By Talibeh Hydara
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr Mamadou Tangara, has taken part in the much-anticipated debate for the Commonwealth Secretary General.
The debate, held on Wednesday at Chatham House in London, pitted the foreign minister against two other African candidates for the job.
Moderated by veteran broadcaster Zeinab Badawi, the candidates took questions on youths, human rights, reparations, etc., ahead of the election next month in Samoa.
Speak out against violations
Responding to a question on whether the Commonwealth SG should speak out against violations or rather use diplomacy, Tangara said: “I will speak out when necessary and I will give out a concrete example. Diplomacy is done behind closed-doors but when it is time to speak, you have to speak loud and clear.”
Using The Gambia’s political impasse in 2016 when Jammeh reneged on his initial decision to concede defeat as an example, Tangara explained to the audience how cautious he was in the midst of jubilation.
He said when the election results were announced, he spoke to the late Babatunde of UNFPA and former chair of UN Peacebuilding Commission, Ambassador [Macharia] Kamau, prevailing on them to ensure there is vigilance and respecting the verdict of the Gambian people.
“They said I was panicking. I said what I was seeing was not good. One week later, Jammeh changed his decision. I called my colleagues and told them it was a decisive moment in our history and we had to take a decision. Let’s not be blinded by the privileges to cling to power. We’ve lost; let’s leave with dignity. We cannot be the pride of Africa one week and be the laughing stock of the world in another week. So, we decided to mobilise and speak loud and clear and made sure the verdict of the people stand with the support of all the colleagues in New York; our High Commissioner who was advising the Security Council. We were able to avoid a major conflict,” he said.
Reparations
There have been growing calls for reparations for the crimes of slavery and colonialism. The candidates answered a question on whether they support such a cause.
“I am fully in support of reparatory justice,” Tangara said. “This is a noble cause that has to be championed by member nations. The Commonwealth can use its convening power to facilitate the dialogue and make it happen.”
‘Containing China’
Responding to a question from the audience on how the Commonwealth can contain the influence of China, Dr Tangara said: “I don’t think that’s the role of the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth cannot determine the foreign policy of sovereign states and I don’t think we should be trying to counter the influence of a country or an organisation.”
All three candidates believe sovereign countries have the right to deal with any nation and the Commonwealth has no role in countering that.
Young people
The foreign minister, who is running his campaign on empowering young people, addressed the potentials of the youthful population of the Commonwealth.
In his opening statement, he said: “Coming from a youthful population of 64% age 30 and below, I can relate to the needs and aspirations of the Commonwealth youth population. The welfare and economic security of our youths are core enabler or driver of my plan, including gender equality.
The youth and women will, therefore, play a central role in rebranding the Commonwealth as a historical institution built to bridge differences and create opportunities through employment and capacity building to foster economic growth of states and citizens.”
