By Seedy Jobe
The leader of the United Democratic Party, ANM Ousainu Darboe, appealed on Saturday to Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye to allow Gambian farmers cultivating land in disputed border areas to harvest this season’s crops before the two countries engage in negotiations over their shared boundary.
Speaking at a UDP political rally in Kiang Jifarong, Mr. Darboe said he was troubled by reports that farmers from communities stretching from Kabada to Jimara and Gambisara had been forced off land they had cultivated after their crops had already matured.
“I have heard that around Kabada up to Jimara, and in Gambisara, people farmed and their crops grew, only for them to be removed from their farms,” Mr. Darboe said.
Mr. Darboe emphasized that he was not claiming the disputed land unquestionably belongs to The Gambia. Instead, he appealed for restraint while both governments work toward a peaceful resolution, arguing that the longstanding cultural, religious, and social ties between Gambians and Senegalese should guide their approach.
Addressing President Faye directly, he urged Senegalese authorities to allow farmers to complete this year’s harvest before discussions over the border proceed.
“President Diomaye Faye, you and your people, I am appealing to you to allow the people who have farmed their crops this year to harvest first, before we dialogue on the border issue to settle it,” he said. “I am telling you that we and Senegal are one.”
Mr. Darboe pointed to the thousands of Gambians who travel annually to Touba for the Magal pilgrimage as evidence of the close relationship between the two nations. Those historic people-to-people ties, he said, should discourage actions that displace farming communities before diplomatic efforts have run their course.
He also urged Senegalese authorities to suspend any further removals of farmers to prevent tensions from escalating.
“Before it escalates, please, President Diomaye Faye, tell your people to stop what they are doing for now,” he said. “Let the crops be harvested first, and then we can discuss the border issue and resolve it properly. Because I believe people-to-people diplomacy should further strengthen The Gambia and Senegal.”
Mr. Darboe also criticized President Adama Barrow’s handling of the dispute, arguing that the matter required direct presidential engagement rather than delegation to subordinates.
He said President Barrow should have personally contacted President Faye or sought a face-to-face meeting, describing the issue as one that demanded intervention at the highest political level.
“If this is something our Gambian president cares about, then he himself should get up and do something about it for the Gambian people, so that the products farmers have worked for will not be destroyed,” Mr. Darboe said. “Because if their crops are destroyed, they will say our Gambia government did not take care of us.”
He said the situation reflected what he characterized as the government’s failure to adequately protect the livelihoods of Gambian citizens living and farming in border communities.
Comments are closed.