By Mohammed Legally-Cole, Banjul.
President Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh speaking to thousands of APRC party supporters and militants at the end of his dialogue with the people tour, at the Arch 22nd in Banjul on Saturday May 23rd 2009, said his government will not condone homosexuality in the country and described the act as un-islamic saying countries allowing homosexuals in their midst will not have peace.
The Gambian leader said a man should marry a woman, but man and man should never marry each other. He urged people not to entertain homosexuals in their compounds and also not allow them to use money on them or bribe them to carry out their lifestyle. He pointed out that the peace and security of the country should never be compromised by such acts.
Commenting on the issue of the Ghanaian corpses discovered in The Gambia, president Jammeh recalled that when the bodies were discovered, they were even shown on GRTS and some of the diplomatic missions in the country were invited for viewing. He said Ghanaians have their own community in The Gambia and have never at any time been harassed.
“I see no reason why we should kill them. We take people to court,” he stressed. He said, in fact it was The Gambia who that the matter to the United Nations for investigations.
On the issue of Gambian youths’ migration to Europe, President Jammeh(photo) stated that he is not against Gambian youths traveling to Europe but urged them to acquire the right documents to travel and avoid illegal migration through the most dreadful, unsafe and dangerous route of the high seas.
He advised the youths to work hard in order to contribute to national development and engage themselves in business development and workshops in order to improve their skills noting that most of the workshops in this country are managed and operated by foreigners, which he noted is not a good sign for development.
Jammeh stated that 99% of Gambians have "clean hearts", that is why the country is developing and that despite the food crisis facing the world the Gambia is still surviving.
“I don’t want to see any Gambian suffering, whether the individual is in the opposition or not," he said. He assured Gambians that the time will come when the Gambia will look like or be more developed than Dubai.
He thanked the people of Banjul for their loyalty to the government and APRC since 1994 to date.
Another speaker, Yankuba Touray, Gambian Secretary of State for Fisheries and Water Resources called on youths to acquire skills that would make them become employable and capable of contributing to national development.
He recalled the numerous development projects initiated by the government in various areas and stressed the need for the national council for civic education to talk to people on issues that would develop the country.
Other speakers at the meeting were the Mayor of Banjul Samba Faal, Aji Louise Jobe, Aji Fatou Sallah, Hon Yankuba Touray, National Mobiliser APRC, Hon Fatou Lamin Faye, and Councilor Landing Sanyang among others.
Yankuba Colley, Mayor of Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC), also called on the residents of the area to change their attitude in managing waste to make the city clean.
At the end of the meeting, president Jammeh donated 10 heads of cattle to the people of Banjul for his birthday.
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