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| The U.S. National Security Council has voiced concern over Gambia's move to block access to UN human rights investigators and for enacting new laws against homosexuality. |
The Gambia government has stated on December 27 that it has never
benefitted from a USA-Africa trade programme, the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA), which offered tax-free export.
The reaction follows President Obama’s decision last week to remove
Gambia and South Sudan from the trade propgramme over human rights violations.
“The government of the Republic of The Gambia congratulates the
government of The United States of America for the removal of The Gambia from
the list of eligible sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and
Opportunity Act (AGOA),” it said in a statement Saturday.
It added: “The Gambia has never
benefitted from the Act in the first place since a US Presidential Proclamation
designated the country as a beneficiary sub-Saharan African country on March 28,
2003.
“Furthermore, in light of remarks
in interviews and statements in the local media made by the Charge d'Affaires
of the US embassy in Banjul, it has now become unequivocal that the government
of the United States has no good intentions for the people of The Gambia.
“Consequently and bound by an
unshakeable faith in the Almighty Allah alone, it should be clear that the
dignified people of The Gambia will not succumb to outside pressures of any
kind nor from any source, for the wellbeing of her people remains paramount for
the government of The Gambia.”
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