Black Agenda Report
Black Agenda Report
News, commentary and analysis from the black left.

  • Home
  • Africa
  • African America
  • Education
  • Environment
  • International
  • Media and Culture
  • Political Economy
  • Radio
  • US Politics
  • War and Empire

Gambia; A Very African Coup
Thomas C. Mountain
15 Feb 2017
🖨️ Print Article

by Thomas C. Mountain

Just another week in neocolonial Africa, where every country’s military is armed, clothed, equipped and trained by the US through AFRICOM. Reports in the western press of a corrupt president refusing to leave office and being ousted to universal acclaim by the joint intervention of the Nigerian Air Force and Senagalese ground troops obfuscate or omit most of the story.

Gambia; A Very African Coup

by Thomas C. Mountain

"... the Senegalese Army backed by the Nigerian Air Force, invaded Gambia and forced President Yahyah to flee the country..."

Recently the Gambian President, as corrupt and brutal as any in Africa for over 20 years now, was overthrown by a foreign invasion and occupation following a tightly contested election.

To review, there was an election in Gambia which was very close, a difference of 20,000 or so and the “opposition”, a western favorite, declared victory. President Yahyah admitted it seemed he had lost but then announced that after further investigation there were serious irregularities that could have changed the outcome. He suspended the election process until he could figure out what took place, something his handpicked Constitutional Court upheld.

ECOWAS, a mini version of the African Union, flexed its military muscle and the Senegalese Army backed by the Nigerian Air Force, invaded Gambia and forced President Yahyah to flee the country, evidently with all the cash in the National Bank.

To this day the Senegalese Army continues to occupy Gambia, with Senegalese Commandos providing personal protection for the newly installed President, having been sworn in while residing in Senegal?

"...Ethiopia, ruled by a particularly brutal, genocidal even, western supported regime for longer than President Yahyah..."

If the old President wasn't such a S.O.B. (until recently “our SOB”) one could feel outraged about what can only be described as “a very African Coup”, for where else in the world could one country invade and occupy a neighbor, install the President they support and everyone cheers? Or at least the western media does, though I have yet to hear anyone remotely uncomfortable about such a major violation of international law and non intervention principals anywhere else in the international arena.

Of course Ethiopia, ruled by a particularly brutal, genocidal even, western supported regime for longer than President Yahyah regularly steal elections, declare a state of emergency, and yet the African Union goes right on running their dog and pony show from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

In Neo colonial Africa it is not the “rule of law” rather the “law of the jungle” where only the strong survive, and what chance does a tiny country like Gambia have against military powers like Senegal and Nigeria. As a result we have Gambia and a very African Coup.

Thomas C. Mountain is an independent journalist in Eritrea, living and reporting from here since 2006. Find him here on Facebook or better yet contact him at thomascmountain(at)gmail.com.

Do you need and appreciate Black Agenda Report articles? Please click on the DONATE icon, and help us out, if you can.


More Stories


  • Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 7, 2021
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Black Agenda Radio for Week of June 7, 2021
    08 Jun 2021
    The Democrat-Republican Symbiosis
  •  Margaret Kimberley Israel Aides Repression in Colombia
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Israel Aids Repression in Colombia
    08 Jun 2021
    The Zionist state is helping the government of Colombia violently suppress a national strike against austerity, said Ajamu Baraka, national organizer for the Black Alliance for Peace and 2016 Green
  •  Bethesda, Maryland Desecrates Black Bodies and History
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    Bethesda, Maryland Desecrates Black Bodies and History
    08 Jun 2021
    "I’m describing crimes against humanity,” said Dr Marsha Coleman-Adebayo, a leader of the fight to save Moses Macedonia African Cemetery from further destruction by developers.
  •  The Democrat-Republican Symbiosis
    Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley and Glen Ford
    The Democrat-Republican Symbiosis
    08 Jun 2021
    Like Democratic administrations before them, the Biden-Harris White House “needs the Republicans to give them cover” for failing to serve the needs of the people, said Dr.
  • Norman Finkelstein: Truth and Justice Are the Ultimate Test, Not International NGOs
    Ann Garrison, BAR Contributing Editor
    Norman Finkelstein: Truth and Justice Are the Ultimate Test, Not International NGOs
    02 Jun 2021
    Even Human Rights Watch says Israel is committing crimes against humanity in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and in Gaza, and the idea of a Jewish state in the context of Palestine is not legit
  • Load More
Subscribe
connect with us
about us
contact us