The Gambia has announced on state television they will withdraw from the Commonwealth, 48 years after joining the 54-member grouping.In a statement released by the west African nation on Wednesday, the Government said it had decided "the Gambia will never be a member of any neo-colonial institution and will never be a party to any institution that represents an extension of colonialism."No further reason for the decision was given as the withdrawal from the association, largely comprised of Britain's former colonies, was announced.The UK said it would "very much regret" The Gambia leaving the Commonwealth.Gambia joined the Commonwealth in 1965 and has become a popular destination for European holiday-makers, who enjoy it's warm climate and sandy beaches.President Yahya Jammeh came to power in 1994 after seizing power from the former colonial leader Dawda Jawara in a coup.Jammeh's government has since come under criticism from the UK for human rights abuses, and has been accused of persecuting political activists and homosexuals by various human rights groups.In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly last week, Jammeh described homosexuality as a threat to human existence and criticized other countries for regarding it as a human right.He said homosexuality, greed and obsession with world domination “are more deadly than all natural disasters put together”. In 2008, he threatened to "cut off the head" of any gay person living in The Gambia.
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