Gambia govt announces moratorium on executions

 

The Gambian government has issued a statement late on Friday night to announce a moratorium on the executions of death row inmates after numerous appeals from people in the Gambia and abroad.

 

However, the release said, the moratorium on executions will be indefinite if the rate of violent crimes decreases in the country. 

The government warned that the moratorium will be lifted automatically if there is an increase in violent crimes rate.

 

Reacting at the sametime to international outcry since the execution of nine death row inmates in August, the government insisted in the release that "no amount of bad mouthing or pressure can make the President shy away from upholding the oaths he had sworn to.."

 

The last three paragraphs are the usual warnings to the public on "no compromise on peace and traquility"...reminding the world Gambia is a "sovereign nation guided by its Constitution" etc..

 

 

Below is the press release verbatim:

 

Press Release

The general public, at home and abroad, is hereby  informed that his Excellency the President of the Republic of The Gambia, Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr. Yahya  A.J.J Jammeh , has decided to put a moratorium on executions as a result of numerous appeals to that effect  from council of elders , women’s groups as well as youth groups across the country.

Adding to that appeal were also appeals from former Senegalese Prime Minister Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye as well as the president of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Republic of Cote d’Ivorie who dispatched their Foreign Affiars ministers as special envoys to President Jammeh.

It is hereby made clear that it is only a moratorium on executions and what happen next will be dictated by either declining violent crime rate in which case the moratorium will be indefinite or an increase in violent crime rate in which case the moratorium will be lifted automatically.

         We hereby make it very clear that in defending the constitution and upholding laws of the Gambia, no amount of bad mouthing or pressure can make the President shy away from upholding the oaths that he has sworn to as president of the Republic of The Gambia.

The public is hereby enjoined to act by and within the laws at all times to ensure that peace and tranquility that the peace and tranquility The Gambia is renowned for is preserved.

The Gambia is a sovereign nation guided by its Constitution, the provisions of which  shall be upheld to the letter and spirit without fear or favour, affection or ill will.

Finally, the general public is reminded that the security of the lives and property of individuals and communities living in the country will not be compromised for whatever reason.

END