Representative Gary Ackerman

Dear Sir:

We are members of an Amnesty International Group living in New York City. We recently heard from a citizen of The Gambia, the small West African nation, at an event we held in honor of Freedom of the Press Day. His name is Alagi Yorro Jallow, and he is the Managing editor of the newspaper, The Independent. He told us a harrowing story of harassment, that he and his colleagues have endured at the hands of the current regime.

He has been arrested 12 times, his offices closed, his fellow staff members also arrested and threatened, and his colleague Deyda Hydara Managing editor of the Point newspaper assassinated. It was following this murder that Mr. Jallow fled the country, fearing for his life. His newspaper remains shut and several of his staffers are currently in jail.

As you know, President Yahya Jammeh has been in power since he took over in a coup in 1994. Subsequent elections have been rife with suspected fraud and he remains in power today. The pattern of events relayed in Mr. Jallow’s story are typical of many in this country. In a place that was once a bastion of democracy in Africa, a repressive dictatorship now cruelly denies human rights to its citizens. There are however, opportunities to exercise pressure on the government. The Gambia is set to host a meeting of the heads of the African Union later this year, and next year there is another election due.

We ask you, as a member of the House International Relations committee, to bring all the pressure to bear on The Gambia to ease its restrictions on human rights. It should be denied its role in the upcoming African Union meeting, and its upcoming election should be closely monitored by independent international supervisors. If you, and the other members of your committee can communicate directly with its envoy and ambassador, and exert extra pressure via our State Department, we may have a chance to lessen the grief that this poor country is experiencing. I hope you will carry through in this important mission, and please know that we will be happy to work with you or any of your staff to provide you additional information or support.

Sincerely,

Stephan Saks