GAMBIA BEGINS NEW ERA AFTER UNPOPULAR LEADER PACKS AND RUNS
Jan. 23, 2017 (GIN) – Former President of The Gambia, Yahya
Jammeh, packed a Chadian cargo plane with luxury
cars and went into exile late Saturday, barely
missing the west African regional troops on their
way to remove him by force if necessary.
Jammeh,
who lost a re-election bid on Dec. 1 but resisted
stepping down, accepted an invitation from Pres.
Teodoro Obiang, a highly-unpopular leader in the
Central African nation of Equatorial Guinea. This
sparked objections by the opposition Convergence
for Social Democracy (CDS), pointing out that
Gambia’s instability was a result of
ex-president Jammeh’s own refusal to relinquish
power after 22 years.
"We
are not against Pan-Africanism, but we are in
favor of a more objective Pan-Africanism that does
not consist in just bringing over the waste of
Africa," the CDS said.
According
to local media reports, Jammeh departed with two
Rolls-Royces, a Mercedes-Benz and other cars and
luxury items.
A
diplomat, speaking to the New York Times, said Mr.
Jammeh had tried to withdraw money from the
Gambian central bank in recent weeks but was
denied access. Two weeks ago, he shipped 22
vehicles to Mauritania.
Al
Jazeera reported that Jammeh plundered state
coffers in his final weeks in power, helping
himself to over $11 million. An advisor to the new
President, Adama Barrow, told reporters that
“The coffers are largely empty… As we take
over, the government of The Gambia is in financial
distress.”
While
President Barrow awaits a green light from the
regional troops clearing out ‘secret weapons
depots’ among Jammeh loyalists, he began naming
his cabinet, starting with Ms. Fatoumatta
Tambajang, a prominent pro-democracy activist, as
Vice President.
Mrs.
Tambajang was part of the opposition coalition
that unseated Mr. Jammeh. A former United Nations
Development Program gender/development expert, she
also served as Minister of Health, Social Welfare
and Women’s Affairs in the government of the
ousted president.
As
of press time, it was still unclear when Mr.
Barrow would arrive. For now, he is camped out
with family and aides in a house he owns in an
upscale neighborhood in Dakar, working on naming
his cabinet.
As
Mr. Jammeh left the country, the United Nations,
the African Union and the Economic Community of
West African States released a joint declaration
saying they were committed to preventing the
seizure of assets from the former president and
his family and loyalists.
A
Truth and Reconciliation Committee has been
proposed. Ironically, Mr. Jammeh may even be
allowed to relocate to the United States where he
has a house in Potomac, Maryland. w/pix of Mr.
and Mrs. Y. Jammeh
LIBERIAN
WARLORD RECALLED AS HIS EVANGELICAL EX-WIFE THROWS
HAT IN RING
Jan. 23, 2017 (GIN) – As Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf’s
six year term in office draws to a close,
political hopefuls are jockeying for position to
fill the top seat. Among them is the ex-wife of
convicted warlord Charles Taylor.
The
selection of Sen. Jewel Howard-Taylor has
resurrected, for some, the Taylor nightmare of a
brutal war and the Senator’s role in a
contentious campaign to Christianize Liberia which
led to the persecution of Muslims and the
destruction of some mosques.
The
campaign was rejected by President Johnson Sirleaf,
a United Methodist, who said efforts to declare
Liberia a Christian state would create “division
among the citizens based on religious belief.”
Nvasekie
Konneh, a Liberian Muslim who opposed the campaign
wrote on social media: “Since the 80’s through
the 90’s, there has been constant concern among
some Christians that ‘Muslims want to take over
Liberia and impose Islam.’ When the war started
in the 90s, some were saying that, “President
Samuel Doe received a huge amount of money from
President Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida of Nigeria to
turn Liberia into an Islamic State.”
That
rumor, he said, encouraged “a systematic
campaign not only to desecrate, demolish, or burn
Mosques everywhere in Liberia, but also to kill
Muslims as well; thousands of Muslims were killed
in various places in Liberia. In some places,
mosques were turned into night clubs, public
toilets, or completely demolished.”
