Rédaction Africa Links 24 with pierre Dieme
Published on 2024-03-11 10:25:30
Seydi Gassama of Amnesty International Senegal stated that the image of Senegal has been tarnished due to the actions of certain politicians. As a guest on the Jury du Dimanche show on Iradio on Sunday, March 10, 2024, he specified that another factor that tarnished Senegal’s image internationally was “the accusations of corruption against the Constitutional Council.”
“We are now in a difficult situation. All Senegalese are in a difficult situation, including those who criticize this government. Because our pride was the Senegalese democratic model. Even though it was imperfect, we criticize it. Because we have seen French journalists taking pleasure in explaining that Senegalese democracy was actually just illusory, not real. But can you imagine? There was this threat from the American Senate. It’s unthinkable,” regretted Mr. Gassama.
“The executive director of Amnesty International continued, “The British Parliament has also requested a motion to be voted on. It’s unthinkable. The European Union as well. It’s unthinkable. So, really, Macky Sall owes the Senegalese people an apology. He owes us an apology. We will only accept these apologies if Macky Sall organizes a free, democratic, and transparent election.”
Seydi Gassama affirmed: “Another factor that tarnished our country’s image internationally is the accusations of corruption against the Constitutional Council. To this day, there is no evidence of these accusations. When you see members of the PDS party in debates on TV, they are all very cautious because they know what awaits them. Accusing a magistrate of corruption openly, but then he sues you. How many people have been arrested, put in prison, simply because they criticized magistrates… But now, we have particularly serious accusations against the judiciary and we see nothing at all. I’m not saying they should go arrest liberal MPs, no. But, once again, it’s double standards. When you’re close to Macky Sall, when you serve Macky Sall’s interests, you can openly criticize magistrates without it being an affront to magistrates.”
According to the Amnesty International Senegal official, Senegal must reform the judiciary. “It is an obligation of the future president. And we will really emphasize that.”
For Mr. Gassama, “it is a priority because it is crucial for the stability of the country. A country cannot develop without stability. And the stability of Senegal today depends on the citizens’ trust in the judiciary.”
In a democracy, the judiciary is the only authority authorized to arbitrate conflicts. And when the referees, the citizens, must adhere… Obviously, there are some rebellious judges who assert themselves, who are very independent, but overall, many judges are under pressure from the executive. A huge pressure from the executive that can manifest itself in different ways, including through the disrespect, the immobility of the judicial system, in addition to threats and interference,” supported Seydi Gassama.
[Ibrahima Mansaly](https://www.pressafrik.com/author/Ibrahima-Mansaly/)
Read the original article(French) on Dakar Matin
