After
Gambia's
Jammeh Jails
Darboe For 3
Years, UN Has
No Comment
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, July
21 – As in
Gambia Yahya
Jammeh locks
up the
opposition,
the UN
Secretariat
which has
previously
dabbled in the
issue with no
follow through
said nothing
on May 10 (nor
on May 11 or
12). This
despite the
emergence of
what's said to
be audio
of Gambia's
Deputy
Permanent
Representative
to the UN Sam
Sarr saying he
would shoot
the
protesters.
On
July 21, Inner
City Press
asked Ban
K-moon's
deputy
spokesman
Farhan Haq, UN transcript
here:
Inner
City Press: in
Gambia, the
opposition
leader, Mr.
[Ousainou]
Darboe, has
been sentenced
to three years
for
participating
in a
demonstration,
and I wanted
to know, I
know
previously the
UN and the UN
Office of West
Africa and Mr.
[Jeffrey]
Feltman had
been trying to
engage with
Gambia; what
has been done
since and do
you have any
comment on
this prison
sentence?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Well, we need
to look into
what the
process is and
make sure that
due process
has been
followed in
this
particular
case.
But I'll also
check up and
see whether
there is any
other reaction
about this.
Eight
hours later
and counting,
nothing.
On
May 11, Inner
City Press
asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric about
the crackdown,
and audio. Vine here, UN
transcript
here and
below.
On
June 1, Inner
City Press
asked
Dujarric, video here, UN
transcript
here:
Inner
City Press:
Yahya Jammeh
of Gambia, you
know, he has
been quoted as
saying Ban…
the
Secretary-General…
I mean he may
have said Ban
Ki-moon;
that's I was
trying to
determine… can
go to
hell.
And this has
to do with
calls to
investigate
the death of
activist Solo
Sandeng.
So, I wanted
to know two
things.
One is kind of
a setup for
you, a
softball.
What's the
response of
the
Secretary-General
to this
statement by
the leader of
Gambia?
But, two, what
has the UN
actually been
doing to… to
try to bring
about an
investigation
of the death
of Mr. Sandeng
and other…
other
activists…?
Spokesman:
We've seen the
quotes.
The UN's
position is
unchanged, and
I'll get an
update from
our colleagues
in the region
as to the
contacts
they've had.
From
May 11:
Inner
City Press:
There’ve been
reports of
kind of a
crackdown in
Gambia in the
last few days
of opposition
people locked
up, and I know
that the UN
had previously
worked on it
through DPA
(Department of
Political
Affairs).
So do they
have any
comment?
One of the
reports
involves an
audio clip of
the Deputy
Permanent
Representative
to the UN here
in New York
saying, if I
were in
charge, I’d
shoot all the
protesters…
[inaudible]
Spokesman:
I don’t have
anything on
Gambia for you
today.
Nothing?
(The
audio
includes the
F-bomb, in
vogue this
year in the UN
Press Briefing
Room, on
January 29
when Spokesman
Dujarric and
his Deputy
Farhan Haq
threw Inner
City Press out
of the room
where it was
pursuing the
UN corruption
scandal story,
and since,
deriding a
question
concerning the
Department of
Public
Information
which ousted
and then
evicted Inner
City Press, video here.)
On
May 13 the UN
system spoke -
but not the
Secretariat,
where the
Department of
Political
Affairs had
purported to
be following
and working on
Gambia, rather
from OHCHR
spokesperson
Rupert
Colville on
Geneva:
"
We remain
deeply
concerned at
the situation
of dozens of
protestors who
were arrested
during a
peaceful rally
on 14 and 16
April in the
Gambian
capital
Banjul. We
have received
worrying
reports that
some of them,
who are still
in detention,
have been
tortured.
There are also
reports that
their family
members have
not been
allowed to
visit them,
and some have
been denied
access to
medical care.
We urge the
Gambian
Government to
release all
those who have
been arrested
and detained
for simply
having
exercised
their rights
to freedom of
expression,
opinion and
assembly.
We also
reiterate our
call to the
Gambian
authorities to
launch an
impartial
investigation
into the
reported death
in custody of
Solo Sandeng,
Chairman of
the youth wing
of the
opposition
United
Democratic
Party (UDP) on
14 April.
Two other
female
opposition
figures,
Fatoumata
Jawara and
Nogoi Njai,
who were also
feared to have
died, were
found in
custody – but
reportedly in
very bad
condition.
