Will the Gambians get justice after Barrow’s deal with the Jammeh party? | News

With Gambia highly anticipated elections There will be a close race on December 4, a big bet for the victims of former President Yahya Jammeh, who – five years after the historic defeat in the polls – have not yet been brought to justice by the perpetrators.

Jammeh’s 22-year tenure in office has been blamed for serious human rights violations and the names of officials facing criminal trials were presented to President Adama Barrow last week.

Truth, Reconciliation and Reparation Committee (TRRC) 11 o’clock deliveryA week before the Gambians went to the polls, he urged the victims, who, after hearing the harsh testimonies of nearly three years of witnesses, were afraid twice delayed report could be ruled out with a change of authority.

“While not a flawless process, it is a tremendous achievement for the TRRC to finally present its report,” said Nana-Jo Ndow, founder and executive director of ANEKED victims ’organization, whose father Saul Ndow allegedly disappeared under the command of Jammeh. .

However, Ndow has expressed disappointment that the recommendations for the indictments have not yet been made public.

“This will unnecessarily prolong the horrific wait for the closure of the victims,” he said, noting that the recommendations are not legally binding.

“The government can decide whether or not to implement them. So the fight for justice continues, ”Ndow added.

There is uncertainty as to whether or not the TRRC’s recommendations will be implemented with the change of government.

Anxiety is emerging among victims and rights activists since Barrow, who promised to comply with TRRC recommendations, formed a coalition alliance with Jammeh’s old party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC), to help win a second term.

“The country has gone through a lot”

The APRC has long rejected TRRC as a witch-hunt to persecute Jammeh and other party members and is recently pushing for a reconciliation narrative that the party has reached an agreement with Barrow to grant Jammeh amnesty, paving the way for his potential return. Gambiara. He is currently in exile in Equatorial Guinea.

Although there is no legal basis for the alleged amnesty agreement, rights activists believe the union, if successful, could be a problem for the country’s transitional justice process. Major reforms, including the repeal of the Jammeh-era constitution and the renewal of the press and public order laws, have not yet been completed.

Many victims are waiting for a change of government after the Barrow government felt the need for speedy justice.

“He has lived all over the country, and we have fought so hard to get Jammeh out,” activist Fatoumatta Sandeng said, while his father, opposition activist Solo Sandeng, was arrested and beaten in a political appearance in April 2016. Jammeh’s National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

“We fear that if this government is re-elected, our struggle through the transition system will really be jeopardized and the perpetrators will be free to walk and the victims will not have to meet the needs of justice,” he said.

He warned of the possibility of civil unrest, for example, “if the APRC party were much larger and said and would do painful things against us, or if Jammeh returned.”

There is room for change of power, along with five others candidates competing for the top position. Barrow’s strongest opponent is the former ally and now the 73-year-old Ousainou Darboe Archive, the leader of the country’s largest opposition force, the United Democratic Party (UDP).

Darboe was in prison for protesting the death of Solo Sandeng when Barrow was chosen to direct the UDP in his absence. After serving as foreign minister and vice president, Barrow, 56, was fired from Darboe in 2019 for refusing his bid for a second presidency after refusing to promise the 2016 election three years later.

“They [UDP] They are the party that suffered the most violations during Jammeh’s dictatorship, so winning the election would mean taking steps to implement the TRRC’s recommendations, ”said human rights activist Madi Jobarteh.

Jammeh’s campaign interference

Even in exile, Jammeh has caused trouble on the eve of the polls. Last month, he rejected the Barrow-APRC alliance and led loyalists in his favor by recording his voice at rallies to form the “Non-Alliance Movement,” presenting Mama Kandeh in the Gambian Democratic Congress party.

Jammeh’s intervention in the election campaign was a “major setback”, according to Fatou Jagne Senghore, executive director of the West African human rights NGO Article 19. Jammeh “being absent, but being quite present on the political stage has clouded the election,” he said.

He is concerned that he has strengthened Jammeh’s followers and sympathizers, who were silent at the truth commission hearings.

“Even though people came to TRRC and acknowledged it, there are a lot of people in the country who think most of the things they accused Jammeh of are not true,” added Jagne Senghore, a Gambian who was instrumental in Jammeh’s campaign to end Jammeh. he ruled while he was based in Senegal.

Witnesses to the Jammeh truth commission linked the killing and torture of many opponents to a “witch hunt” with a fake HIV treatment program, killing, raping and sexually assaulting 56 migrants in West Africa.

Although the TRRC’s recommendations are not yet public, “the Commission did not leave a doubt that Yahya Jammeh was the chief among the former officials who recommended the trial,” said Reed Brody, of the International Commission of Jurists working with Jammeh’s victims. Presentation of the TRRC.

Victims and human rights groups held a public forum on November 17 to discuss ways justice.

As the campaign arrived last week, Jobarthe said it would be a “two-horse race” between Barrow and Darboe.

Whoever will be the next president of Gambia, the victims ’campaigns have no doubt that there can be no reconciliation without justice.

“In my case, and many victims feel that way, you can’t force me to reconcile with someone who killed my father without knowing that I have been brought to justice. And knowing that they could face justice, but there was no political will to implement that, ”said Fatoumatta Sandeng, a spokeswoman for the Jammeh2Justice campaign.

“Bringing Jammeh to justice requires a very strong political will and we have seen the opposite with this government,” he added. “It’s really a tense moment.”