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| Gambian President Jammeh, has been accused by rights campaigners of muzzling press freedom |
One of
the world’s leading free expression and press freedom advocates, ARTICLE 19 has
said the situation of freedom of expression in the Gambia is worrying, a
country that host the African Commission on Human and People's Rights, ACHPR.
ARTICLE
19 has constantly denounced the appalling state of free expression and of the
press in that tiny West African country before the African Commission and its
stance during the (April 18-May 2, 2012) 51st Ordinary Session of
the ACHPR was no different.
“Indeed,
the curtailment of freedom of expression by physical and other forms of
violence in the Gambia culminated in the brutal murder of journalist Deyda
Hydara on 16 December 2004 and the disappearance without any trace of
journalist Chief Ebrima Manneh in July 2006,” the agency told the Commission.
In all
these cases, ARTICLE 19 has always joined other human rights defenders to
demand justice. It urge the Special Rapporteur on Free Expression in Africa to
also drew attention to the case of former Minister of Information, Amadou
Scattred Janneh, an opinion leader, who is languishing in prison accused of
treason for simply having tee shirts printed with the words ''Coalition for
Change in the Gambia - Stop the dictatorship''.
The
agency, represented by its Dakar-based West Africa office, said these cases of
violations of freedom of expression must be added to the systematic restriction
of new media, especially the internet.
“Several
information sites are jammed, thus depriving the Gambian population from
accessing alternative sources of information,” it added. “Worse, is the fact
that the legal framework governing freedom of expression and access to
information often used to curtail expression is totally contrary to the
international standards that are binding on the Gambia, particularly the
Declaration of Principles.”
On April
17, ARTICLE 19 published a detailed legal analysis of the legal framework which
criminalises any statements or speeches that are critical of the public
authorities.
“We have
recommended to the Gambia to initiate serious reform of its laws by amending
and repealing certain draconian provisions that prevent Gambians from freely
expressing themselves and participating in national public debates,” ARTICLE 19
noted.
It also
lament that today, Gambian journalists and human rights defenders are still
working in a state of fear, some have fled the country and the few that remain
exercise their profession under surveillance by a system of justice under
orders.
Meanwhile, it
welcome and
support the announcement of the visit that the Special Rapporteur on the
Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa plans to undertake
soon in the Gambia in order to further the dialogue that ARTICLE 19 and other
institutions have been trying to initiate between the State and civil society
actors on the question of freedom of expression and access to information.
“We ask
for the release of prisoners of conscience in the Gambia and the protection of
their physical and moral integrity,” the agency exhorts, before finally
reiterating their determination to continue working closely and increasingly
with the mechanism of the Special Rapporteur on the Freedom of Expression and
Access to Information in Africa.
By Modou S. Joof
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