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Gambia: President’s death threats spark protests around Africa
Afrik ^ | 25 Sep 2009 | Konye Obaji Ori

Posted on 09/25/2009 10:37:50 AM PDT by BGHater

After threatening to kill every homosexual, the Gambia’s leader threatens rights groups

Human Rights groups in Africa are demanding that the African Union human rights commission Headquarters be removed from Gambia following a fierce threat made by the Gambian president on opposition leaders and human right workers.

"If you are affiliated with any human rights group, be rest assured that your security is not guaranteed... we are ready to kill saboteurs. I will kill anyone who wants to destabilize this country. If you think that you can collaborate with so-called human rights defenders, and get away with it, you must be living in a dream world. I will kill you, and nothing will come out of it," President Yahya Jammeh told state TV in Gambia.

The threat to kill anybody who wanted to destabilize the Gambia has not sat well with African human rights groups. To this regard, a campaign by a coalition of pressure groups wants the African Union to remove the headquarters of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights from the Gambian capital, Banjul. A statement from the petition reads: “Mr. Jammeh’s declaration leads us to fear for the safety, security, and lives of ourselves and our colleagues."

The Open Society Institute, along with the African Court Coalition, is now campaigning to have the AU human rights offices moved to a different country. The groups hope to secure as many signatures as needed from non-governmental organizations involved in the work of the AU’s human rights commission before 28 September, in order to forward them to the African Union.

Mr. Jammeh came to power in a 1994 coup, and has won three multi-party elections since then. There have been claims of plots to oust him but he (Jammeh) remains Gambia’s president.

Human rights groups say journalists have been harassed and people have been arrested and unlawfully detained in Gambia. “The people of Gambia have been under siege for the past year or two. We’ve got an obligation to speak up,” said the open Society Institute who described Mr. Jammeh’s comments as beyond the pale.

President Jammeh has ruled the Gambia with an iron fist ever since he seized power in a bloodless coup in 1994, but the stability that has followed has not translated into prosperity. Only one-sixth of the land is arable. The country has few natural resources and is highly dependent on peanut exports.

Last year, The Gambia’s leader said he will “cut off the head” of any homosexual caught in his country claiming the Gambia was a country of believers while indicating that no sinful and immoral act as homosexual would be tolerated in the country. He warned all homosexuals in the country to leave, noting that a legislation “stricter than those in Iran ” concerning the vice would be introduced soon.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: africa; gambia; homosexual; humanrights; un; unitednations
'If you think that you can collaborate with so-called human rights defenders, and get away with it, you must be living in a dream world. I will kill you, and nothing will come out of it," President Yahya Jammeh told state TV in Gambia'
1 posted on 09/25/2009 10:37:50 AM PDT by BGHater
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To: BGHater

Well, the guy doesn’t leave you wondering what he’s got in mind. A tad extreme, perhaps.......

Militant


2 posted on 09/25/2009 10:41:37 AM PDT by militant2 (I may not agree with everything you say, but......hell, I don't agree with anything you say!)
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To: BGHater

Let’s stop the hate. Let’s love love for the sake of love and hate hate. If we hate hate then hate will hate being hated and go the way of all hate and that’s just where it belongs. If we love love then love will be loved and love will love love.

What this has to do with African leaders threatening to kill people, and this is during an interview on TV, is anybody’s guess.

SARCASM!


3 posted on 09/25/2009 10:42:16 AM PDT by BertWheeler (Dance and the World Dances With You!)
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To: BGHater

Sounds well qualified to speak at the United Nations.....unlike the constitutional President of Honduras......


4 posted on 09/25/2009 10:43:43 AM PDT by JoeDetweiler
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To: BGHater

You wait about 4 more months til obozo’s tanked and he is cornered.
This may sound like the White House.


5 posted on 09/25/2009 10:44:34 AM PDT by Joe Boucher (google; operation garden spot and REX84 (FUBO))
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To: BGHater

The Open Society Institute,

George Soros


6 posted on 09/25/2009 11:13:20 AM PDT by Vn_survivor_67-68 (CALL CONGRESSCRITTERS TOLL-FREE @ 1-800-965-4701)
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To: BGHater
Yes, I'll have fries with that.

7 posted on 09/25/2009 11:58:52 AM PDT by UnbelievingScumOnTheOtherSide (Give Them Liberty Or Give Them Death! - IT'S ISLAM, STUPID! - Islam Delenda Est! - Rumble thee forth)
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To: BGHater
The country has few natural resources and is highly dependent on peanut exports.

Let them eat Reese's!
8 posted on 09/25/2009 12:03:21 PM PDT by Moltke (DOPE will get you 4 to 8 in the Big House - HOPE will get you 4 to 8 in the White House.)
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To: BGHater

Who cares what the leader of Gambia says? Does he even have the weapons to kill people?


9 posted on 09/26/2009 6:38:14 AM PDT by Synthex
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