Gambia: Opposition APRC protests ex-President Jammeh’s return

Banjul, Gambia (PANA)   -  Thousands of supporters of the opposition Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction (APRC) Thursday staged a demonstration here calling for the return of former President Yahya Jammeh.

The party also accused United Nations, African Union, and ECOWAS of ignoring their calls.

Jammeh,54, ruled the country for 22 years. He has been living in exile in Equatorial Guinea after he lost in a 2016 presidential election to President Barrow.

His supporters on gathered at Sukuta traffic light, 40km outside Banjul,  holding placards bearings ‘Jammeh must come back’.

Fabakary Tombong Jatta, interim leader of the APRC, said: “We are here to demand the full implementation of the joint declaration between president Jammeh and ECOWAS, UN and AU that led to his departure to Equatorial Guinea in January 2017.”

“Over the period we engaged, we have written letters to UN to date and we observe that the agreement is not implemented. So today we are here to demonstrate peacefully to deliver to them demanding for the full implementation of the joint declaration,” he added.

According to him, when two gentlemen go into an agreement, it is your integrity that you protect; anybody can fraud an agreement but how are you assert by the public.

Former Kanifing mayor Yankuba Colley said the agreement that led Jammeh into exile was the same agreement giving him the right to return home.

He said they were not making any forceful attempt to bring Jammeh back but “we are demanding for them (UN, AU, and Ecowas) to implement the agreement that has been signed”.

Colley also responded to government over Jammeh security guaranty, saying “If the government cannot secure him, APRC will secure him.”

-0-    PANA    MSS/RA   16Jan2020