Bloodbath in Guinea Conakry

Guinea rally death toll nears 130

At least 128 people were killed when Guinean troops opened fire on opposition protesters on Monday, rights groups and opposition figures claim. Earlier police said 87 people had died, but local activists say hospital sources confirmed a much higher toll. Human rights groups say they have had reports of soldiers bayoneting people and women being stripped and raped in the streets during the protest.

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Special Interview with Professor George Ayitteh (Part 1)

Emerging African development thinking

Following US President Barack Obama’s Accra visit on July 11 and his famous statement that Africa’s future is in Africans’ hands, the Ghanaian-born American University economist, Professor George Ayittey argued that it is an “intellectual vindication” for the “Internalist School” of African development. In the following interview,

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State Secrets: What Samsudeen Sarr Said Then and Now

By Foday Samateh

In the running Sabarry debate with Mr. Amadou Dibba, Lt. Col. Samsudeen Sarr invited readers to a passing exhibition of his worldview. The disparate pieces of ideas which rightfully belong in a museum of discarded thoughts he is selling as cutting-edge fresh thinking include: an easy penchant for untenable comparisons of the best and the worst in the world as distinctions without difference to arrive at fallacious rationalizations, a ready disregard for laws of democracy, and an artful attempt to substitute wistful 

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WASU’s Indelible Nkrumah

West African Students’ Union honoured

With a genesis most attributable to an innocent reception of greedy tourists, evolving into enduring repressions, brutal slavery, exodus of ancestors, despoil of natural resources and a cold despotism of a colonial administration, the reminiscence of pre-independence solicits sensations of ecstasy, reverence, despondence and relief for many worldwide.

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Special Feature/West Africa

West Africa’s burdened democracy

By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong

Why democratic tussles?

Democracy and freedoms are struggling in West Africa, according to the U.S.-based Freedom House, a non-partisan organization that monitors political rights and civil-liberties worldwide. Its survey of sub-Sahara Africa in its Freedom in the World 2009 concludes that there were more democratic barricades than democratic growth in Africa, especially in West Africa, where most African states are grouped. Only Mali, Ghana, Cape Verde and Benin are democratically “free” out of the 15 West African states surveyed.

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COMMENTARY On the 100^th Anniversary of Kwame Nkrumah’s birthday

--Judging Nkrumah, the evolver

 By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong

It is gratifying to read messages across Africa about one of Ghana’s/Africa’s thinkers’ birthday – 100^th – Kwame Nkrumah (21 September 1909 - 27 April 1972). In a period where Africa had no open thinkers to drive its development process from within its cultural values – such as Europe’s Karl Marx or Japan’s Kita Ikki or Latin America’s Fernando Henrique Cardoso about its development philosophy, Nkrumah emerged as one, with immense passion.

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Today is Eid Mubarak, a celebratory occasion after the end of Ramadan. It’s a day I will therefore, exploit as a special moment for reconciliation with everyone including my unknown friend Amadou Dibba. By saying so I mean to end this exchange with him; an engagement that I feel is not at all, productive anymore.

Lt. Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Rtd.)

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Foreign Policy, Dev. Aid & Security:The implications for Sanctioning Aid on poverty ravaged Gambia?

Binneh S. Minteh, Newark, New Jersey

In the most recent studies of small states, modern contemporary scholars of international affairs have argued that the best way to ward-off failure for resource-poor, and aid dependent small states is engagement to nurture institutions posing threats to socio-economic and socio-political architectures of governance. The case of miniscule resource poor Gambia must be no exception to such modern contemporary analysis, in the study of small state politics and transformations.

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Press Release

Announcement of a meeting for Gambians in London and United Kingdom for Saturday 3^rd October 2009

We concerned Gambians currently in London and the United Kingdom, conscious of our civic responsibilities, appalled by utter lawlessness that prevails in The Gambia, noting that our Constitution accords to all citizens inalienable rights and freedoms including protection from unlawful arrests, detention, torture and ill-treatment and protection of the law and fair trial, convinced that concerted action is required by Gambians at home and in the Diaspora to force

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Breaking News

Yahya Jammeh Braces for UN Summit in New York

By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief

Unimpeachable and highly placed sources within the President’s office, say The Gambia’s errant leader, Yahya Jammeh, is poised to attend the sixty-fourth session of the United Nations in New York. Reveals Kissy Kissy Mansa, “not only is he coming to New York, but Jammeh is coming big time with numerous plans, accompanied by a high-powered delegation of diplomats, business tycoons as well as political sycophants in the run up to the much-talked about 2011 presidential elections.

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Eritrea now has at least 30 journalists and two media workers behind bars, which means that, exactly eight years after the round-ups of 18 September 2001 that put an end to free expression, it has achieved parity with China and Iran in terms of the number of journalists detained.

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Spain jails, abuses then deports young Gambian athletes -How Spain controls corrupt Gambian officials

By S. George, a concerned Gambian

Recently GRTS reported that the Spanish government gave several cars and other materials to The Gambia police in return for corporation between the two countries. The only corporation that the Spanish and other Western governments need from The Gambia is to recruit Gambian Immigration officers to identify so-called Gambians in Spanish and Western prisons incarcerated on bogus immigration charges.

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PRESS RELEASE: FOR IMMEDIATE PUBLICATION

African Cities Invited To Apply For The Hosting Of The Panafrican Telecommunications Museum (PATM)

We the African Council for Arts & Culture (AFCAC) are a registered Pan African cultural development organization based in Germany. To help commemorate the development of telecommunications in Africa, we are promoting the PAN AFRICAN TELECOMMUNICATIONS MUSEUM (PATM). This Museum will showcase the development of wireless communication in Africa from the talking drum to the latest device.

