H.E. President Yahya A.J.J. Jammeh
State House, Banjul
The Gambia

Fax: +220 227 034

Vienna, 18 July 2001

Your Excellency,

The International Press Institute (IPI), the international network of editors and media executives, is writing to express its concern at the recent assault of a journalist by members of The Gambian military.

According to information provided to IPI, on 12 July, Omar Bah, court reporter with The Independent newspaper, was attacked by soldiers when he attempted to enter the Yundum Army Barracks, Banjul. Bah had gone to the barracks in order to report on the court martial proceedings instigated against Landing Sanneh, a former state guard commander at State House.

Prior to the attack, on 6 July, Bah had visited the barracks to attend the opening proceedings of the court martial but, upon arriving, had been told by Lance Corporal Fullo Jallow that journalists were not allowed to cover the legal hearings. Subsequently, Bah was ordered to leave the barracks with immediate effect. Upon hearing of the incident, Major Sang Pierre Mendy, the officer in charge of coordinating the court martial, telephoned The Independent to apologise for Bah’s treatment. He made it clear to editors at the newspaper that Bah would be allowed to cover the proceedings.

On 12 July, Bah returned to the barracks and reported to the Military Police Unit (MP Unit) in order to confirm his presence. He also asked to speak to Mendy. At the MP Unit, he was invited to proceed to the court martial but upon going there was asked by Jallow to return to the MP Unit. Once there, the Lance Corporal proceeded to launch a tirade of abuse at the journalist, telling him, “All that I have to tell you is to leave this place immediately or I will kick your ass”.

Bah protested the decision and asked Jallow to contact Mendy. Reacting to this, Jallow grabbed the journalist’s shirt and began to push him out of the camp. Upon reaching the road, outside the barracks, the journalist and the Lance Corporal were joined by another soldier who suggested that Bah be locked up in a cell. Bah was then taken to a small room inside the barracks, where three more soldiers joined them. The group of soldiers then proceeded to assault Bah. Fortunately, further attacks on Bah’s person were prevented by the intervention of Bailo Kahn, a Sergeant at the barracks.

In reaction to the assault, Mendy called Jallow before him and told the Lance Corporal that he had acted without orders and that journalists were allowed to cover the proceedings. Ousman Sillah, the lawyer acting for Sanneh, also condemned the act. “It is crazy, I don’t know why they are behaving like this”, he said. Commenting on the assault, the President of The Gambia Press Union, Demba Jawo, said, “This type of situation is definitely not acceptable in a civilised nation like The Gambia”.

Although IPI accepts the fact that the attack on Bah was carried out by soldiers acting without orders and that soldiers of higher rank tried to ensure that the journalist had the right to attend the court martial proceedings, IPI is still troubled by the attack. In the opinion of IPI, the attack discloses a degree of antipathy towards the media. A view that might be ingrained in The Gambian army as a whole. It is important to realise that the media need to be present at court proceedings in order to judge their fairness. Any attempt to preclude the media would be harmful to transparency in The Gambia.

Therefore, IPI would invite Your Excellency to ensure that a full and proper inquiry is held into the attack on Bah. IPI would also ask that more be done to ensure that members of the military have a greater understanding of the essential role played by the media in a democracy. By taking such measures you will be affirming press freedom in The Gambia.

We thank you for your attention.

Best regards,

Johann P. Fritz
Director