Back and Next - Back and NextPresident Jammeh returns from Ecowas Abuja Summit
Monday, January 12, 2009
The Gambian leader, Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, last Saturday night, returned home after attending the Ecowas Extraordinary summit of heads of states and governments, held in the Nigerian capital of Abuja.
He was met on arrival at the Banjul International Airport by the vice president of the republic and secretary of state for Women’s Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie Saidy, along with other secretaries of state, senior government officials and members of the diplomatic community. Also at the airport to receive the Gambian leader were security chiefs, members of NAPSA and a cross section of cultural groups.
The Gambian leader, after the usual formal airport ceremony, dilated on the outcome of their discussion which was convened purposely to discuss the state of affairs in Guinea Conakry, where the military had seized power in the aftermath of the death of former President Lansana Conteh.
The fact that Ecowas leaders are dedicating their time to the issue of the West African country, according to Professor Jammeh, demonstrates their resolve to finding a lasting solution to it.
He told journalists that “the mere fact that it is an extraordinary summit, reminds us about the last summit we had, nearly three weeks ago, and then we had to go back – that shows that the sub regional body is taking it very seriously, and obviously the outcome is a strong condemnation of what has happened.”
President Jammeh pointed out that Ecowas has spoken unanimously, that the junta must return Guinea to civilian rule as soon as possible. But, he added, Ecowas has no interest in taking “any type of action that would make innocent people suffer, and so anything that would punish the people instead of the government, Ecowas would not take that kind of action.”
The people of Guinea, he went on, have suffered a lot. And he added that anything that would make them suffer anymore will not be condoned by the body. To this end, he maintained, the sub regional body has urged the international community to help the military government in place “for a smooth transition to civilian rule, because they would need a lot of resources to organize election, and so Ecowas itself has taken it upon itself to assist them in that domain. Anything they can assist the government with so that the people of Guinea will not suffer any further, Ecowas has requested the international community to do so.”
The idea behind this stance,the Gambian leader stressed, is not to alienate the people of Guinea as the decision is one based on the statutes of the sub regional body. “When they were taking power,” he said of the Junta, “they realised what the status quo is. The laws of the sub regional body condemn coups.”
President Jammeh however emphasised that the government in Guinea needs Ecowas more than Ecowas needs them. And he pointed to the fact that it is not only the Ecowas that had condemned the coup, but that the African Union (AU) had also taken a similar line.
“The AU has suspended them, and the EU has announced that they are not going to have anything to do with the government. There is a law that says that any unconstitutional change of government is unacceptable, and so it must be condemned. If the government are true to their pronouncement, it is in their best interest for them to work with Ecowas than trying to listen to some irresponsible regional leaders who tacitly seem to support them based on their own personal interest; based on hypocrisy.
Before they took over they knew what the consequences were going to be,” President Jammeh said. The Gambian leader further told reporters that Ecowas had also tasked the commission to work with the government in Guinea to make sure that the transition to civilian rule takes place without a hitch, “and they have to abide by that decision.”
Although there might be division among the Ecowas leaders, President Jammeh admitted, as far as he knew, however, all of them present at the Abuja summit unanimously condemned the coup in Guinea. ‘We had a quorum to condemn it,” he said, “and so that is what stands.”
He said that those who are supporting the government are doing so not in support of the best interest of the Guinean people, but that they are doing so for their personal and selfish interest. “And most of them are working for foreign powers. Guinea is awash with natural resources, and so some people would see this as an opportunity to capitalise and support an illegal take over of government to get hold of these resources.”
But the mere fact that Ecowas has condemned them, is what is more important, President Jammeh stressed. “The coup,” he went on, “has been condemned and the government has been suspended, and those who support them can not nullify the suspension. That is what is more important.”
“Obviously, there are people who have a vested interest in Guinea, and they will support the government for their interest, but they will face the reality soon.” Before the end of 2009, President Jammeh said, there must be a transition and handing over of authority to a civilian government. That, according to him, is the demand of the sub regional body.
“Despite the fact that we have suspended them we are not asking the international community not to help them. We are in fact telling the international community - the donor community, to help them, because Guinea is in dire situation.” This, president Jammeh believes is important if we can attain a smooth transition to a civilian rule.
Ecowas Foreign ministers meeting
Prior to the Ecowas heads of state meeting, the foreign ministers of the sub regional body had converged to prepare the ground for the sub regional leaders. The Nigerian Foreign Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, is reported to have told that meeting that there is the need for them to speak in one voice, that in Africa, the era of making distinction between good coups and bad coups were over.
