Yahya Jammeh

His Excellency Yahya Jammeh
President of the Gambia
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 July 1994
Vice President	Isatou Njie Saidy
Preceded by	Dawda Jawara
Personal details
Born	(1965-05-25) 25 May 1965 Kanilai, Gambia
Political party	Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction
Spouse(s)	Zineb Suma Jammeh and Alima Sallah Jammeh
Children	Mariama and Muhammed

Yahya Abdul-Azziz Jemus Junkung Diliu Jammeh (Jola: يحيا آبدل-آزٌيز جمس خنكنغ ديلليو جمح; born May 25, 1965) is the President of The Gambia. As chairman of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council, he took control of the country in a bloodless military coup in July 1994, and was elected as president two years later, in September 1996.

Re-elections

He founded the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction as his political party. Jammeh was re-elected on October 18, 2001 with about 53% of the vote; this election was generally deemed free and fair by observers, despite some very serious shortcomings ranging from overt government intimidation of voters to technical innovations (such as raising the required deposit to stand for election by a factor of 25) to distort the process in favour of the incumbent regime.

Jammeh ran for a third term in the presidential election held on September 22, 2006; the election was initially planned for October but was moved forward because of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. He was re-elected with 67.3% of the vote and was declared the winner of the election; opposition candidate Ousainou Darboe finished second, as in 2001. Darboe rejected the results, saying that the election was not free and fair and that there was widespread intimidation. Jammeh was sworn in for his third term on December 15. In 2005, before an election in the Lower River Region of the country, Jammeh publicly threatened to take away the region's only ambulance if they did not re-elect his preferred candidate.

In July 2010, Jammeh said at a rally, "Whether you like it or not, no coup will end my government, no elections can end my government. By God's grace I will rule this country as long as I wish and choose someone to replace me." The same month, he added "Come 2011, whether you vote for me or not, I will win," and "If any area chooses to be with the opposition, let them go ahead and expect no benefit from my government."

Attempted coup

A coup attempt against Jammeh was reported to have been thwarted on March 21, 2006; Jammeh, who was in Mauritania at the time, quickly returned home. Army chief of staff Col. Ndure Cham, the alleged leader of the plot, reportedly fled to neighboring Senegal, while other alleged conspirators were arrested and were put on trial for treason. In April 2007, ten former officers accused of involvement were convicted and given prison sentences; four of them were sentenced to life in prison.

Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of the Gambia

Jammeh traveled to the United States to meet with Prince George's County, Maryland County Executive Jack Johnson in May 2004. While in the Washington, DC metro area, he delivered the commencement address to the St. Mary's College of Maryland graduating class of 2004. The address highlighted his commitment to education since taking power in The Gambia.

In early December 2006, Jammeh made a three-day visit to Iran, where he met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei; Ahmadinejad said that Iran would provide aid to assist in the development of The Gambia, and he and Jammeh spoke of deepening ties between the two countries.

In December 2007 he traveled to Taiwan with the objective of developing trade relations between the two countries.

In 2008 he received awards for the pursuit of peace from the International Parliament for Safety and Peace in Palermo, Italy.

In 2008, Governor Steven L. Beshear of the U.S. State of Kentucky made Jammeh an honorary Kentucky colonel.

Press freedom

Jammeh has been accused of restricting freedom of the press. Harsh new press laws were followed by the unsolved killing of Deyda Hydara, editor of The Point newspaper and Gambia correspondent for Reporters Without Borders and the French news agency AFP. Hydara, who had been mildly critical of the Jammeh regime, was brutally gunned down in December 2004. Alhagie Martin, one of Jammeh's closest military aides, has been named in connection with Hydara's killing. It has, however, not been possible to verify the allegation linking Martin with Hydara's slaying. It is widely believed that Jammeh is responsible for Hydara's murder. Jammeh has denied that security agents were involved in the killing.

In April 2004 he called on journalists to obey his government "or go to hell". In June 2005 he stated on radio and television that he has allowed "too much expression" in the country.

A British couple resident in Gambia for 12 years were convicted of sedition for writing private emails critical of the president to friends back home. They were sentenced to one year imprisonment with hard labor, and the woman was released after serving her year, while the man remained imprisoned until September 2010.

As of December 2009, internet web sites critical of the government are blocked, such as the US-based Freedom Newspaper.

Alleged human rights abuses

See also: Human rights abuse

On April 10 and 11th, 2000, the government was accused in the killing of 12 students and a journalist during a 'student demonstration' to protest the death of a student in The Gambia. Jammeh was accused of ordering the shooting of the students, but the government denied the allegations. A government commission of inquiry reportedly concluded that the Police Intervention Unit (PIU) officers were "largely responsible" for many of the deaths and other injuries. The inquiry also revealed that five soldiers of the 2nd Infantry Battalion were responsible for the deaths of two students at Brikama. The government stated that the report implicated several PIU officers in the students' deaths and injuries yet those responsible had still not been brought to book.

Newspaper reports list dozens of individuals who have disappeared after being picked up by men in plain-clothes, and others who have languished under indefinite detention for months or years without charge or trial. The regional Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) court ordered the Gambia government to produce one journalist who was disappeared.

In March 2009 Amnesty International reported that up to 1,000 Gambians had been abducted by government-sponsored "witch doctors" on charges of witchcraft, and taken to detention centers where they were forced to drink poisonous concoctions. On May 21, 2009, The New York Times reported that the alleged witch-hunting campaign had been sparked by the President Yahya Jammeh, who believed that the death of his aunt earlier that year could be attributed to witchcraft. Jammeh has also been linked with the 2004 massacre of 44 Ghanaian migrants and 10 other ECOWAS nationals.

An online petition has been started in the hopes of the International Criminal Court indicting him for crimes against humanity.

Stance on homosexuality

On May 15, 2008, Jammeh announced that his government would introduce legislation that would set rules against homosexuals that would be “stricter than those in Iran”, and that he would "cut off the head" of any gay or lesbian person discovered in the country. News reports indicated his government intended to have all homosexuals in the country killed. In the speech given in Tallinding, Jammeh gave a "final ultimatum" to any gays or lesbians in The Gambia to leave the country.

Health claims

In January 2007, Jammeh claimed he could cure HIV/AIDS and asthma with natural herbs. Some patients are said to have improved through his treatment, but he has also been criticized for promoting unscientific treatment that could have dangerous results, claiming that those discharged from his program cannot infect others . The full text of his speech seems to suggest that the 'cure' may in fact be addressing intestinal parasites ("With regards to HIV/AIDS, they should be kept at a place that has adequate toilets facilities because they can be going to toilet every five minutes.").

Fadzai Gwaradzimba, the country representative of the United Nations Development Programme in The Gambia, was told to leave the country after she expressed doubts about the claims and said the remedy might encourage risky behaviour.

In August 2007, Jammeh claimed to have developed a single dose herbal infusion that could treat high blood pressure.

Historical Claims

According to the Daily Observer newspaper, Jammeh claimed on July 26, 2010, that the Gambia had played an important role in the aviation industry, specifically, "that the first Atlantic flight and the first flight from Eastern Europe landed in The Gambia." At the same time Jammeh also stated that "this country is one of the oldest and biggest countries in Africa that was reduced to a small snake by the British government who sold all our lands to the French."

Religion

In July 2010, Jammeh stated "If you don't believe in God, you can never be grateful to humanity and you are even below a pig."

Family

Jammeh and his first wife Zeinab Jammeh, have two children as of 2007: a daughter, Miriam Jammeh, and a son, Muhammed Yahya Jammeh. The latter was born in late 2007, at which point the former was eight years old. On September 30, 2010, Jammeh announced his marriage to a second wife by the name Ms. Alima Sallah, daughter of Mr Omar Gibril Sallah, Gambia's current Ambassador to Saudi Arabia and Mrs Zahra Sallah.

Education

Jammeh received a secondary school education in the Gambia, and trained at the School of the Americas in the US while serving in the Gambian military. In 2010, he received the honorary degree of Grand Doctor of Philosophy from the private vocational school International University of Fundamental Studies, who is considered an unaccredited "degree mill" by some and who claims accreditation from the International Parliament for Safety and Peace.

External links

• Jammeh to Hizbullah TV: We Support Iran's Nuclear Program; All Countries Are Entitled to Obtain Nuclear Weapons Until These Are Abolished
• Official website
• Gambia News