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Special Essay/Africa

Africa’s Evil: An Examination

By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

                        Africa’s Evil Scene

The eccentric atmosphere following the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for Omar al-Bashir, Sudan's President, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity (short of genocide) in Darfur open the obscurities of evil in Africa for the past 50 years.

Gambia's evil bandit, Yahya Jammeh at his best

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ANALYSIS

The Sacred Fire of Accountability

By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong

The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, admonition to bureaucrats and politicians to be chary of accountability is a bravely ambitions suggestion. The unspoken wisdom through the Asantehene is that: traditional Ghana has recovered its confidence, its astuteness of goodwill, or anyway its gift for doing things right openly in Ghana’s progress. The Asantehene demonstrates that accountability is as traditional as it is modern for progress.

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Amadou Dibba Replies Sam Sarr, Says Ex-Army Chief, “Tricky”

By Amadou Dibba, UK

Frankly, to say that I am surprised by the latest cannon of invectives from Mr. Samsudeen Sarr, in his response to a number of points I have raised in my recent commentaries, is to misunderstand the drive of a desperate person to have his way. After reading his last piece, a lot became even clearer to me. The write-up, for all it is worth, helped to crystallise (I hope I’m not being verbose or grandiloquent again by Sarr’s standards?) my belief that the benefits of age and

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The Self-Preservation-Instinct Syndrome

By Lt. Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Rtd).**

It is Sunday, the day I put business aside and enjoy the special moments of spare time. So I am back.  No matter what people may think or say of me I sure do enjoy what I am doing. I am all for Amadou Dibba this week, the next, and the one after that until perhaps, we understand each other irrespective of our different opinions.

Lt. Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Rtd.)

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Fabakary Jarjue defends Yahya Jammeh

Dear Editor,

Can you please allow me space to comment on what others called the pardon given to the six journalists by the President as bogus? I for one must give thanks and praise to the most high, The Almighty God for blessing The Gambia of a leader who cares for every Gambian likewise every foreign national living in The Gambia and give him high sense of forgiveness.

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By Kofi Akosah-Sarpong

US President Barack Obama’s Ghana visit on July 11 jolted Africa’s slumbering development process. Obama, and later his Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton, urged Africans to consolidate democracy, grow the rule of law, fight corruption, integrate African traditional values and institutions into their development process, and trade among themselves. But as various African editorialists and

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Sarr’s Points Neither Here Nor There

By Amadou Dibba, UK     

To start with, I would love to point out that the decision to present my assessment of Mr. Samsudeen Sarr’s current posture was, more than anything else, necessitated by a compelling urge to advance alternative views on a subject which, depending on the way it is construed by the stakeholders, has the potential to spell either good or far- reaching consequences in the way things shape up in the aftermath of its end.

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Coalition for Human rights in The Gambia
Press Release, 10^th September 2009

Stop to the intimidation campaign on  GPU President

On Wednesday September 8th, 2009, unknown individuals broke into the house of Mrs. Adelaide Sosseh, the mother of Ndey Tapha Sosseh, President of The Gambia Press Union, GPU, in Yarambamba Estate, Yundum, which happens to be Ndey Tapha’s permanent residence. The break in which happened in broad daylight, was carried out at a time when the house was empty and there was a heavy downpour of rain. The individuals ransacked the whole

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Saints Alumni/Gough Foundation USA Chapter

 Press Release
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Time For Action Is Now!
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On August 14th 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia, the new Saints Alumni/Gough Foundation was officially inaugurated in a beautiful ceremony that was graced by the Patriarch of the school himself, Fr Joseph A Gough who flew in from Ireland to be part of this historic occasion as was reported in online Gambian media outlets in the Diaspora.

St. Augustine's High, the slow death of a once prominent school

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Press Statement
Release of 6 journalists:MFWA expresses satisfaction, calls for vigilance

The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) acknowledges the release on September 3, 2009 of six jailed Gambian journalists, after a presidential pardon. Although this pardon is likely to lower tension, we believe that the six journalists are innocent and were the victims of a “mercenary justice” remotely supervised by President Yahya Jammeh.

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Dear Editor,

I read your fiery editorial about the release of the journalists captioned “ Yahya Jammeh Bows down…” and in the spirit of a healthy debate I would first say “Sabarry” to you as well, but will still opt to offer a different opinion over the happy ending. When I first heard about their freedom, I felt genuine joy over what many thought was not going to be possible.

Lt. Colonel Samsudeen Sarr (Rtd.)

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Amadou Dibba Outraged at Sam Sarr’s Sabarry posture

I would first and foremost apologise for filing this piece only now, especially after having had the opportunity to present my views regarding Lt Col. Sarr’s recommendation and dogged defence of his conceived Sabarry initiative as the probable solution to the plight of the six convicted and imprisoned journalists in The Gambia. I use the word ‘probable’ advisedly because it is my view that the Sabarry

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Echo Editorial

Yahya Jammeh Bows Down to Pressure, Amnesties 6 Journalists

By Ebrima G. Sankareh, Editor-In-Chief

Just moments ago, true to his mercurial and ignominious character, Gambian leader Yahya Jammeh, unable to withstand mounting diplomatic pressure coupled with unprecedented worldwide press condemnations and outrage at the conviction and jailing of six Gambian journalists, granted all, a bogus presidential amnesty.

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Breaking News President Jammeh Bows Down to Pressure, Releases all 6 Journalists

BY EBRIMA G. SANKAREH

Just moments ago, Gambian President Yahya Jammeh, unable to put up with mounting pressure on the conviction and jailing of six Gambian journalists, granted all, a bogus presidential pardon.  

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