By Omar Bah
The Gambia Centre for Victims of Human Rights Violations has warned President Adama Barrow against compromising the Truth Commission’s recommendations for his personal political gains.
President Barrow was heavily criticised for handling of the Janneh Commission’s recommendations.
The victims who continue to ask for justice for the victims of rights abuses under former president Yahya Jammeh said they are even more worried now that Barrow has formed his own party with an eye on election in December. The Truth Commission is expected to submit its recommendations to the president in early July this year.
“President Barrow’s legacy will highly depend on the successful implementation of the TRRC recommendations. Government’s political commitment is very crucial. We don’t want to see a recurrence of what happened with the Janneh Commission,” Chairman Sheriff Kijera told The Standard.
He said the victims are worried that the government may compromise the TRRC recommendations on the altar of political expedience.
“It is election year and politicians will be preoccupied with politics. It may not be in their best interest to implement those recommendations especially if they want to form an alliance with the likes of APRC. But we will put more pressure on the government to ensure that these recommendations are implemented to the letter,” he said.
Rogue elements
Kijera said the president should take the security sector reform very seriously, saying: “You cannot have alleged perpetrators in a system and you expect that system to operate diligently and effectively. That is practically impossible. They will always try to frustrate your efforts. I would advise the president to get rid of all the rogue elements in the system and bring forward good citizens.
“I want to tell Barrow that we want him to succeed because when he succeeds the nation succeeds. He should remember that there is no single government that can finish the work of a nation. Nation-building is a gradual process. He should remember that there is always life after the presidency and that life is worth living for. In that regard, I will advise him to put the nation ahead of any personal and party interest,” he added.
Reacting to Barrow’s four year in office, Kijera argued: “The only things we are proud of is the National Human Rights Commission and the TRRC, which have been the standout transitional projects as they have brought to an end the tortures and killings under Jammeh. The TRRC has conducted itself very professionally and is avoiding being intimidated by detractors who are interested to see the failure of the commission.”
The rejection of the draft constitution and the reappointment of enablers and alleged enablers of the Jammeh regime into key government positions, Kijera argued, has stood out as one of the biggest failures of the Barrow administration.
“Barrow has successfully surrounded himself with Jammeh enablers. We have seen some of them in the cabinet and other key sectors of the government which is quite disheartening. But apart from that, the nation is calm and relatively peaceful because freedom of speech and human rights are guaranteed now,” he added.
