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+--- Thread: I stand by Jammeh: Gambian army chief (/showthread.php?tid=1508)
I stand by Jammeh: Gambian army chief - Mhiz Rebecca - 01-04-2017
General Ousman Badjie, Gambia’s army chief has
reaffirmed his loyalty to embattled President Yahya
Jammeh, as the deadline given by the West African
regional bloc, ECOWAS gets closer.
“May I please seize this opportunity to renew to
your Excellency the assurance of the unflinching
loyalty and support of the Gambia Armed Forces,”
General Badjie wrote in a letter to Jammeh
published today in a pro-government newspaper.
Jammeh initially accepted his defeat in the Dec. 1
election but a week later reversed his position,
vowing to hang onto power despite a wave of
regional and international condemnation.
West African regional bloc ECOWAS has placed
standby forces on alert in case Jammeh attempts
to stay in power after his mandate ends on Jan.
19. Jammeh has called the bloc’s stance “a
declaration of war”.
Many Gambians, who have lived through 22 years
of Jammeh’s increasingly authoritarian rule, were
stunned when the elections commission declared
opposition figure Adama Barrow the winner of last
month’s election. Jammeh’s initial acceptance of
the result sparked nationwide celebrations.
Badjie declared his allegiance to Barrow soon after
the poll results were announced, according to a
spokesman for the president-elect. However his
position remained unclear following Jammeh’s
dramatic about-face.
In an illustration of the growing pressure on
Gambian officials as the Jan. 19 deadline looms,
Alieu Momarr Njai, the head of the elections
commission, fled Gambia on Friday due to fears
for his security, family members said.
Last month Gambian security forces seized control
of the commission’s headquarters, which holds
the original poll records and told staff, including
Njai, to leave.
Over the weekend Gambian security agents closed
three private radio stations, making it harder for
the incoming government to communicate with its
supporters.
“It is a sign of weakness for any side of the
political spectrum to resort to media closures
rather than engagement to put one’s position
across,” Barrow’s office said on Wednesday in a
statement that also called for the release of
detainees.
Leaders of ECOWAS member nations have
dismissed Jammeh’s move to challenge his
election defeat before Gambia’s Supreme Court on
Jan. 10 and say they will attend Barrow’s
swearing-in this month.