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Pressure mounts on Gambia government over gender activists
Wednesday, 20 October 2010 13:24
Jammeh accused of witch-hunting By Jollof News Correspondent
The Dakar based Director of Inter -African Network for Women, Media, Gender and Development (FAMEDEV), Amie Joof Cole, Monday joined what has become an international fray in denouncing the Gambian authorities for the arrest of two prominent Gambian gender activists -- Dr. Isatou Touray and Amie Bojang
Sissoho.Mrs Joof Cole, herself a leading rights and gender activist, was addressing a press conference, organized by 'Coalition for Human Rights in The Gambia' in collaboration with regional and international human rights organizations.
According to her, there is more to the issue than what the Gambian authorities alleged against the two detained ladies. She said the Gambian government, under normal circumstances, would have “no business” between two non-governmental organizations that “have signed a contract.”
“So, why should Gambia's Presidential Office be evidently interested in this case when the relevant body, The Association of Non-Governmental Organization (TANGO), is there?” she queried.
The Gambian-born Director of FAMEDEV was blunt in her accusation of President Yahya Jammeh, saying that the arrest and continued detention of the two GAMCOTRAP officials were based on “an executive order” from the president’s office and that it was politically-motivated.
Dr. Isatou Touray, Executive Director of the Gambia Committee for Traditional Practices (GAMCOTRAP), and her Programme Coordinator, Amie Bojang Sissoho, were arrested and detained on 11 October by Gambian security forces and later remanded for week by a magistrate court which denied them bail. They were accused of theft, a charge they denied vehemently. Even the Spanish organization linked to the issue has sine distanced itself from the Gambian government’s handling of the matter.
But according to Amie Joof Cole, human rights groups would not rest until “justice is done in this case” and the rights of the two ladies were ensured and protected.
The veteran Gambian media practitioner also hinted a possible legal action against the Gambian government and all those behind the arrest and detention of the gender activists.
The Dakar press conference was organized in collaboration with rights groups such as: Organization Nationale des Droits de l'Homme (ONDH), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), Rencontre Africaine pour le Défense Des Droits de l'Homme (RADDHO), West African Journalists Association (WAJA) and Amnesty International, Section Senegal.
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