This contribution is written by a Gambian journalist living in exile. He was forced to flee his country in July 2007 after being chased by the country’s intelligence services.
The recent imprisonment of six journalists including a nursing mother of eight-month-old baby in the Gambia is indeed a stark reminder to the fact that press freedom is under siege in the tiny West African nation.
On August 6th 2009, a Gambian High Court slammed 4-year-jail term against the journalists after the trial that many people believed was highly influenced by President Yahya Jammeh and his government. The journalists’ only crime was to issue and run a press release that the government argued defamed President Jammeh.
Relations between Gambian government and journalists especially those holding opposing/critical views are not cordial to say the least. President Jammeh and his officials continue to intimidate, harass and persecute such media practitioners leading to climate of fear. Among the many press freedom violations and attacks against journalists are the following:
Unresolved murder cases: The December 2004 cold-blooded murder of Deyda Hydara, the former managing editor of Banjul-based ‘Point’ newspaper, remains unresolved. The killers are still at large and there is yet to be any serious investigations into the matter for over four years now. Another case involving journalist Omar Barrow who was gunned down in April 2000 along with 12 protesting students also remained unresolved.
Disappearance: Chief Ebrima Manneh a reporter with ‘Daily Observer’ newspaper has been missing since July 2006. Rights groups said he was kidnapped by agents of Gambia?s notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA).
Wrongful arrests/detentions: These are now part of the daily struggle for journalists in the Gambia. Scores of them have been arrested, detained and in many cases subjected to torture and degrading conditions. Among those recently arrested and detained are – Pap Saine, (Managing editor) and Modou Sanyang, (senior reporter) of ‘Point newspaper’ as well as Halifa Sallah, of privately-owned ‘Foroyaa’ newspaper.
Exiled Journalists: Many journalists including the author of this report have been forced into exile. In July 2007, I was chased and harassed by agents of Gambia’s notorious National Intelligence Agency (NIA) forcing me to flee my home country and thereby joining a long list of Gambian exiled journalists. As a journalist in exile some of us have faced many problems such as lack of security /protection, the risk of being pursued by government agents, as well as all sorts of family problems resulting from disconnect
What the Commonwealth should do: I expect and call on the Commonwealth to do more by intervening in the unfortunate Gambian situation with a view to getting government change its negative attitude and policies towards the media. Commonwealth should further assist in getting Gambian authorities respect press freedom and human rights in general as well as find ways of assisting the many journalists who have been forced into exiled and are suffering as a result of their work and belief in press freedom and freedom of expression in general.
The reasons put forward by Bainimarama for carrying out his 2006 coup provide a good parallel of Fiji’s post-coup state of instability. His justifications have been wandering all over Fiji’s political landscape and represent the height of insincerity.
‘Commonwealth” is not a word I ever used, growing up in Colombo. There, in the late 1950s, it would have meant little more than New Zealand lamb and Anchor butter at the cold stores. Or perhaps a cricket almanac: a set of fixtures around the world with a common set of complicated rules understood only by the select few. Even “empire”, out of which the Commonwealth was invented, was not in my ordinary vocabulary. Rock’n'roll, more likely.
Savage, a co-founder of the New Zealand Republican Movement has written the following contribution to the Commonwealth Conversation:
There is a belief perpetuated in Britain and other Commonwealth countries that the British Empire was of benefit to the world. The greed and racism are forgotten. The invasions, wars, political oppression and genocide are downplayed. The poverty and inequality it created are conveniently ignored.
The damage caused by Britain’s imperial project is not something many British people want to accept. The overall approach is a self-deluding calculation. Weighing up the positive and negative, the overall achievements were positive. The empire was a good thing.
This ongoing debate about the Empire’s historical merits is relevant to the commonwealth conversation. It reminds us of the attitudes and values the Commonwealth has been left to deal with. Self-delusion was an integral part of the imperial project. Institutional inequality and a commitment to democracy could only co-exist if elaborate self-delusions were maintained. Without the historical fictions and cultural myths, the contradictions inherent in the whole project would have been exposed. The fa?ade of civility and ‘progress’ would have crumbled.
When I was asked to write this article, I rang up friends and family and did a quick vox pop: “What did it mean to you to grow up in the Commonwealth?” There were lots of silences. Then: “The Commonwealth? You mean Jamaica/Australia/Barbados/Kenya/India/Canada?” The question seemed bizarre to all of us. I dug further: “No, the Commonwealth. What does that mean to you?” The words flooded back: archaic, meaningless, colonialism, imperialism. And repeatedly: “What does it mean to me? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.” I suspect it means very little to a lot of English people as well. . .
It used to be that travelling through the Commonwealth was quick and easy.
In Canada in the 1960s the Commonwealth was shown on world maps and my passport was marked with ‘British Subject’ alongside ‘Canadian Citizen’.
When I visited the UK in 1971 there were three queues at the airport UK passports, Commonwealth passports and All Other passports.
That all came to an end in 1973 when the UK joined the then EEC, now EU.
Now when I travel to the UK, people from countries with no historical ties speed through quicker than Canadians and Australians who share the Queen as head of state! It’s an outrage.
Citizens of the EU can also stay and get jobs, while I cannot. I am luckier than some other Commonwealth visitors that I do not need a visa to visit the UK, while many others do. People today say ‘what is the point of even having a Commonwealth if it carries no privileges for ordinary people when travelling among its member countries?’ It is on this personal level that the Commonwealth is losing its relevance.
This article was written by James Alcock. Do you agree with his viewpoint? Should the Commonwealth ease mobility between its members?
Watch the Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma as he welcomes the Commonwealth Conversation and looks forward to the new ideas that it will bring. Continue reading…
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On the day Fiji is fully suspended from the Commonwealth
The full version of this article by Romesh Gunesekera appeared in 
When I was asked to write this article, I rang up friends and family and did a quick vox pop: “What did it mean to you to grow up in the Commonwealth?” There were lots of silences. Then: “The Commonwealth? You mean Jamaica/Australia/Barbados/Kenya/India/Canada?” The question seemed bizarre to all of us. I dug further: “No, the Commonwealth. What does that mean to you?” The words flooded back: archaic, meaningless, colonialism, imperialism. And repeatedly: “What does it mean to me? Nothing. Nothing. Nothing.” I suspect it means very little to a lot of English people as well. . .
