Shock, horror! Gambia has declared it no longer wants to be a member of the Commonwealth. Just as the Queen's baton sets off on its 190 000 km journey around the world advertising the 2014 Commonwealth Games taking place in sunny Glasgow, Gambia has elected not to participate. Now Gambia is a small country. Of the mainland African nations it's right at the bottom, size-wise, measuring just 11300 square kms. That makes it even smaller than our tiny neighbours Swaziland (17k) and Lesotho (30k), which are themselves mere dots on the map. Gambia is ruled by President Yayha Jammeh, using a combination of mysticism and an iron fist, not known for his deep respect for human rights. He came to power in a military coup in 1994 and has since been elected president four times, one of Africa's 'sit-tight' rulers. His mystical powers also apparently include the laying on of hands to cure HIV, something not even SA's Thabo Mbeki would have countenanced. Gambia has a brutal colonial history: it is said that its borders were demarcated during the British Empire by a gunboat sailing up the river and firing its guns to each side. So President Jammeh might once have had a point about the Commonwealth's colonial legacy but it is rather outdated now. Nigeria was suspended for human rights abuses in the 1990s by the Commonwealth and Zimbabwe withdrew in 2003 for its own special brand of insanity. The QSL is from Radio Gambia, heard on medium wave (648 kHz) in 2000. It's just a personal card, from 'The Gambia', without any details, but it clearly states the word 'verify.' Good enough for me!
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