By Alagie Manneh
The EU Delegation to The Gambia has said in a leaked statement that it remains “concerned” by the continued silence of Gambian authorities following a request for authorisation to repatriate some Gambians from Germany.
In the letter, the delegation urged the country to “uphold its international obligations and commitments under the ‘Good Practices’, ‘Operational Conclusions’ modalities agreed in order to ensure a predictable and reliable readmission process for both sides while The Gambia can continue to count on the EU to support its broader development agendas.”
It said it is concerned by “the lack of positive response, and the absence of justification by the Gambian authorities” to a request made for authorisation for the operation of a non-scheduled flight by Germany on the 27th January to arrive at the Banjul International Airport on 28th January 2021.
“The Delegation of the European Union regrets that, as a result, the flight was cancelled at the last minute, despite all preparatory steps having been made in application of the ‘Good Practices’ and the ‘Operational Conclusions’ agreed with the government of The Gambia a February 2020,” the leaked epistle stated.
It went on to underscore that “the planned operation complied with the agreed frequency for and numbers of returnees on board a non-scheduled flight as per the modalities agreed, and that required information about the persons to be repatriated had been provided to the Gambian authorities in due time”.
The letter seemed to have confirmed that a deportation agreement between The Gambia and the EU was in fact in existence, despite the government’s continued denial that it never signed any deportation agreement.
Identify to deport shelved
In a related development, the foreign affairs ministry has asked Switzerland for time or deferral after it made a request for The Gambia Government officials to travel to Geneva this month to identify Gambians for potential deportation.
In response, the foreign affairs ministry said in a letter signed by its permanent secretary Pa Malick Nyass: “In view of resurgence of the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic and coupled with the public outcry that followed the signing of Cooperation Agreement between the government of The Gambia and the government of Switzerland, this Ministry wishes to advise that the invitation be deffered to an appropriate time.”
Germany-based Gambian activist, Yaya Sonko, said the only option for The Gambia Government authorities is to travel to Germany and thrash out a deal with Berlin.
“They need to come to Germany as quickly as possible to negotiate a concrete, transparent and reliable deal. Currently, more than a hundred Gambians are in German jails, and all of them could be subject to deportation at a time when the country is in a fragile state,” he said.
