By Justice Sam, Banjul.
The United Nations has dismissed a request forwarded by the Jammeh administration to have Taiwan admitted into the Global Body, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Diplomatic sources close to corridors of power in Banjul said Gambia’s request to have Taiwan admitted into the UN was rejected due to lack of compelling evidence which should warrant the Islanders to have voice on UN matters. Foreign Ministry officials in Banjul described the latest diplomatic twist as a major setback on Gambia’s quest to canvass for support for Taiwan, a nation whose sovereignty is highly contested at the UN. The Global Body believe that Taiwan was still part and parcel of Main Land China and therefore cannot be admitted into the UN.
Disclosing the rejection of Taiwan’s application to be part of the UN, the Foreign Ministry official said they were formally informed by the UN about the unanimous decision taken to reject Taiwan’s admission into the UN. Our source said Gambia and other nations lobbying for Taiwan’s admission into the UN failed to provide reliable and convincing evidence that should warrant the UN to okay their request. “ Taiwan applied to be admitted as UN Member and corrupted nations such as the Gambia to lobby for support. We wrote to the UN General Assembly together with other nations supporting Taiwan’s right to be admitted into the UN. To our surprise, the UN General Assembly has dismissed Taiwan’s application and our petition request. For your information, Taiwan spent close to Half a Million dollars in The Gambia just to solicit our support. We went there with an open mind, but the UN has once again denied Taiwan’s application.” said the Foreign Ministry official.
In a bid to support their application, the Taiwanese authorities argued that Taiwan “is a sovereign nation” which reserves the right to be part of the UN. They also tried to argue that Taiwan was not part of Main Land China and should be accorded the right to be part of the UN.
Taiwanese leading legal experts had earlier exhausted all legal pre-emptive measures, in a bid to frustrate any efforts coming from the UN General Assembly to deny their request to be part of the Global Body. They advised the current Taiwanese leadership as to what measures should be taken to woe the support of the UN.
The Taipei administration went all out to canvass for support in Africa. They dished out millions of dollars just to get admission into the UN. Their hope of becoming a UN Member has been dashed away with the UN Chief Ban Ki Moon clearly stating why Taiwan should not be admitted into the UN. The UN maintained that Taiwan was part of Main Land China and in view of the above there was no way that Taiwan would be admitted.
Across the Island, there is an environment of shock and disbelief amongst Ruling Party officials. In protest, Taiwan has vowed to contest the decision of the UN General Assembly.
Taiwan had contributed immensely towards Gambia’s socio-economic development over the years. In a bid to lobby Gambia’s support to the UN, the Taiwanese authorities sponsored numerous projects in The Gambia, most importantly in the areas of Education and Agriculture.
Most of the financial help extended to the Gambia by Taiwan were underreported by the local and stat media. This was partly blamed for the Government’s lack of transparency. For some reasons, the Gambian leader hates to declare financial gifts extended to the nation by Taiwan. Several Millions of dollars of Taiwanese aid had found its way into the pockets of corrupt Gambian officials.
The Gambia reached a bi-lateral relationship with Taiwan shortly after the July 22ND 1994 military takeover, which led to the demise of the 30 year PPP Rule. The junta led by Chairman Jammeh established diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a nation considered to be part of Main Land China. In protest, Main Land China announced to cut-off diplomatic ties with the former British Colony. It suspended all projects in The Gambia and ordered its Embassy Staff to leave The Gambia. Main Land China could not withstand Gambia’s decision to befriend their perceived arch rivals Taiwan.
But on the other hand, the junta said the Gambia being a sovereign nation reserves the right to choose the nation it should befriend. To some extent, this led to the collapse of Gambia’s diplomatic ties with Main Land China.
Unlike, Taiwan, Main Land China was not involved in the practice of Check book diplomacy. It dispatches its doctors and Agricultural experts across the country. Main Land China was the brain behind the failed Jahallipacharr Rice Project. The said pilot project brought jobs for Gambians.
Speaking to the Freedom Newspaper today, a spokesman of Gambia’s Foreign Ministry confirmed the UN’S move to dismiss Gambia’s supporting letter to back Taiwan’s request to be admitted into the UN. “ Our request was turned down by the General Assembly. This decision might sour bi lateral relationship between Taiwan and other nations. What will happened is that, they will change their dollar check book diplomacy. If that happened, the Gambia would be affected. Most of our financial aid comes from Taiwan. They may as well cut down aid to this country and lobby support from other big powers. Taiwan is beginning to realize that the Gambia under Jammeh is insignificant at the UN. This administration cannot influence any decision at the UN. In the first place, we are not a respected nation. The President who was supposed to spearhead their admission into the UN was absent at that meeting.” said the Foreign Ministry official.
According to the official” We were not surprised by the UN’S decision. Throughout the last General Assembly meeting, Taiwan was hardly heard. The best thing Taiwan should do now is to accept to be part of Main Land China. The Gambia is not in the position to argue their case at the UN. The Government is only interested in eating their money and nothing else. President Jammeh only cares about his pocket and not Taiwan’s interest. We feel sorry for Taiwan, but this is the truth.”