The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) in partnership with Amnesty International and the West African Civil Society Forum (WACSOF) held a press conference on July 22, 2010 at the conference centre of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) as part of civil society’s campaign and awareness strategy on the degrading human rights situation in The Gambia. The press meeting that was tagged “Freedom day in the Gambia is a travesty” was carefully scheduled to coincide with the national holiday of the Gambia; fondly called “Freedom Day”.

The pressing conference was attended by all media categories - from print, audio to video media outlets. Equally in attendance were key civil society organisations and activists that have been monitoring the decaying democratic architecture of The Gambia over the years.

The opening remark came from the president of Nigerian Union of Journalists who equally doubled as chair of the press conference.  The president thanked the press and civil society for congregating to show sympathy with the people of The Gambia as they celebrate their national day in little freedom and increasing repression.

On his part, the Executive Director of CISLAC, Auwal Musa Rafsanjani expressed regret over the deplorable level of human rights abuses in the Gambia. He pointed out some of the prevailing challenges encountered by civil society activists in the country as including arbitrary arrest, detention, unfair trials and poor prison conditions. He implored the media and civil society in West Africa as a whole to come to the rescue of journalists and human rights activists working in the Gambia as they remain highly vulnerable to the ruthless claws of the regime.

Speaking on behalf of civil society in West Africa, Prof Oumar Ndongo, the General Secretary of WACSOF expressed the shared sympathy of the West African civil society family with the people of The Gambia who yearn for increased dividends of democracy. He emphasised that civil society has a cardinal role in the current democratic dispensation in the Gambia and appealed to the authorities and political class to create an enabling environment for peaceful coexistence between state and civil society and for consolidation of regional democratic gains.

The panellists condemned the witch-hunting tactics of the Gambian Government that has forced many Gambians and even migrant workers to leave the Country for fear of their safety. They called on the Gambian authorities to respect all their obligations under duly signed and ratified international frameworks. Unequivocally, the panellists called on the Government of President Yahya Jammeh to stop all forms of harassments, intimidation and extrajudicial execution of promoters of democracy, good governance and human
rights. Also, they called on President Yahya Jammeh to establish an adequately resourced independent human rights commission, abolish the death penalty, commute all death sentences to terms of imprison and above all, to respect the rule of law by stopping enforced disappearances and bringing those guilty of human rights violations to book.

The press conference ended with not only a series of questions and answers but also with one to one interviews of the panellists.