We are also
deeply worried
about the
situation of
Alhagie
Ceesay,
Director of
the Teranga FM
radio station,
who has been
on trial for
sedition and
false
information
since July
2015. Ceesay
has been
hospitalized
on several
occasions for
serious health
problems
reportedly due
to torture and
ill-treatment
he has endured
while in
detention. He
was last seen
alive on 11
April. We urge
the Gambian
Government to
clarify his
whereabouts,
ensure that he
is not
submitted to
torture and
ill-treatment,
and guarantee
that his right
to fair trial
is fully
respected. "
So where is
the UN's
Department of
Public Affairs
on this? Ban
Ki-moon has
been on
another tour
gather
honorary
degrees and
talking about
the
Sustainable
Development
Goals, while
his Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric
refuses to
answer Inner
City Press
twice asked
question about
Ban's and his
UN's
engagement
with the
“Global
Governance for
the UN
Sustainable
Development
Goals” group,
and its links
with the
ongoing Ng Lap
Seng UN
bribery
scandal. Inner
City Press is
now under
restrictions,
including
minders, not
imposed on
other more
UN-friendly
media. To this
has the UN
descended.
Watch this
site.
Back on April
17 after
Gambia killed
three
opposition
figures in
jail after
locking up
many more
during an
April 14
protest, the
US and Ban
Ki-moon UN
both issued
statements.
Tellingly,
while the US
statement
cited the
"United
Nations
International
Covenant on
Civil and
Political
Rights," Ban
Ki-moon's did
not. This is
because Ban's
UN is lawless,
as shown on
Haiti cholera
and, right at
Headquarters,
on April 16
when Ban had
evicted the
investigative
Press without
any process, video here.
Ban's UN
pretended to
care about
Gambia in late
2014 and early
2015, but
never followed
through.
Back
in late
December 2014,
the UN has
said the coup
attempt in
Gambia was
important to
it, even as it
was
mis-reported.
On February 4,
the UN told
Inner City
Press its
official
Jeffrey
Feltman was
going to the
country.
On
the morning of
February 10,
Inner City
Press learned
that the visit
had not taken
place, that by
some accounts
President
Yahya Jammeh
had canceled
it, after
publication of
an article
online.
Inner
City Press
looked online
and found
an article
that might
have triggered
this,
calling the
previous visit
of the UN's
Mohammed
Chambas a
failure, and
saying "This
time the UN is
dispatching
United Nations
Under-Secretary-General
for Political
Affairs
Jeffrey
Feltman to
visit Banjul
on 4 February
2015 for an
audience with
the country’s
leader Yahya
Jammeh,
according to a
press
statement from
the UNDP."
So Inner City
Press went to
the website
of the UN
"country team"
in Gambia,
run by UNDP,
but when one
clicks "news"
it leads to a
message of
"404."
Failure.
At
the February
10 noon
briefing,
Inner City
Press asked UN
deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
about all
this. Video
here.
Back on
February 4,
having seen
mention in the
African press,
Inner City
Press asked UN
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Stephane
Dujaric:
Inner
City Press:
Can you
confirm that
Mr. [Jeffrey]
Feltman is
going to
Gambia on a
follow-up to
Mr. [Mohammed
ibn] Chambas'
visit?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I do believe
he is in
Gambia, and we
will get more
details.
Inner City
Press:
And is there
some reason
that his
schedule is
not public? I
mean, this was
reported in
the press
there.
It seems when
he goes
places, he's
representing
the
Secretary-General.
Spokesman:
I think we try
to share his
schedules.
Sometimes
things fall
through the
cracks.
But, we try to
be as open and
transparent as
we can
Inner City
Press / FUNCA:
Can you ask
[the
Department of
Political
Affairs] to
put it online?
Spokesman:
Thousands of
[Department of
Political
Affairs]
staffers are
probably
watching this
briefing.
Inner
City
Press:
I’m sure.
Not only are
Feltman's
schedules not
made public,
as now
formally
requested by
the Free UN
Coalition for
Access - just
after this
exchange, Ban
Ki-moon held a
lunch with
scribes the
Q&A of
which has not
been released.
Click here for
that.
The
Gambia coup
attempt was
discussed for
a second time
in the UN
Security
Council on
January 8, but
discrepancies
emerged.
On
December 31,
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon said
that he
“encourages
the
establishment
of a
transparent
investigation
into the
events of 30
December, in
compliance
with due
process and
respect for
the rule of
law.”
The call for a
transparent
investigation
was missing
from the
January 8
briefing by UN
official
Chambas, who
told the
Security
Council
“I am planning
to visit
Banjul on
14-15 January
and meet with
President
Jammeh. I will
reiterate our
firm
condemnation
of any attempt
to seize power
by
unconstitutional
means, and
encourage the
Gambian
authorities to
work with the
support of
international
partners, to
ensure the
credibility of
judicial
procedures and
the respect of
human rights.”
Afterward
Inner City
Press asked
Chambas about
the different,
and on behalf
of the Free UN
Coalition for
Access about
radio station
Taranga FM,
shut down
during the
coup bid and
now told to
play only
music.
Chambas told
Inner City
Press he had
not heard of
the station --
Inner City
Press in the
hallway urged
him to tune it
in while he is
in Bangui, to
see if it is
only music --
and spoke of
trying to
liberalize
West Africa.
