Monday, January 23, 2017

Perspective: Gambia | The Cry of the Imburi | Rene Wadlow


The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has strongly suggested that Jammeh leave power and has sent a number of high-level missions to the capital Banjul to urge a departure. 

President, Yahya Jammeh
Times of Ahmad | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit:  Author
By Rene Wadlow | January 21, 2017

The Imburi are spirits that are said to inhabit the forests of Gabon in Equatorial Africa and who cry out for those who can hear them at times of impending violence or danger.  Today, the Imburi are crying so that we will focus on the Gambia. The UN Security Council has heard the cry and has called for a transfer of authority to a new president, duly elected, Adama Barrow.

Adama Barrow took the oath of office of President  on 19 January 2017 at the Embassy of Gambia in Dakar, Senegal as he is in exile for his safety in neighboring  Senegal. The long-time President, Yahya Jammeh who took power in 1994 in a military coup has been in office so long that he refuses to leave.

Many have suggested that Jammeh could leave, especially to avoid local violence or foreign intervention. In his 22 years of service in a country where the trade  of arms and drugs is the chief economic activity, he must have put his share of profits in foreign banks.  There are suggestions that with funds collected to offer him a “golden parachute” he could leave peacefully.  Nigeria has offered him a nice retirement home. But Jammeh insists that he will stay on and that the one December vote was somehow fixed against him and his alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction Party.

The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has strongly suggested that Jammeh leave power and has sent a number of high-level missions to the capital Banjul to urge a departure. To drive home their point, ECOWAS has stationed troops in Senegal  on the frontier with Gambia. Some Senegalese troops, members of ECOWAS, have crossed the frontier into Gambia to prevent violence but said that they did not have a political mission. The current chair of ECOWAS is the Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who knows first hand what armed conflict and civil war can bring to a country.

There are those in Gambia who expect the worst. Some 45,000 have left the country for Senegal in the last few days. Many shops have closed, and food prices have climbed . There are real possibilities for violence. President Jammeh had a long-term policy of hate speech against minorities, especially the Mandinka whose traditional home is Senegal and against gays.  Jammeh's current supporters are stressing that “gays and their foreign supporters” are those who are creating instability.  There is real danger that violence based on ethnicity, sexual orientation, and political allegiance will break out.

Ministers in Jammeh's government have resigned including the key ministries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Trade. Some ministers have left the country for Senegal fearing revenge violence.  Certainly a quiet retirement in Nigeria would be a welcome end to Jammeh's brutal and corrupt years of service. But the situation merits watching closely. The Imburi are worried.


________________
Rene Wadlow, President, Association of World Citizens


-- Perspective: Gambia: The Cry of the Imburi | Rene Wadlow


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Times of Ahmad. Times of Ahmad is not an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments. Any comments irrelevant to the post's subject matter, containing abuses, and/or vulgar language will not be approved.

Top read stories during last 7 days

Disclaimer!

THE TIMES OF AHMAD is NOT an organ of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, nor in any way associated with any of the community's official websites. Times of Ahmad is an independently run and privately managed news / contents archival website; and does not claim to speak for or represent the official views of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. The Times of Ahmad assumes full responsibility for the contents of its web pages. The views expressed by the authors and sources of the news archives do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Times of Ahmad. All rights associated with any contents archived / stored on this website remain the property of the original owners.