Her Excellency Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy, vice president and minister for Women's Affairs, on behalf of the president of The Republic, His Excellency Sheikh Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Jammeh, yesterday presided over a consultative meeting that brought together the leaders of the three main political parties in Guinea Bissau.

Yesterday's meeting, held at the Kairaba Beach Hotel in Kololi, was the second of its kind initiated by President Jammeh, in his continued drive to find lasting peace and stability in Guinea Bissau, and by extension the sub-region, Africa and the whole world, and it provided a forum for discussion on key political issues in Guinea Bissau, ahead of the June 28th presidential elections in that country.

Speaking at the meeting, Vice President Aja Dr Isatou Njie-Saidy welcomed the delegates to The Gambia and extended President Jammeh's warm greetings and best wishes to them. President Jammeh, she noted, has interest in peace anywhere, including Guinea Bissau. She recalled that even at the UN level, the Gambian leader formed an association called "Friends of Guinea Bissau", in an effort to support the people of Guinea Bissau.  "Indeed, we - Gambians & Bissau Guineans - have blood relations as Africans. We share the Kaabu and Manding empires and we also share the same history. So we are really concerned about the instability in Guinea Bissau," VP Njie-Saidy remarked.  

She challenged the international community to support Guinea Bissau in its strive towards peace and stability. The vice president added that the concerns of the international community on Guinea Bissau should result in real actions, like President Jammeh is doing. Guinea Bissau, she said, has mineral resources which it has not yet exploited. She appealed to the people of Bissau Guineans to maintain peace and stability in their country and make the best use of these resources in the interest of developing their nation.

Commenting on the issue of drug trafficking in Guinea Bissau, VP Njie-Saidy advised Bissau Guineans to stop the drug trafficking, highlighting its potential to permeate into society, to an extent that it can be used to finance elections, gaining more leeway, and, eventually, cause havoc by destroying the youths of the country, who are the future leaders.

The vice president seized the opportunity to challenge religious leaders and elected representatives of the people in Guinea Bissau to play their roles in ensuring peace, stability and security in their country. She advised politicians to respect the code of conduct of the elections and ensure peaceful voting.
VP Njie-Saidy also urged politicians and the people of Guinea Bissau to respect the rule of law, the voice of the people and end the trend of impunity in their country. She finally thanked President Jammeh for the move, describing him as a visionary leader whose aim is to unite not only the people of Guinea Bissau and the sub-region, but also those of Africa and the world at large.

Speaking earlier, Ousman Sonko, minister for Interior, said there cannot be any meaningful socio-economic development and free and fair elections without peace and stability. "Peace in Guinea Bissau," he said, "means peace in The Gambia, the sub-region and the world at large." Bissau Guineans, he added, should endeavour to maintain peace, stability and security in order to achieve the developments they are yearning for. "All the political parties must unite as Guinea Bissau nationals, they must respect humanity and must play the game by the rules," The Gambia's Interior minister observed.

Commenting on the security sector reform of Guinea Bissau, Minister Sonko pointed out that it will be a daunting challenge for the leadership, calling on the international community to support in this endeavor. The menace of drugs, he said, can corrupt government machineries, encourage impunity and can as well destroy the youths of the country.

For his part, Ismaila Sambou, minister for Local Government and Lands, sought to reiterate Vice President Njie-Saidy's point, noting that The Gambia and Guinea Bissau are related through family relations, friendship, etc. The promotion of peace and stability in neighboring Guinea Bissau, he said, should therefore be a concern to all. Minister Sambou clearly stated that The Gambia does not have any other motive in the internal matters of Guinea Bissau. "We have to consider the interest of others as our own interest to gain peace," he told the gathering.

He advised the politicians to avoid giving heavy promises they cannot fulfill, and to desist from negative critism during campaign and election period. Momodou Faal, the Senegalese high commissioner to The Gambia, who doubles as the dean of the diplomatic corps in The Gambia, spoke at length on the importance of this consultative meeting in the promotion of peace and stability in Guinea Bissau, the sub-region and the African continent as a whole.

Ambassador Faal commended President Jammeh for his initiative and expressed hope that Guinea Bissau will gain everlasting peace and security. Diana Banna, interim charge d' affairs at the Guinea Bissau Embassy in The Gambia, also commended President Jammeh for his brilliant idea of bringing together all heads of political parties in Guinea Bissau to discuss peace and stability in their country, ahead of their presidential elections later this month.
She called on the people of Guinea Bissau to learn from the past and forget about impunity.  "Without peace, there will be no development," she said. The meeting was attended by secretaries of state, security chiefs, diplomats, permanent secretaries, and a cross section of the Gambian community.