President Yahya Jammeh, who seized power in the West African state almost 20 years ago, became the first leader to pull out of the Commonwealth unilaterally since President Robert Mugabe chose to withdraw Zimbabwe in 2003.
Jammeh, who claims to have discovered a cure for Aids, has been accused of widespread human rights abuses, notably by ordering a national campaign against "witches".
His government announced last night that Gambia had "withdrawn its membership of the British Commonwealth and decided that Gambia will never be a member of any neocolonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism".
The sudden move is an unexpected blow to the Commonwealth on the eve of a summit due to be held in Sri Lanka on November 16.
Unusually, the queen, the head of the Commonwealth, will not attend. The gathering will be opened by the Prince of Wales.
On a continent famous for its wayward leaders, Jammeh stands out for his sheer eccentricity.
The man who likes to be called "His Excellency Sheikh Professor Doctor President" has acted entirely in character by announcing his country's departure from the Commonwealth, apparently on a whim.
This display of caprice is in keeping with the way he has governed his tiny and tormented nation.
Last year Jammeh chose to mark the Muslim festival of Eid by announcing that 38 prisoners with capital sentences would all be shot. Traditionally, this celebration at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is supposed to be marked by gestures of clemency.
Jammeh, typically, chose to invert the custom. But in another display of presidential caprice, he later lifted the threat and ordered a stay of execution.
On August 19 last year, however, he announced that capital sentences would be carried out "to the letter", adding: "There is no way my government will allow 99% of the population to be held to ransom by criminals."
Four days later, eight men and one woman held in Mile 2 jail near Gambia's capital, Banjul, were executed by firing squad.
Last month, speaking at the UN, he declared that homosexuals were "very evil" and posed a threat to human existence. All homosexuals should leave Gambia, he added, and any who disobeyed this order would be beheaded.
Jammeh seized power 19 years ago when he was a 29-year-old l ieutenant.
His predecessor, Sir Dawda Jawara, had long experience of being overthrown: the first time this happened, Sir Dawda was toppled while attending the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Diana in London in 1981. When the military coup of 1994 took place, Lieutenant Jammeh, as he then was, became his successor by being the first army officer to reach the presidential palace.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario