Senegal-Gambia Ties Thawing Again



The president of Senegal Wade (L) and The Gambian president Yahya (R) are at it again.



Divided by colonial borders, but bound by common tradition and culture, the sisterly neighboring republics of Senegal and The Gambia are at their long-standing dispute again.



"Since 1994, we [Gambians] have always been working for the socio-economic development of our two people. This is witnessed by contracts my government awarded to Senegalese contractors, waiving [alien] tax on Senegalese residents in the Gambia," said Dr Njogu Bah, The Gambia’s Secretary General and head of civil service on Wednesday.

"Unfortunately, this has never been reciprocated by our Senegalese counterparts from [former president] Abdou Joof to [current president] Abdoulie Wade. This is worst under Wade who bears nothing but hostility towards The Gambia."

This latest row came in the wake of a controversial arms shipment intercepted in Nigeria from Iran allegedly bound for The Gambia.



While The Gambia remains mute over the issue, Senegal, who is highly concerned about the unrest in its Gambia-bordered Southern region of Casamance, has been relentlessly pursuing the matter amid allegations that The Gambia is sponsoring the independence seeking Casamance rebels.

"The Gambia does not need such weapons," Wade who has taken-up the matter with Iran, Nigeria and United Nations, was quoted as saying.

And a Senegalese website has published a document it said it acquired from Nigeria linking The Gambia to the arms shipment.



"Those arms intercepted in Nigeria were not bound for The Gambia," Dr Njogu Bah denied. "President Wade jumped to his conclusion because he was blinded by his hatred towards The Gambia by reporting The Gambia to the United Nations.



"The position of The Gambia on Cassamance has been for a peaceful solution, but not war. This did not please [former president] Joof and we were accused of supporting the rebels."

The Gambia accused Wade of sponsoring a faction of the rebels who are inflicting atrocities on unarmed civilians of Casamance perceived to be sympathizing with independence seeking rebels.

"It is an open secret that Abdoulie Wade is giving sanctuary to Gambian dissidents, including rebel leader Kukoi Sanyang and 2006 abortive coup mastermind Col. Ndure Cham," Dr Bah added.



The fracas came as both leaders recently pledged to resolve their decades-long differences and are frantically moving to mend their thawed relations, as witnessed by a series of bilateral engagements in recent times.