The party leader of PPP Mr Papa Njie, made his party’s stance on gay rights clear. He said, a PPP government will never support or promote homosexuality.

 

Few weeks ago,  the National Human Rights Commission NHRC, recommended the government to protect the rights of LGBT persons in the country. This pronouncement engendered emotional reactions from the public and many took to social media to express their dispiritedness.

 

Mr Njie argued that if westerners will not allow polygamy in their countries then they have no right or whatsoever,  to impose homosexuality on other countries like The Gambia.

 

“The issue of polygamy is a topic you can’t discuss in the West since nobody listens or takes you seriously. In the West, it is a non-starter. It is very funny, if you are in the west you talk about polygamy they will even think you are crazy but it is a human rights issue too.”

 

“Even talking about this thing [gay rights] is not important; we are only giving it importance by discussing it. This thing [homosexuality] I don’t even want to mention. I understand that it is part of the mandate of the National Human Rights Commission to advise government on human rights issues but[homosexuality] contradicts the 1997 Constitution of The Gambia which says that marriage is between a man and a woman. Homosexuality is not a Gambian tradition or [sanctioned by] any of the religious teachings, so for me, it is not an issue for us.

 

“We have to change our relationship with the European Union. Even in England, the Queen doesn’t recognise LGBT rights but yet the European Union is pumping money in England. The moment we talk about it, we are giving it prominence. Gambians need to go back to the drawing board to redesign their productive sectors to develop the country but also reduce their dependency on Western powers.

 

“The European Union would not condition The Gambia that it must adhere to the values of homosexuality before it can get support from the bloc. They will not put such conditions against us, they will not.

 

“I understand that the European Union Ambassador has that responsibility to advise the Gambian government to include such values but it is also the duty of the president, his ministers and the Gambian masses together with the entire government system to implement it or not. Implementation is at the discretion of the Gambia government and her people,”  Mr Papa Njie explained.

By: Fatoumatta Samateh