Royal News :
The Royal House Of Maharaja Adinda Aranan under the Royal Order Of
Maharaja Adinda Aranan of Sulu appointed The President Of Islamic Republic Of
Gambia, His Most Excellency Datu Laksamana Di Raja Prof. Dr. Yahya Abdul-Aziz
Jemus Junkung Jammeh as the Grand Commander Of The Royal Order.
He born 25 May 1963 is the president of the Gambia. As a young army
officer, he took power in a 1994 military coup. He was elected as President in
1996; he was re-elected in 2001, 2006, and 2011.
Biography
President Jammeh joined the Gambian National Army in 1984, was
commissioned a Lieutenant in 1989, and in 1992 became commander of the Gambian
Military Police. He received extensive military training in neighboring Senegal
and at United States Army School of the Americas.
Rise to power
On 22 July 1994, a group of young officers in the Gambian National Army
seized power from President Sir Dawda Jawara in a military coup by taking
control of key facilities in the capital city, Banjul. The coup took place
without bloodshed and met with very little resistance. The group identified
itself as the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), with the 29-year-old
Jammeh as its chairman.
The AFPRC then suspended the constitution, sealed the borders, and
implemented a curfew. While Jammeh's new government justified the coup by
decrying corruption and lack of democracy under the Jawara regime, army
personnel had also been dissatisfied with their salaries, living conditions,
and prospects for promotion.
Elections
Jammeh founded the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and
Construction as his political party. He was elected as president in September
1996. Foreign observers did not deem these elections free and fair.[6] He was
re-elected on 18 October 2001 with about 53% of the vote; this election was
generally deemed free and fair by observers, despite some very serious
shortcomings ranging from overt government intimidation of voters to technical
innovations (such as raising the required deposit to stand for election by a factor
of 25) to distort the process in favour of the incumbent regime.
A coup attempt against Jammeh was reported to have been thwarted on 21
March 2006; Jammeh, who was in Mauritania at the time, quickly returned home.
Army chief of staff Col. Ndure Cham, the alleged leader of the plot, reportedly
fled to neighboring Senegal, while other alleged conspirators were arrested and
were put on trial for treason. In April 2007, ten former officers accused of
involvement were convicted and given prison sentences; four of them were sentenced
to life in prison.
Jammeh ran for a third term in the presidential election held on 22
September 2006; the election was initially planned for October but was moved
forward because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.[citation needed] He was
re-elected with 67.3% of the vote and was declared the winner of the election;
the opposition candidate Ousainou Darboe finished second, as in 2001.
In November 2011, Jammeh was again re-elected as president for a fourth
term in office, reportedly having received 72% of the popular vote.
Peacekeeping
Senegal peace talks
According to The Daily Observer, on 10 December 2012, Jammeh secured
the release of Senegalese soldiers who had been held as hostages by rebels in
Senegal. He sent a delegation to meet with Senegalese President Macky Sall in
early December 2012. The delegation’s goal was to discuss a resolution to the
ongoing civil unrest in Senegal’s southern region of Cassamance. Members of the
delegation included the Minister of Presidential Affairs, the U.S. Ambassador
to the Gambia, and members from the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Jammeh Foundation for Peace
The Jammeh Foundation for Peace (JFP) was created by Jammeh to help
eradicate poverty among Gambians, improve agricultural production, and sponsor
educational opportunities for needy students. The foundation has a hospital
that is sponsored by the president and provides medical services to the general
public.
Charitable giving
Donations in 2012 included $2,563,138 to the National Youths Conference
and Festival (NAYCONF), and "two truckloads of turkey" to the Gambia
Christian Council for delivery to the Christian community. Jammeh also
bankrolled the university of education for less privilege Gambians and non
Gambians alike both home and abroad.
Homosexuality
Further information: LGBT rights in the Gambia
On 15 May 2008, Jammeh announced that his government would introduce
legislation that would set laws against homosexuals that would be
"stricter than those in Iran", and that he would "cut off the
head" of any gay or lesbian person discovered in the country. News reports
indicated his government intended to execute all homosexuals in the country. In
the speech given in Tallinding, Jammeh gave a "final ultimatum" to
any gays or lesbians in the Gambia to leave the country.
