Recently the Gambian President, as corrupt and brutal as any in Africa
for over 20 years now, was overthrown by a foreign invasion and
occupation following a tightly contested election.
To review, there was an election in Gambia which was very close, a
difference of 20,000 or so and the “opposition”, a western favorite,
declared victory. President Yahyah admitted it seemed he had lost but
then announced that after further investigation there were serious
irregularities that could have changed the outcome. He suspended the
election process until he could figure out what took place, something
his handpicked Constitutional Court upheld.
ECOWAS, a mini version of the African Union, flexed its military
muscle and the Senegalese Army backed by the Nigerian Air Force,
invaded Gambia and forced President Yahyah to flee the country,
evidently with all the cash in the National Bank.
To this day the Senegalese Army continues to occupy Gambia, with
Senegalese Commandos providing personal protection for the newly
installed President, having been sworn in while residing in Senegal?
If the old President wasn't such a S.O.B. (until recently “our SOB”)
one could feel outraged about what can only be described as “a very
African Coup”, for where else in the world could one country invade
and occupy a neighbor, install the President they support and everyone
cheers? Or at least the western media does, though I have yet to hear
anyone remotely uncomfortable about such a major violation of
international law and non intervention principals anywhere in the
international arena.
Of course Ethiopia, ruled by a particularly brutal, genocidal even,
western supported regime for longer than President Yahyah regularly
steal elections, declare a state of emergency, and yet the African
Union goes right on running their dog and pony show from the Ethiopian
capital Addis Ababa.
In Neo colonial Africa it is not the “rule of law” rather the “law of
the jungle” where only the strong survive, and what chance does a tiny
country like Gambia have against military powers like Senegal and
Nigeria. As a result we have Gambia and a very African Coup.
Thomas C. Mountain is an independent journalist in Eritrea, living and
reporting from here since 2006. See thomascmountain on Facebook or
best contact him at thomascmountain at g mail dot com
Received on Tue Feb 14 2017 - 01:19:40 EST