He said: “there is no patriotic coup as distinct from an unpatriotic coup. The Ecowas protocol, we are all parties to, leaves no room for those distinctions.”
He was met on arrival at the Banjul International Airport by the vice president of the republic and secretary of state for Women’s Affairs, Aja Dr Isatou Njie Saidy, along with other secretaries of state, senior government officials and members of the diplomatic community. Also at the airport to receive the Gambian leader were security chiefs, members of NAPSA and a cross section of cultural groups.
The Gambian leader, after the usual formal airport ceremony, dilated on the outcome of their discussion which was convened purposely to discuss the state of affairs in Guinea Conakry, where the military had seized power in the aftermath of the death of former President Lansana Conteh.
The fact that Ecowas leaders are dedicating their time to the issue of the West African country, according to Professor Jammeh, demonstrates their resolve to finding a lasting solution to it.
He told journalists that “the mere fact that it is an extraordinary summit, reminds us about the last summit we had, nearly three weeks ago, and then we had to go back – that shows that the sub regional body is taking it very seriously, and obviously the outcome is a strong condemnation of what has happened.”
President Jammeh pointed out that Ecowas has spoken unanimously, that the junta must return Guinea to civilian rule as soon as possible. But, he added, Ecowas has no interest in taking “any type of action that would make innocent people suffer, and so anything that would punish the people instead of the government, Ecowas would not take that kind of action.”
The people of Guinea, he went on, have suffered a lot. And he added that anything that would make them suffer anymore will not be condoned by the body. To this end, he maintained, the sub regional body has urged the international community to help the military government in place “for a smooth transition to civilian rule, because they would need a lot of resources to organize election, and so Ecowas itself has taken it upon itself to assist them in that domain. Anything they can assist the government with so that the people of Guinea will not suffer any further, Ecowas has requested the international community to do so.”
The idea behind this stance,the Gambian leader stressed, is not to alienate the people of Guinea as the decision is one based on the statutes of the sub regional body. “When they were taking power,” he said of the Junta, “they realised what the status quo is. The laws of the sub regional body condemn coups.”
President Jammeh however emphasised that the government in Guinea needs Ecowas more than Ecowas needs them. And he pointed to the fact that it is not only the Ecowas that had condemned the coup, but that the African Union (AU) had also taken a similar line.
“The AU has suspended them, and the EU has announced that they are not going to have anything to do with the government. There is a law that says that any unconstitutional change of government is unacceptable, and so it must be condemned. If the government are true to their pronouncement, it is in their best interest for them to work with Ecowas than trying to listen to some irresponsible regional leaders who tacitly seem to support them based on their own personal interest; based on hypocrisy.
Before they took over they knew what the consequences were going to be,” President Jammeh said. The Gambian leader further told reporters that Ecowas had also tasked the commission to work with the government in Guinea to make sure that the transition to civilian rule takes place without a hitch, “and they have to abide by that decision.”
Although there might be division among the Ecowas leaders, President Jammeh admitted, as far as he knew, however, all of them present at the Abuja summit unanimously condemned the coup in Guinea. ‘We had a quorum to condemn it,” he said, “and so that is what stands.”
He said that those who are supporting the government are doing so not in support of the best interest of the Guinean people, but that they are doing so for their personal and selfish interest. “And most of them are working for foreign powers. Guinea is awash with natural resources, and so some people would see this as an opportunity to capitalise and support an illegal take over of government to get hold of these resources.”
But the mere fact that Ecowas has condemned them, is what is more important, President Jammeh stressed. “The coup,” he went on, “has been condemned and the government has been suspended, and those who support them can not nullify the suspension. That is what is more important.”
“Obviously, there are people who have a vested interest in Guinea, and they will support the government for their interest, but they will face the reality soon.” Before the end of 2009, President Jammeh said, there must be a transition and handing over of authority to a civilian government. That, according to him, is the demand of the sub regional body.
“Despite the fact that we have suspended them we are not asking the international community not to help them. We are in fact telling the international community - the donor community, to help them, because Guinea is in dire situation.” This, president Jammeh believes is important if we can attain a smooth transition to a civilian rule.
Ecowas Foreign ministers meeting
Prior to the Ecowas heads of state meeting, the foreign ministers of the sub regional body had converged to prepare the ground for the sub regional leaders. The Nigerian Foreign Minister, Ojo Maduekwe, is reported to have told that meeting that there is the need for them to speak in one voice, that in Africa, the era of making distinction between good coups and bad coups were over.
He said: “there is no patriotic coup as distinct from an unpatriotic coup. The Ecowas protocol, we are all parties to, leaves no room for those distinctions.”
Author: by kemo Cham
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