Africa-Press – Gambia. The Gambian civil society has in a statement called for calm in Senegal, while urging the security forces to “urgently de-escalate” the situation by abiding by the rule of law and restraining their use of force as they seek to maintain law and order.
The Gambian civil society also highlighted the norms Senegal and The Gambia share, citing that both have the same historical and sociocultural umbilical cord, and by geography are destined to live side by side.
“To this end we wish to recommend the following urgent actions to all concerned parties including
President Macky Sall, Opposition leaders and Civil Society actors in Senegal, ECOWAS and AU in
seeking solutions.”
Similarly, we wish to call on the leaders of ECOWAS and the African Union to realize and uphold their historic duties to the ECOWAS Treaty and the AU Constitutive Act and Charter, and to all sub regional and regional instruments that demand the prevalence of democracy and protection of human rights in Africa.
In this regard, we therefore recommend to both ECOWAS and AU to be proactive as follows:
1. Dispatch a joint high-level mission led by the AU Chair Person, President Azali Assoumani
of Comoros and the ECOWAS Chair Person, President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau to
visit Dakar to have urgent dialogue with President Macky Sall and the opposition leaders to remind them of their duty to uphold the law, defend and abide by democratic norms and standards and protect human rights as a means to ensure the peace and stability of Senegal, West Africa and the African continent as a whole.
2. Remind all opposition leaders to refrain from fueling adverse sentiments and rather seek to urge their supporters to maintain peace and order even when they protest.
In conclusion, the Gambian Civil Society will seek engagements with our Senegalese counterparts
in order to enable all of us to play our part effectively and fully in ensuring that democracy and
peace prevail in Senegal.
In this regard we also call on the Gambia Government to actively engage their Senegalese counterparts to remind them of their sacred responsibility to the promotion and protection of democracy and maintenance of peace and stability.
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