"Gambia has withdrawn from the Commonwealth, the 54-member
grouping including Britain and most of its former colonies, branding it a
"neo-colonial institution," according to a statement released by the
West African nation on Wednesday. "The government has withdrawn its
membership of the British Commonwealth and decided that 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," read a statement
broadcast on state television."