We are calling on Gambians and friends of The Gambia to observe August 4th – 6th as a time for Positive Action. We urge all of you in the United States of America to call the White House, and offices of your two U.S. Senators and congressional representative in your home state or in Washington, D.C. to register your displeasure at the invitation of Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia as an official guest of the President Obama and the Government of the United States of America at the US-African Leaders Summit.
Inform your senators and representative, and the White House that during his twenty years of rule of terror, Jammeh has presided over the arrest, exile, detention, torture, imprisonment, execution, killing, assassination, and yes WITCH HUNTS of many of our beloved citizens. Ask them, on behalf of all Gambian citizens, to use the power vested in them as members of the United States Congress to exert the full force of the Government of the United States of America to pressure Jammeh to respect the inalienable and democratic rights of all citizens of The Gambia. We demand that Jammeh must release unconditionally all the conscientious and political prisoners in his jails in The Gambia. He must produce the remains of those who died, were executed or murdered in his captivity to their families for proper burials. He must desist from his childish bullying of the private media, and open the state media for equal airtime to the opposition as accords to his government. He must respect the opposition political parties and allows them to assembly without state permission to associate freely with their supporters in political rallies. He must submit himself and officials of his ruling party to a genuine, credible and transparent electoral process.
We also ask all Gambians at home and in the non-US Gambian Diaspora around the globe to call the White House, and the United States Congress to express their objections to the decision by President Obama to invite Jammeh to the US-African Leaders Summit. Please remind them that, as the champions of democracy and beacon of hope for the rest of the world, the US should stand with persecuted people who fight for the restoration of human rights and democracy in our motherland. According Jammeh official invitations even as he brutalizes the citizens of The Gambia only emboldens him to unleash relentless terror on defenseless people.
We call on all Gambian opposition political parties, civil society organizations to galvanize their members and supporters to call their elected representatives in the US to express our collective grievances against Jammeh. We also call on The Gambian online media to amplify the voices of our muzzled Independent Press and gagged people in The Gambia by motivating their readers and listeners to engage in this call for Positive Action. If there has been any time that the oppressed people of The Gambia have the opportunity to put Jammeh on the spotlight for international scrutiny, this is that moment. Please call the White House and the Members of Congress.
By:
Fatou Jaw Manneh
Foday Samateh
Musa Camara
Ends