In a speech to the United Nations on 27 September 2013, Jammeh said
that "[h]omosexuality in all its forms and manifestations which, though
very evil, antihuman as well as anti-Allah, is being promoted as a human right
by some powers," and that those who do so "want to put an end to
human existence."
On 18 February 2014, Jammeh called homosexuals "vermins" by
saying that "We will fight these vermins called homosexuals or gays the
same way we are fighting malaria-causing mosquitoes, if not more aggressively,".
He also went on to disparage the LGBT by saying that "As far as I am
concerned, LGBT can only stand for Leprosy, Gonorrhoea, Bacteria and
Tuberculosis, all of which are detrimental to human existence".
Claims of medical treatments and cures
In January 2007, Jammeh claimed he could cure HIV/AIDS and asthma with
natural herbs. His claimed treatment program includes instructing patients to
cease taking their anti-retroviral drugs. His claims have been criticized for
promoting unscientific treatment that could have dangerous results, due to the
belief that those discharged from his program can infect others. In December
2011, he restated during an interview that the alleged cure for HIV/AIDS was "going
very well".
Fadzai Gwaradzimba, the country representative of the United Nations
Development Programme in the Gambia, was told to leave the country after she
expressed doubts about the claims and said the remedy might encourage risky
behaviour. In August 2007, Jammeh claimed to have developed a single dose
herbal infusion that could treat high blood pressure. Jammeh has also claimed
to develop a treatment for infertility in women as part of what is called the
President's Alternative Treatment Program (PATP).
Historical claims
According to the Daily Observer newspaper, Jammeh claimed on 26 July
2010, that Gambia had played an important role in the aviation industry,
specifically, "that the first Atlantic flight and the first flight from
Eastern Europe landed in the Gambia." At the same time Jammeh also stated
that "this country is one of the oldest and biggest countries in Africa
that was reduced to a small snake by the British government who sold all our
lands to the French."
In 1996, Jammeh institutionalized The International Roots Festival.
Since then, the festival has attracted hundreds of Africans from the Diaspora
to the Gambia to reconnect with their African Ancestry and to immerse
themselves in the culture of Africa and to come back to their roots. In 2011,
Jammeh renamed James Island to Kunta Kinte Island at the request of American
Artist Chaz Guest.
Religion
President Jammeh, like the majority of Gambians, practices Islam.
In July 2010, Jammeh stressed that people should believe in God:
"If you don't believe in God, you can never be grateful to humanity and
you are even below a pig."
In 2011 he told the BBC, "I will deliver to the Gambian people and
if I have to rule this country for one billion years, I will, if Allah says
so."
On 12 December 2015, Jammeh declared the Muslim-majority country to be
an Islamic republic, saying the move marked a break with the Gambia's colonial
past. Jammeh told state TV that the proclamation was in line with Gambia's
"religious identity and values." He added that no dress code would be
imposed and citizens of other faiths would be allowed to practise freely.
Criticism
An electoral sign supporting Yahya Jammeh.
Restrictions to press freedom
Jammeh has been accused of restricting freedom of the press. Harsh new
press laws were followed by the unsolved killing of Deyda Hydara, editor of The
Point tabloid. Hydara, who had been mildly critical of the Jammeh regime, was
brutally gunned down in December 2004.
Alhagie Martin, one of Jammeh’s closest military aides, has been named
in connection with Hydara's killing. It has, however, not been possible to
verify the allegation linking Martin with Hydara's slaying. It is widely
believed that Jammeh is responsible for Hydara's murder. Jammeh has denied that
security agents were involved in the killing.
In April 2004 he called on journalists to obey his government "or
go to hell". In June 2005 he stated on radio and television that he has
allowed "too much expression" in the country.
In July 2006, journalist Ebrima Manneh of The Daily Observer was
reportedly arrested by state security after attempting to republish a BBC
report criticizing Jammeh shortly before an African Union meeting in Banjul;
his arrest was witnessed by coworkers. Though ordered to release Manneh by an
Economic Community of West African States court, the Gambian government denied
that Manneh was imprisoned.
