Defeated Gambian Leader Ends Standoff and Boards a Flight Into Exile
By JAIME YAYA BARRY and DIONNE SEARCEY
New York Times
JAN. 21, 2017
A ferry bringing back people who fled Gambia because of its political crisis arrived at the port in Banjul on Saturday. Credit Jerome Delay/Associated Press
BANJUL, Gambia — As a military band played, the defeated president of Gambia, who had set off a tense standoff by refusing to step down after his election loss, left the country on Saturday night, boarding a flight that would send him into exile.
Teary supporters gathered at the airport to usher off the former leader, Yahya Jammeh, as he finally let go of the presidency, two days after a new president, Adama Barrow, was inaugurated in nearby Senegal, where he had fled out of fears for his safety.
Mr. Jammeh, who seized power in a coup in 1994, arrived at the airport in Banjul, the capital, in his Rolls-Royce and dressed in all white. A military band played the national anthem and a song it had composed just for him that it often played to accompany his journeys. Mr. Jammeh walked slowly toward a waiting airplane, shaking hands with a line of people and escorted by Alpha Condé, the president of Guinea. A Quran in one hand, he waved with the other to the crowd.
As of Saturday night, it was still unclear exactly where Mr. Jammeh would wind up.
Mr. Jammeh had appeared on state television early Saturday morning and announced that he would step down.
“I am truly and sincerely proud of being of service to you,” he said in a somber speech.
With Mr. Jammeh’s long record of unpredictability, many Gambians had questioned whether he would actually give up power after he was defeated in an election last month. On Saturday, a wave of relief spread across Mr. Barrow’s supporters.
Mr. Jammeh’s departure ended a tense stretch for the West African nation, which had been at a standstill, with foreign troops and military vehicles inside its borders and the presidents of both Guinea and Mauritania intervening to persuade Mr. Jammeh to step down to make way for the newly elected president, Mr. Barrow. Fearing for his safety in Gambia, Mr. Barrow was sworn in on Thursday in Senegal, as Mr. Jammeh refused to vacate the statehouse.
For weeks, Mr. Jammeh, who has a long record of human rights abuses, has insisted that results of the election that ousted him were flawed. He had called for a new vote, even after initially conceding the election to Mr. Barrow, a real estate agent and a member of the opposition party. Mr. Jammeh vowed to protect his presidency with the help of his military.
A coalition of West African nations, with the support of the United Nations, had sent troops into Gambia on standby to forcibly remove Mr. Jammeh from office. The military action paused when Mr. Jammeh said he would step down.
On Friday, Mr. Barrow addressed the growing members of the Gambian diaspora, many of whom left the country years ago fearing oppression under Mr. Jammeh, who routinely jailed opponents, some of whom died under questionable circumstances in prison. Finally, Mr. Barrow told them, it was time to return to their country.
“You now have the liberty to return home,” he said. “The rule of fear has been vanished from the government for good.”
In Gambia, one anxious citizen, Famara Kamara, said he had already called his family on Saturday and planned to pick them up at the border with Senegal. He had taken his wife and two sons across to Senegal last week as tensions rose. He was relieved that his family would not have to live in a refugee camp in another country — a terrifying notion.
“I have seen documentaries of people living in refugee camps,” Mr. Kamara said. “It’s a terrible experience. I am so grateful to God and to President Jammeh for putting the interest of the Gambian people first.”
In recent days, Mr. Jammeh’s base of support crumbled. Many ministers in his cabinet resigned. The African Union said it would refuse to recognize him as president.
In Banjul, citizens were relieved to hear that Mr. Jammeh seemed ready to go, but their unease would not fully disappear until he was officially outside the nation’s borders.
Capt. Momodu Njie of the Gambian Army said he had been in a state of confusion in recent days, unsure which president he was serving. “Both Yahya Jammeh and Adama Barrow said they were constitutional presidents of the republic, and as a soldier, I don’t know much about the clause in the Constitution,” Captain Njie said. “This makes it difficult to take sides, and at the same time, I cannot serve two commanders in chief.”
Gambia, the smallest country in continental Africa, suffers from widespread unemployment. Thousands of people have left the country, not only to escape from Mr. Jammeh but also to look for work, setting out on dangerous journeys by sea to Europe. But many Europeans have flocked to the coastal country, known for its beaches and bustling sex trade. The odd equilibrium was thrown off balance in recent days as thousands of tourists jammed the airport in an evacuation organized by tour companies.
The sentiments of the strange twist of events in Gambia were captured with eloquence on local news broadcasts that replayed images of Mr. Jammeh’s speech along with commentary. One anchor called Mr. Jammeh’s announcement an “end to what was a troubling few days for this tiny paradise of happiness.”
“It is a day like no other in the history of the Gambia,” the anchor said, “as people waited in bated breath to receive the news of a lifetime, an end to a political impasse, which took this beautiful land of ours to the brink.”
Jaime Yaya Barry reported from Banjul, and Dionne Searcey from Dakar, Senegal.
Gambia's Jammeh heads to exile in Equatorial Guinea: ECOWAS
Gambia's former authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh was heading to exile in Equatorial Guinea with a stop in Guinea after he stepped down in the face of pressure from West African states to recognize his election defeat, the regional bloc ECOWAS said on Saturday.