Supporters
of a change to the Constitution say they were
simply trying to restore language originally in
the preamble to the constitution that the nation
was built on a Christian foundation. They say that
language was removed in 1986 when the constitution
was amended.
“We
are not asking for a statute legislating
Christianity,” insisted Sen. Howard Taylor.
At
a recent rally, presidential candidate George Weah
downplayed the religious theme. Introducing
Howard-Taylor, he said that if he were to become
president, the country would be "an
environment in which all Liberians, including
former presidents, will live freely."
Meanwhile,
in her last State of the Union speech, titled
“Accounting for our Stewardship”, the 78 year
old “Ma Ellen” as she was known informally,
wrote: “I have been a witness as our country has
gone from civil unrest, dictatorship, anarchy and
war; from the abuse of children conscripted as
soldiers, pervasive sexual violence, and economic
collapse; and then, finally, to peace, elections,
development, and an open and dynamic civil
society.
“When
we commenced this journey in 2006, I had great
expectations in the potential of reform and
reconstruction. Today, we can say with pride that
we have travelled a road of uninterrupted peace
for these eleven years...
“We
have young people who have never known war or
civil conflict, who have not had to run, hide or
cower in their homes. We have thousands of
children back in school. We have farmers who have
returned to their villages, refugees and
professionals who are returning home. This peace
is our greatest triumph.”
The
full text of the speech can be found at
FrontPageAfrica…. w/pix of Ms. J.
Howard-Taylor
AFRICANS JOIN U.S. MARCH WITH DEMAND FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS
Jan.
23, 2017 (GIN) – Kenyan women joined women’s
marches Saturday for the protection of their
rights, safety, families, health and the health of
planet earth.
”Thank
you to the organizers who made it happen and to
the many people who turned out and made their
voices heard.” wrote Julia Cumes on Nairobi’s
women’s march Facebook event wall.
“Yesterday,
I was thrilled to join my voice to the millions
here and abroad to begin the resistance to the
most dangerous president in US history,” wrote
Reed Brody, a distinguished human rights lawyer
working many years in Africa. “There were so
many people in DC I didn't get to hear the great
speeches, to which I'm now listening - Gloria
Steinem, Alicia Keys, Angela Davis. I urge folks
to take up Michael Moore's recommendations for
action. WE are the majority, WE have the power.
Let us create a hundred Standing Rocks. NO PASARAN!”
The
marches were initiated by women in the US,
standing together for the rights of women, Black,
minority, ethnic and refugee groups, immigrants of
all statuses, those with diverse religious faiths,
people who identify as LGBTQIA, people with
disabilities, the economically impoverished, and
survivors of sexual assault, recognizing that an
attack on one, is an attack on all.
In
Kenya they marched to demand reproductive rights,
women’s land and inheritance rights, and the
implementation of the 2/3 rule. They also marched
to end sexual harassment and assault, female
genital mutilation, and the trafficking of women
and children; and to end discrimination against
LGBTQ people, sex workers, disabled women, HIV
positive women, refugee women, women in the
informal sector and other marginalized groups.
The
Women’s March on Nairobi has been endorsed by
Amnesty International Kenya, Center for Rights and
Education Awareness (CREAW), Coalition for
Grassroots Human Rights Defenders, COVAW
(Coalition on Violence Against Women), Gay and
Lesbian Coalition of Kenya (GALCK), HER VOICE,
Human Rights Watch, Kenya Human Rights Commission,
Kenya Sex Workers Alliance, Minority Women in
Action, National Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission, and Progressive Americans in Kenya.
In
Nigeria, the Women's March was scheduled to make
its way to the House of Assembly in downtown Jos,
where the nation's laws are voted on, to demand
the passage of a controversial gender equality
law.
The
bill, which aims to eliminate all forms of gender
related discrimination, provide girls with access
to education, provide protections against sexual
abuse and the "right to freedom," has
already been voted down twice due to religious and
cultural differences.
A
hearing on the bill is set to happen in the next
two weeks.
Meanwhile,
among the first few executive orders by the new
administration, Pres. Donald J. Trump has ruled
that funding will be cut to health providers
abroad who discuss abortion as a family-planning
option.
LISA
VIVES
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