful Spending for July 22nd Celebrations’ In July 2014 we authored a piece branding Gambia’s House of Parliament as the most embarrassing Institution in the nation. The premise of our argument was that the legislative body has been consistently used by President Jammeh to pass laws that defies common sense and directly contravenes the building of a democratic and free nation. We cited numerous examples; from the draconian media laws, the elimination of Presidential term limits, the insertions of age limit for contesting the Presidency, restoration of the death penalty to amending laws that…
Justice Emmanuel Amadi is expected to deliver a ruling on an application for bail submitted by the defence and objected to by the prosecution on Tuesday, 25th November, 2014 concerning Mr. Momodou Sabally, the former Secretary General and Head of the Civil Service and Minister for Presidential affairs. This proceeding took place on Monday, 17th November, 2014 at the Special Criminal division of the High Court of the Gambia in a congested court room fill with relatives and sympathizers. When the matter was called, Mr. Barkun, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) appeared for the state whilst Lawyer Antouman Gaye…
Press Statement Jeff Rathke Director, Bureau of Public Affairs, Office of Press Relations Washington, DC November 18, 2014 The United States congratulates the people of Burkina Faso and their leaders on the signing of a charter that will guide the transition to a democratically elected government. We congratulate Michel Kafando on being sworn in as interim president of Burkina Faso. We encourage Mr. Kafando to build on the momentum of the past two weeks and to select individuals to serve in the transitional government who are firmly committed to a democratic, civilian government. We urge Burkina Faso’s armed forces…
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE 18 November 2014 Gambia must stop wave of homophobic arrests and torture The arrest, detention and torture of eight people since the beginning of the month as part of a crackdown on “homosexuality” by the Gambian authorities reveals the shocking scale of state-sponsored homophobia, Amnesty International said. “These arrests took place amid an intensifying climate of fear for those perceived to have a different sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Steve Cockburn, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for West and Central Africa. “This unacceptable crackdown reveals the scale of state-sponsored homophobia in Gambia.…
‘The need to restudy the sacred texts’ KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad today called for debate among Muslim thinkers so that they might come up with interpretations of the Quran to meet the challenges of the times. Speaking at an international conference of Muslim intellectuals promoted as the Kuala Lumpur Summit, he directed the call at scholars in both the religious sciences and secular fields of learning. He argued that while the Quran is the unchangeable word of God, interpretations of its verses are the work of man and should be subject to change. “It is incumbent…
Indisputable! By Burama Jammeh The remaining questions: How do we chop down the tree? When do we chop down the big tree – before the start of new project or at the end or somewhere in-between? The answers to these questions are not simply what we wish but what we could, what’s feasible and what serves our goal(s). I never supported the July 22, 1994 coup and there are very few things I like, if any, about Jawara administration. I know not much but my politics and sociocultural values remained the same and unwavering – because they’re principled…
By Foday Samateh “When I arrived in Gambia, I was greeted by some plainclothes secret service personnel at the airport. “You are Fatou Jaw Manneh?” they asked. “Yes,” I answered. “Come with us,” they said. My brother was there to pick me up. “Where are you taking her?” he asked. “We cannot tell you.” Seeing my brother agitated, I begged him to go home. I really knew they had me. I was ready for the showdown. Die or live. In my own country, here I was crammed into a white pickup truck and driven into the darkness. No one would…
By Mathew K Jallow Mali and Burkina Faso symbolize the new philosophical bend of the African Union and ECOWAS; playing catch-up with the popular political sentiments of Africa’s vast, dispirited population. But it is only a beginning, the microcosm of what the rest of Africa’s dictatorships could potentially face, yet it is worth celebrating, but with cautious optimism. The moral fortitude, which both institutions have demonstrated since the Mali military coup, is evidence of an unmistakable departure from the AU’s predecessor, the OAU’s revolting attachment to a regime of ineptitude and distraction from Africa’s miserable reality. The tethering of the…