ECOWAS sent 7,000 troops into Gambia on Thursday, but would halt operations while leaving some troops in the country to ensure security, Marcel de Souza, president of the ECOWAS commission, told a news conference in Dakar.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, editing by G Crosse)
New York Times
JAN. 21, 2017
A ferry bringing back people who fled Gambia because of its political crisis arrived at the port in Banjul on Saturday. Credit Jerome Delay/Associated Press
BANJUL, Gambia — As a military band played, the defeated president of Gambia, who had set off a tense standoff by refusing to step down after his election loss, left the country on Saturday night, boarding a flight that would send him into exile.
Teary supporters gathered at the airport to usher off the former leader, Yahya Jammeh, as he finally let go of the presidency, two days after a new president, Adama Barrow, was inaugurated in nearby Senegal, where he had fled out of fears for his safety.
Mr. Jammeh, who seized power in a coup in 1994, arrived at the airport in Banjul, the capital, in his Rolls-Royce and dressed in all white. A military band played the national anthem and a song it had composed just for him that it often played to accompany his journeys. Mr. Jammeh walked slowly toward a waiting airplane, shaking hands with a line of people and escorted by Alpha Condé, the president of Guinea. A Quran in one hand, he waved with the other to the crowd.
As of Saturday night, it was still unclear exactly where Mr. Jammeh would wind up.
Mr. Jammeh had appeared on state television early Saturday morning and announced that he would step down.
“I am truly and sincerely proud of being of service to you,” he said in a somber speech.
With Mr. Jammeh’s long record of unpredictability, many Gambians had questioned whether he would actually give up power after he was defeated in an election last month. On Saturday, a wave of relief spread across Mr. Barrow’s supporters.
Mr. Jammeh’s departure ended a tense stretch for the West African nation, which had been at a standstill, with foreign troops and military vehicles inside its borders and the presidents of both Guinea and Mauritania intervening to persuade Mr. Jammeh to step down to make way for the newly elected president, Mr. Barrow. Fearing for his safety in Gambia, Mr. Barrow was sworn in on Thursday in Senegal, as Mr. Jammeh refused to vacate the statehouse.
For weeks, Mr. Jammeh, who has a long record of human rights abuses, has insisted that results of the election that ousted him were flawed. He had called for a new vote, even after initially conceding the election to Mr. Barrow, a real estate agent and a member of the opposition party. Mr. Jammeh vowed to protect his presidency with the help of his military.
A coalition of West African nations, with the support of the United Nations, had sent troops into Gambia on standby to forcibly remove Mr. Jammeh from office. The military action paused when Mr. Jammeh said he would step down.
On Friday, Mr. Barrow addressed the growing members of the Gambian diaspora, many of whom left the country years ago fearing oppression under Mr. Jammeh, who routinely jailed opponents, some of whom died under questionable circumstances in prison. Finally, Mr. Barrow told them, it was time to return to their country.
“You now have the liberty to return home,” he said. “The rule of fear has been vanished from the government for good.”
In Gambia, one anxious citizen, Famara Kamara, said he had already called his family on Saturday and planned to pick them up at the border with Senegal. He had taken his wife and two sons across to Senegal last week as tensions rose. He was relieved that his family would not have to live in a refugee camp in another country — a terrifying notion.
“I have seen documentaries of people living in refugee camps,” Mr. Kamara said. “It’s a terrible experience. I am so grateful to God and to President Jammeh for putting the interest of the Gambian people first.”
In recent days, Mr. Jammeh’s base of support crumbled. Many ministers in his cabinet resigned. The African Union said it would refuse to recognize him as president.
In Banjul, citizens were relieved to hear that Mr. Jammeh seemed ready to go, but their unease would not fully disappear until he was officially outside the nation’s borders.
Capt. Momodu Njie of the Gambian Army said he had been in a state of confusion in recent days, unsure which president he was serving. “Both Yahya Jammeh and Adama Barrow said they were constitutional presidents of the republic, and as a soldier, I don’t know much about the clause in the Constitution,” Captain Njie said. “This makes it difficult to take sides, and at the same time, I cannot serve two commanders in chief.”
Gambia, the smallest country in continental Africa, suffers from widespread unemployment. Thousands of people have left the country, not only to escape from Mr. Jammeh but also to look for work, setting out on dangerous journeys by sea to Europe. But many Europeans have flocked to the coastal country, known for its beaches and bustling sex trade. The odd equilibrium was thrown off balance in recent days as thousands of tourists jammed the airport in an evacuation organized by tour companies.
The sentiments of the strange twist of events in Gambia were captured with eloquence on local news broadcasts that replayed images of Mr. Jammeh’s speech along with commentary. One anchor called Mr. Jammeh’s announcement an “end to what was a troubling few days for this tiny paradise of happiness.”
“It is a day like no other in the history of the Gambia,” the anchor said, “as people waited in bated breath to receive the news of a lifetime, an end to a political impasse, which took this beautiful land of ours to the brink.”
Jaime Yaya Barry reported from Banjul, and Dionne Searcey from Dakar, Senegal.
Gambia's Jammeh heads to exile in Equatorial Guinea: ECOWAS
Gambia's former authoritarian leader Yahya Jammeh was heading to exile in Equatorial Guinea with a stop in Guinea after he stepped down in the face of pressure from West African states to recognize his election defeat, the regional bloc ECOWAS said on Saturday.
ECOWAS sent 7,000 troops into Gambia on Thursday, but would halt operations while leaving some troops in the country to ensure security, Marcel de Souza, president of the ECOWAS commission, told a news conference in Dakar.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; writing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg, editing by G Crosse)
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