On
Thursday, February 6, 2020, the TRRC concluded its eleventh three-week session
of public hearings. During that session, which focused on attacks on religious
leaders of both the Muslim and Christian faiths, 15 witnesses appeared before
the Commission. The total number of witnesses appearing before the Commission
since the commencement of the public hearings on January 7, 2019 is now 203.
These include 53 women, 38 perpetrators, alleged perpetrators and adversely
mentioned persons, as well as three expert witnesses. Twenty four Gambian
Diaspora witnesses also testified via video link.
The
evidence adduced before the Commission so far indicates that the authoritarian
tentacles of Yahya Jammeh reached practically every section of Gambian society.
From political opponents to journalists, media houses, and ordinary civilians,
the evidence shows that the oppressive regime of the former president
infiltrated all segments of Gambian society and violated the rights of innocent
and helpless citizens of this country. These heinous crimes included the evil,
inhumane and degrading treatment citizens endured during the 2009 witch hunts
sponsored by the Jammeh regime. The eleventh session heard from witnesses
information regarding gross violations of the religious freedoms and brutal
treatment of religious leaders and sects whose only crimes were to profess
their own faiths.
Information
provided to the Commission shows that Jammeh manipulated religious leaders to
benefit his dictatorial rule. He neither recognized nor respected the different
roles of the State and Religion in society. Jammeh seemed to have invented a
pattern of co-opting and corrupting religious leaders until they fell out with
him. And then he would turn around and violate their rights and freedoms with
appalling impunity. He methodically used religious leaders from one faith to
suppress other faiths with whose doctrines he disagreed.
Evidence
provided to the Commission seems to be drawing us to the truth that Jammeh’s
manipulation of religious leaders through attacks and intimidation created deep
divisions within religious communities and Gambian society at large. Neighbors
became hostile to neighbors, religious scholars to religious scholars. When
religious leaders are compromised through co-optation or corruption by
political leaders, they lose their legitimacy and credibility in the eyes of
their followers.
The
unlawful arrest, detention and in some cases torture of religious leaders
inevitably bred resentment among their communities and followers. Attempts at
demonizing other faiths, including the utterance of inflammatory remarks that
ascribed less than human qualities to our fellow human beings just because they
profess a faith different from ours, resulted in the commission of gross acts
of injustice unbefitting any civilized society.
The
twelfth session starts today and will end on March 5, 2020. The Commission’s
public hearings will focus on attacks on road users by the presidential convoys
of Yahya Jammeh and the arbitrary arrest and unlawful detention of civil
servants. However, the session will start with hearing a couple of witnesses on
the theme of attacks on religious freedoms who could not be heard during the
last session.
As
we begin this twelfth session of public hearings, we should steadfastly
continue our national efforts to come to terms with the brutal history of 22
years of authoritarian rule in our country. The TRRC calls upon all Gambians to
exercise a high level of tolerance, especially religious and ethnic tolerance
towards their fellow human beings. Religious and ethnic differences should not
at all be causes of conflict in our society. We should all be able to adhere to
our faiths and allow others to freely adhere to their faiths. We should
certainly be able to refrain from castigating other faiths and their adherents
and instead endeavor to respect and bless all our fellow human beings. All the
major faiths in this country teach tolerance and mutual love and respect for
each other.
Finally,
we wish to continue encouraging all victims of human rights violations,
especially female victims, to please come forward and share your experiences
with the Commission. The TRRC takes into account the voices of all who submit
statements here, all statements are part of our body of evidence, and all
statements will help the Commission fulfil its mandate of producing a true
historical record of human rights violations that happened in this country
during the period July 1994 to January 2017.
Please
allow me, on behalf of the Commission, to invite you to join us in this new chapter
of our collective exploration of our country’s recent past, and to seek your
continued support and blessings for this national process.
Thank
you for your kind attention.
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