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Article 19 official contradicts Gambian Justice Minister`s statement
Sunday, 16 May 2010 21:26
By Abdoulie John The recent outburst by the Gambian Justice Minister, Edward Gomez, denying widely reported claims of human rights violations by his government, continues to attract condemnation across all corners. The latest such denunciation of a statement directed against both rights organizations and “bad media” in Gambia by the minister came from a senior official of Article 19.
In an exclusive interview with Jollofnews, Amadou C. Kanoute, Article 19 West Africa consultant, discredited the attempt by the Gambian Justice Minister to distill his government’s human rights record by denying well documented reports.
“I think they will find it very difficult to articulate in a strong argument what the NGOs have put on the table in terms of violations of freedom of expression in The Gambia. Because whatever he (Edward Gomez) said, we took it from the Head of State. He was the one who threatened to kill human rights defenders. This is really a major concern for NGOs,” Kanoute stated.
ARTICLE 19 describes itself as an independent human rights organization focusing on protecting and promoting the right to freedom of expression. It takes its name from Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees free speech.
Gomez, at the opening of the 47th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Right in Banjul, declared that there was no such thing as human rights violations committed by the Gambian government. “Here in Gambia we respect human rights,” he said, last Wednesday.
Gomez told the session that bad press by the Gambian media was responsible for the situation, effectively accusing human rights organizations for wrongly buying into unfair reports by journalists who he said feel proud in vilifying their own country.
But according to Article 19’s Amadou Kanoute, human rights activists were disappointed by the minister’s statement as their expectations had been to see him (Gomez) giving more assurances to them.
“What we were expecting from him was to allay our fears. There is no need to deny issues relating to violations of freedom of expression and human rights abuses. Everybody had knowledge that there are cases of human rights abuses in many African countries and they have all pledged that they will make efforts in their respective countries. So denying those facts, while your colleagues are saying we acknowledge but we are going to make some efforts, is something that does not go along the trend,” Kanoute said.
The human rights activist asserted that human rights defenders were looking for a constructive partnership with governments. He said: “As underdeveloped countries, we know it is very difficult to put together both the fight against poverty and sustaining human rights and freedom of expression. But, opposing a strong denial to the NGOs’ statement is something that just goes beyond my understanding.”
Concerning the minister’s invitation, he questioned its relevance and sought to put across the question to him as to whether it will preclude chances for discussion.
“Even though he invited us to come to his office, his statement seems to have closed the doors for constructive partnership,” Kanoute said, and added: “how many of us stay in this country? How many of us have the opportunity to just walk into his office and engage him on these issues?”
In spite of his devastating feeling by Minister Gomez’s line of challenge against the NGOs’ stance, Kanoute reiterated that he still believed that African countries had reached a stage of maturity.
“We think that our States have reached a stage where they can say ‘our NGOs are doing a very good work on the ground as we the African Commission could not have the resources to be able to go where they can go, to see what we cannot see, to hear what we cannot hear.’ We are partners in development,” he stated.
Days after his statement, Edward Gomez’s shadow continues to hang over the deliberations of the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR). That’s why a growing number of participants have been raising their voices to demand that he (Gomez) accept this fact and opens constructive dialogue with democratic organizations like the Gambia Press Union (GPU) in order to break the wall of misunderstanding.
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