Rebels at The Centre

The three-decade long unrest in the southern Senegal, Casamance, has been at the crux of decades of thawing relations between Senegal and The Gambia. However, both countries have once again moved to mend cracked fences. But aware that this would be impossible without, firstly, collectively dealing with Senegal’s independence-seeking rebels, ensuing bilateral talks had led to the agreement to mount a joint operation against the rebels. Kissy-Kissy Mansa reports. 

The Gambian delegation led by Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, the vice president recently embarked on a three-day official visit to Senegal where they held a joint consultative meeting with Senegalese counterparts.
Top on the agenda was the promotion of ties between these sisterly neighboring countries whose relations have been volatile, often triggered by the unrest in Southern Senegal, Casamance.  
Also discussed was the revival of the Senegalo-Gambian permanent Secretariat. This bilateral dispensation was set-up in 1965 to coordinate bilateral engagements. But it later gave way to the formation of a confederation in 1982. The confederation was short-lived.
The promise to revive the secretariat was among a series of bilateral commitments, including establishment of a Joint Ministerial Commission and Joint Border Committee, both countries made last year when President Wade undertook a two-day working visit to The Gambia.
Although bound by common traditional values, ties between Senegal and The Gambia have been marred by tensions, especially for the past decade with President Wade and Jammeh in power.
Today newspaper Editor in Chief, Gbola Adiomoh is right that tensions between border countries are common.
However, it must be noted, as observers say, no two countries are as linked as Senegal and The Gambia. 
Wade’s visit last year came amid tense relations following allegations by Gambian authorities that Wade was conspiring with ‘Gambian dissidents’ to overthrow President Yahya Jammeh’s regime.
And the latest bout of diplomatic row erupted in the wake of the impounding of controversial arms shipment in Nigeria from UN-sanctioned Iran. The 13 container shipment of arms was bound for The Gambia, according to Iranian officials. The Gambia denied it.
Concerned about the three-decade unrest in its Gambia-bordered Southern region of Casamance, Senegal had pursued the matter amid renewal of allegations that The Gambia is sponsoring Senegal’s independence seeking rebels.
Reacting to mounting allegations in Senegal linking The Gambia to the arms shipment and sponsoring of the rebels, Gambian authorities accused President Wade of engaging in a smear campaign against The Gambia, branding him enemy.
 “Blinded by his hatred towards The Gambia, Abdoulie Wade has addressed a letter to the UN accusing The Gambia of buying long-ranged rockets and other sophisticated weapons from Iran,” says The Gambia’s secretary general Dr Njogu Bah, in a statement read on behalf of The Gambia government.
He added: “Since 1994, we [Gambians] have always been working for the socio-economic development of our two people. 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.”
Wade is yet to respond, but the Senegalese Prime Minister Madicke Niang said Senegal has no intention of pursuing exchanges with Gambia, noting that the matter is a sub-regional problem and Senegal is interested in unearthing the truth.
Moustapha Guirassy, Minister of Communication of Senegal slammed the criticisms as “excessive” and “exaggerated”.
However, both countries have expressed their resolve to permanently put an end to decades of diplomatic mistrust following The Gambian foreign minister, Momodou Tangara’s day-long working visit to Senegal at the invitation of his Senegalese counterpart.
And according to the communiqué minister Tangara was also received in audience by President Abdoulaye Wade to convey a special message from President Jammeh, but details of the special message are yet to be unveiled.
“Both countries pledged to make every effort towards the establishment of the Senegalo-Gambian Permanent Secretariat by end of February 2011,” the communiqué reads.
It says the foreign ministers of both countries expressed satisfaction at the progress being made so far and pledged to pursue efforts aimed at accelerating the implementation of the recommendations of the 5th Joint Ministerial Commission, especially those relating to the establishment of a network of Senegalese and Gambian women entrepreneurs and experience sharing in the areas of hydrocarbons, domestic fuel and renewable energies.
“The two sides also decided to cooperate and work on initiating joint projects in all areas, especially: In the area of Health – to promote experience sharing in
the form of twinning, particularly in the health districts located in border areas; Electrification of cross-border areas by power companies and rural electrification agencies of both countries, based on existing funding opportunities at ECOWAS; and Education- With respect to the Consultative Commission, the two Ministers reiterated their commitment to making this institution, a forum for dialogue and consultation to monitor, in the interest of both countries, issues related to their economic and social development,” the communiqué states.
The results of Minister Tangara’s visit to Senegal have been hailed by analysts in The Gambia who criticised the Gambia government. 
It laid bare that there should have been diplomatic solutions sought before such comments are aired out to the people. Seeking Diplomatic solutions is the best way to mend thwarting relations.
The visit of Dr. Tangara to Senegal has proven this right with the outcome of the end of his visit which we believe is a by-product of diplomacy.
The latest visit to Dakar last month by the vice president saw the governments of Senegal and Gambia agreeing to undertake joint and permanent patrols along their border to counter the Senegalese separatist rebels and to deny them the ability to carry out military incursions in Senegal and then revert to Gambia to seek refuge.
In the statement following the meeting on Thursday, the Senegalese government announced that a joint secretariat to establish and implement the border surveillance and patrol will be set up by 30 April this year and will go into effect immediately after that.
“This trans-national surveillance institution will prevent incursions into Senegalese territory and dissidents seeking refuge in Gambia. We hope this will be the end of the confusion between Senegal and Gambia,” the statement said.