According to AFP, an unnamed police source confirmed Manneh's arrest in
April 2009, but added he believed Manneh "is no longer alive".
Amnesty International named Manneh a prisoner of conscience and a 2011
"priority case". The Committee to Protect Journalists has also called
for his release.
Alleged human rights abuses
Shooting of students
On 10 and 11 April 2000, the government was accused of the killing of
12 students and a journalist during a student demonstration to protest the
death of a student in the Gambia. Jammeh was accused of ordering the shooting
of the students, but the government denied the allegations. A government
commission of inquiry reportedly concluded that the Police Intervention Unit
(PIU) officers were "largely responsible" for many of the deaths and
other injuries.
The commission also said that five soldiers of the 2nd Infantry
Battalion were responsible for the deaths of two students at Brikama. The
government stated that the report implicated several PIU officers in the
students' deaths and injuries, but those responsible were not prosecuted.
Disappearances and imprisonments
Newspaper reports list dozens of individuals who have disappeared after
being picked up by men in plain-clothes, and others who have languished under
indefinite detention for months or years without charge or trial.[46] The
regional Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) court ordered the
Gambia government to produce one journalist who was disappeared.
Witch hunting campaign
In March 2009 Amnesty International reported that up to 1,000 Gambians
had been abducted by government-sponsored "witch doctors" on charges
of witchcraft, and taken to detention centers where they were forced to drink
poisonous concoctions. On 21 May 2009, The New York Times reported that the
alleged witch-hunting campaign had been sparked by the President Yahya Jammeh,
who believed that the death of his aunt earlier that year could be attributed
to witchcraft.
Massacre of migrants
Jammeh has also been linked with the 2004 massacre of 44 Ghanaian
migrants and 10 other ECOWAS nationals.
Death penalty
Though previously regarded by Amnesty International as
"abolitionist in practice", having had no executions since 1985, on
27 August 2012, the Gambian government confirmed that nine prisoners were
executed by firing squad. This followed President Jammeh's stated intention to
carry out all death penalties before mid-September amid protests from the
European Union countries and others.
Calls for anti-gay violence
In May 2015, in defiance of western criticism Jammeh intensified his
anti-gay rhetoric, telling a crowd during an agricultural tour: "If you do
it [in the Gambia] I will slit your throat — if you are a man and want to marry
another man in this country and we catch you, no one will ever set eyes on you
again, and no white person can do anything about it."
This prompted a fresh round of condemnation from international human
rights leaders. US National Security Advisor Susan Rice released a statement of
condemnation on 16 May 2015: "We condemn his comments, and note these
threats come amid an alarming deterioration of the broader human rights
situation in The Gambia," said Rice. "We are deeply concerned about
credible reports of torture, suspicious disappearances – including of two
American citizens – and arbitrary detention at the government’s hands."
Personal life
Colonel Yahya Jammeh and Mrs. Zineb Jammeh with Barack and Michelle
Obama in the White House, August 2014.
Jammeh's first marriage ended in divorce. Jammeh married his second
wife Zeinab Suma Jammeh, in 1999. They have two children as of 2007, a
daughter, Mariam Jammeh, and a son, Muhammed Yahya Jammeh. The latter was born
in late 2007, when his daughter was eight years old.
On 30 September 2010, Jammeh announced his marriage to a 21-year-old
(or possibly 18-year-old) additional wife by the name Alima Sallah, daughter of
Omar Gibril Sallah, Gambia's current Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, and Zahra
Sallah. It was announced that his new wife would officially be referred to as
Lady Alima Yahya Jammeh, and would not be referred to as a "first
lady", since Zeinab Suma Jammeh is the official "first lady".
According to at least one source, his marriage to Ms. Sallah was a
shock to his other wife Zeinab Suma Jammeh, and the additional marriage led to
strains in their relationship and even plans for their divorce. Zeinab Jammeh
had reportedly already been living in the U.S. separately from her husband for
some time. Ms. Sallah reportedly also left Gambia for the U.S. in June 2010.
According to the same publication, he then divorced Ms. Sallah in early 2011.
