(JollofNews) – Provocative comments by Gambian President Yahya Jammeh on Sunday threatened to overshadow talks with Senegal aimed at resolving a three-month border blockade.
Hours before the two countries’ foreign ministers sat down to talks in Dakar, Jammeh laid out his views on the dispute in forthright comments broadcast on state television on Saturday.
“I have no intention of going to settle the issue of the border because our border is opened,” the president said. “They closed the border and I will not negotiate with someone that closed the border.”
The border blockade, which has created shortages of essential daily items on both sides of the frontier, followed The Gambia’s decision to slap a hundred-fold hike on fees for trucks entering its territory — which is completely surrounded by Senegal.
The hike, which came without warning in February and was later reversed — has infuriated Senegalese drivers who are still blockading the border.
After mediation by Guinea’s leader Alpha Conde, a Gambian delegation agreed to meet in the Senegalese capital Dakar with the aim of re-opening their shared border to Senegalese commercial vehicles.
Jammeh is not present in Dakar having remained in Banjul to host Conde.
The Gambia’s landmass is completely surrounded by Senegal, and reliant on its larger neighbour to import many essentials.
Jammeh also claimed that it was Senegal’s population that had suffered as a result of the closure, despite reports of widespread blackouts in the Gambian capital.
“If the people in Senegal are suffering, they should blame their government and not me because they are the ones that closed the border. People are suffering and that is the truth,” he said.
In Dakar, Gambian foreign minister Neneh Mcdouall-Geye told journalists she hoped to find “lasting solutions to our issues”.
Senegal’s foreign minister Mankeur Ndiaye echoed his counterpart’s comments but said “frank exchanges” would be required “on the all the questions at hand”, including the long-delayed construction of a bridge across the river that makes up much of the Gambia’s territory.
Senegal’s militant transport trade unionists told AFP last week the blockade would continue until they had 24-hour passage across the border and clear progress on the bridge.
Frankly it is the common people of the Gambia and Senegal who have been and still shoulder the burden caused by this boarder closure. Despite the wide differences in the Political sphere, the people of the Senegambia region has the potential to live together. If the state officials of both countries could transparently detail out their difeerences, this impasse could be used instead to lay the foundation stone for the ECOWAS free zone. Seems to be a matter of generousity and truthfulness to our cultural heritage of hospitality. Lip-service to these qualities only imposes political rigidity and tenpers may flare infiltrating other aspects of our lives “SENEGAMBIA” that has nothing to do with Politics or Political Authorities. Thanks
shut your dirty mouth raciste gambian you are jalous for the good devoloppement of senegal and your president say that his peoples will not suffer why sending thoses stupid minister inn to senegal when men are talking. if we calling men in africa who knows you?, tell me what you gambian knows, only smoking tie and flowering old white women.
tv you goes for senegal, nice clothes you goes for senegal, religious,design,movies, music….your women prefer us than you.
shut it up jealous men…with your black donkey dictator president
senegal en force
galsen forever
d government of is a puppet with half independence, lack of food,that’s why u need a brige in Gambia to suck cassamas.in case u don’t know,many gambians today are from cassamas because senegal has been trying to destabilize just to colonize. shame on u,an african colonising one another
yahya jameh is liying all what he say in the television with alpha conde is a lie he knows that his economie is failing down i dont know why that stupid elhadji diouf going to gambia talking about this borther he have no experience in negociation no body send him to negociate we senegaless we dont need this your feraill darty ferry the senegaless goverment say if no bridg no opening borther we will use ours bice boot and taxi plane or we go to the back way we dont care bulchit jameh
pleas jameh dont come in to your word from 400000f to 4000f just keep it on 4000000f you will see you gambians your are afraid of jameh u have to strike one day and fight with his police and army if they kiled two striker senegaless arme will come and help they will kil him or arest him and taking him to face the law vs fatou ben souda just atack dont leave only lawyer darbo to do it is for the freedom of the gambia go on
mossa sy demal tog lawah yow danga ham tuss nyun gambia we dont no fight idiot we love peace