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Gambia News : Gambia cuts relations with Iran

Nov 23,2010 by

gambia

The Gambia has said it is cutting all ties with Iran and ordered all Iranian government representatives to leave within 48 hours.

Officials from the small West African nation gave no reason for the move.

But last month Nigeria said it had intercepted an illegal arms shipment in Lagos from Iran, destined for The Gambia.

Senior Iranian official Alaeddin Borujerdi has said the move was taken under US pressure.

The Nigerian authorities said they had discovered the weapons, including rocket launchers and grenades, in containers labelled as building materials.

The France-based shipping company CMA CGM which transported the shipment said attempts were made to send it to The Gambia before the Nigerian police seized it.

Mr Borujerdi, chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran's parliament, confirmed that a private Iranian company had sent the arms to The Gambia but said this was "in line with international laws", reports the official Islamic Republic News Agency (Irna).

Rana Rahimpour from the BBC's Persian Service says the breaking of ties does seem to have taken Iran by surprise and officials appear to be playing it down.

She says Mr Borujerdi's comments are the first from an Iranian official to confirm that the arms were destined for The Gambia.

Nigeria has reported the seizure to the UN Security Council.

Iran is under UN sanctions because of its nuclear programme and is banned from supplying, selling or transferring arms.

'Embarrassed'

"All government of The Gambia projects and programmes, which were [being] implemented in co-operation with the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, have been cancelled," the Gambian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Correspondents say ties between Tehran and Banjul - which have both faced criticism over their human rights records - became closer after Gambia's President Yahya Jammeh came to power in 1994.

When The Gambia hosted the African Union summit in 2006, Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a guest of honour.

The Gambia has been among those developing nations who have defended Iran's right to nuclear power.

Charlie Zrom, who has published a paper on Iranian foreign policy for the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank in Washington, says the move will be an embarrassment for Iran.

"Iran has sought partners around the world especially as sanctions have come on the table in the last few years," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"West Africa has been a key priority for them and we've seen a number of visits both from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and from the defence minister.

"It's a tool by which Iran tries to prevent measures harmful to it, or it believes harmful to it, being passed at the United Nations."

Correspondents say the decision to expel all Iranian diplomats will bring an end to several projects funded by Iran, such as the $2bn (£1.2bn) agreement to supply The Gambia with heavy and commercial vehicles.


comment Comment on This Gambia News (12 posted)  10929 times read
  • Paramount Symphony have various amenities to pamper you. It has swimming pools, spa, health clubs and other luxuries to get you indulged in comfortable living.
(Posted on September 19, 2011, 3:52 AM paramount symphony booking)

  • At the end of the none of ths is important..securing yur nation is one of the main fucntion of presdency..howevr, don't abuse the power by showing skeptical impreesion towards other nations.It brings confusn,and can leads to unexpected results..p
(Posted on January 9, 2011, 9:03 AM nimbatang)

  • France arms the rebels and puts them in UN uniforms in Côte d'Ivoire What you see above are Ouattara's rebels leaving his campaign headquarters, Hotel du Golf, in their failed attempt to overtake the National Television RTI on Thursday for Ouattara. They were faced with heavy fire and decimated. They lost one of their leaders, presumably Idrissa Wattao. All their weapons were supplied at the hotel by France and the UN who are acting like they know nothing about nothing. Some of the rebels were dressed in UN uniform. On Television today, the army detailed all its findings. Some Civil Rights groups are asking Gbagbo to close the French Embassy and ask all French soldiers to leave Ivory Coast. Will Gbagbo act? That is, as always, the question. Those rebel FN (Forces Nouvelles) "soldiers" are what AP, Reuters and others call “civilians”. 10 Ivory Coast army soldiers were killed on Thursdays on various fronts. At the Golf Hotel alone, 38 of the Ouattara's rebels were sent to hell. Reuters, AFP and AP stopped talking about them. But when you hear FN, it's those rebels they are talking about. Soro Guillaume promised to do it again this Friday. None of his "soldiers" showed up. Maybe the UN and France are re-arming them after the heavy casualties they suffered. Those are the same rebels who occupy the North of Ivory Coast since 2002. 40 km North of Yamoussokro, another group of Ouattara's rebels coming from Bouake tried to take Tiebissou. But the Ivory Coast army was waiting for them. Again, they suffered heavy casualties. France and Ouattara' rebels have never disarmed. They are still raping and killing in the North. You don't hear about it. Today, the US representative at the UN, Susan Rice, in a press conference, talked about the event in Abidjan. When she was asked about the rebels attacking Tiebissou, she tries to avoid the question, before replying that it was not a big fight. Yup, not a big fight when heavily armed rebels are attacking a town. Thank you Susan! Ouattara has no more military options to take Abidjan, unless France, like in 2004, attacks Abidjan. And I don't think France will try that again. The only real option left for Sarkozy is to make noise with his European allies who know nothing about the crisis. Sarkozy lies to the whole world. And everybody listens, because he has a huge microphone. But we are out in drove to inform all Africans. Even if it's true our voices are submerged, in the whole French propaganda. Gbagbo must win for Democracy to prevail. A politician who invades a country with heartless killers should never be allowed to become president, even with the help of the whole United Nations and 95% of rigged elections. Good night my friends. Independence from France is not for free. We will not let Sarkozy install another French puppet in Africa. At least, not in Côte d’Ivoire. Gary K. Busch, December 17, 2010 US citizen Former Professor and Head of Department at the University of Hawaii, Current Professor at Webster University (UK)
(Posted on January 5, 2011, 10:30 PM gary busch)

  • do u think it is possible to make a coup like Jammeh's and not spill blood.please do not take advantage of high illiteracy amongst our people
(Posted on December 21, 2010, 7:37 PM OUSMAN JAMMEH)

  • As a consumer nation,that solely depend on tourist $'s,foreign aids and loans,and limited agricultural revenues, and a very weak tax base just to name a few,should compel the gov.to re-evaluate ur foreign policy strategies. Replace advisers if need b
(Posted on December 4, 2010, 7:47 AM Abdou R Jobe)

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