We'll see.
Before 10 am
on December
31, Ban
Ki-moon issued
a 123 word
statement
calling for
restraint and
an
investigation
of the attempt
in the The
Gambia, albeit
not mentioning
the name of
the target of
the coup,
Yahya Jammeh.
After the
Security
Council's
45-minute
meeting, Inner
City Press
asked the
Council's
president who
is supposed to
do the
investigation
Ban had called
for before the
meeting. He
responded that
UN official
Chambas will
go to Banjul;
Inner City
Press later
learned and
published that
this will take
place on
January 2.
Reuters
however reported
that
"Following
brief talks at
the U.N.
Security
Council,
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
called for a
transparent
investigation
into the
events and
also urged
restraint."
This
is false.
Ban's
statement was
at 9:37 am;
the Security
Council
meeting didn't
start until 10
am, and didn't
end until
10:45 am. (At
that time,
Inner City
Press asked
Ban's Under
Secretary
General for
Political
Affairs
Jeffrey
Feltman for
more detail;
he replied
that since Ban
had issued a
statement, he
had nothing to
add -- all too
common at the
UN, as pointed
out and
opposed by the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access.)
Reuters was
not present at
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout
before, during
or after the
meeting on
Gambia (Tweeted
photo here),
and apparently
not in the UN
building
either. The crediting
on the above
quoted story is
"Reporting by
David Lewis
and Diadie Ba
in Dakar,
Lesley
Wroughton in
Washington, Louis
Charbonneau
in New York;
Writing by
David Lewis
and Matthew
Mpoke Bigg;
Editing by
Giles Elgood."
Six
journalists
listed; one
outright
falsehood.
What does
Reuters do in
these cases?
We've asked
management
including
Stephen J.
Adler before,
amid censorship,
with no
real answer.
#ReutersFail.
Since then,
African Union
commission
chief
Nkosazana
Dlamini-Zuma
has expressed
"preoccupation"
and rurged
deepening
"democracy and
the respect
for human
rights."
By the time of
Ban's 9:37 am
December 31
statement,
later
misrepresented
by Reuters,
the US had
already issued
a statement:
“The United
States is
aware of
reports of a
coup attempt
on December 30
in The Gambia.
We strongly
condemn any
attempt to
seize power
through
extra-constitutional
means. We
regret the
loss of life
and call on
all parties to
refrain from
further
violence.”
Thirteen hours
later when Ban
Ki-moon issued
his statement,
he went a bit
further and
cited calm and
called for an
investigation,
apparently by
Jammeh's
government
itself:
“The
Secretary-General
is following
closely
developments
in The Gambia.
He reiterates
the United
Nations
principled
condemnation
of all
attempts to
seize power
through
unconstitutional
means.
Referring to
reports that
indicate that
the situation
in Banjul is
calm, he calls
for all
parties to
exercise
restraint and
to refrain
from further
violence.
“Noting
the
seriousness of
any attempt to
overthrow
governments by
force, the
Secretary-General
encourages the
establishment
of a
transparent
investigation
into the
events of 30
December, in
compliance
with due
process and
respect for
the rule of
law. In that
regard, he
urges the
Government of
The Gambia,
and its
security and
defense forces
to act in full
respect for
human rights.
The United
Nations will
continue to
closely
monitor the
situation.”
When the UN
Security
Council
meeting on the
topic began at
10:10 am on
December 31,
there were
tumbleweeds at
the stakeout
in front. Some
may denounce
The Gambia,
but at the UN
or at least in
its press
corp, there is
not apparently
much interest.
When the
meeting ended,
in less than
45 minutes,
Inner City
Press asked
Feltman about
it. He said
since the SG
had issued a
statement, he
had nothing to
add. In 2015,
the Free
UN Coalition
for Access
will be
pressing for
all UN Under
Secretaries
General to
answer
questions.
Finally, the
Security
Council's
president for
December, from
Chad, came and
summarized the
meeting,
saying that UN
official
Chambas,
previously the
head of UNAMID
in Darfur,
will file a
report. There
have been
problems with
UNAMID's
reporting.
(Again
in terms of
micro-news,
Inner City
Press is
exclusively
told by
sources that
Chambas will
go to Gambia
on Friday,
January 2.
Since the UNSC
President was
asked on
camera when
Chambas would
go and only
said "soon,"
call it a coup
scooplet.)
Inner City
Press asked
the outgoing
Security
Council
president
about the
December 30
closed door
meeting about
Sudan throwing
out two UN
officials,
Yvonne Helle
and Ali
Al-Za'tari. He
said he
couldn't
speak, nothing
had been
agreed to.
Which is why
the UN
Secretariat
should have
spoken and
taken
questions, as
FUNCA
requested
and will
continue to
request in
2015. Watch
this site.