Govt's directive is unconstitutional & illegal - Minority
Ministerial team presents interim report on Yendi Mission
Britain lauds Ghana's human rights records
Aliu calls for support for institutions
involved in governance
Govt's directive is unconstitutional & illegal - Minority
Accra
(Greater Accra) 02 April 2002 - The NDC Minority in Parliament has described as
unconstitutional and illegal, a government directive asking media houses to
submit all news items on the Yendi crisis to the Information Ministry for
approval before publication or broadcasting.
It has
also called on the Ghana Journalists Association and National Media Commission
to take immediate steps to halt the gross encroachment on the freedoms and
independence of the media as enshrined in the constitution.
According
to the Minority Spokesperson for Communications, John Mahama, the Emergency
Powers Act of 1994 under which the directive was issued, confers no censorship powers
on the President.
The
minority described "the directive as an obvious attempt to present a
one-sided view of events in the Dagbon area and thereby cover-up the alleged
involvement of top government officials and the inept handling of the crisis by
intelligence and security operatives."
The
minority said although it has nothing against the imposition of a state of
emergency in the area, it will not support any attempt to circumvent or violate
constitutional procedures and the rule of law.
The
statement expressed confidence in the good sense and judgement of the media
adding, "so far, journalists covering the crisis have exercised maturity
and a sense of responsibility."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 April 2002 - The Government on Tuesday said it had nothing to hide by declaring that media houses "clear" stories emanating from the Dagbon Area with the Ministry of Information.
Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey told a press conference in Accra that the decision was reached following the inability of the media to be circumspect with its reportage and in order not to inflame passions of interested parties in the conflict.
The press briefing centred on the situation in the Dagbon Area, the current situation and what was being done to bring a lasting peace. Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey noted that: " there is no need for cover up. We cannot cover up anything. If we have done something wrong, it will definitely come up. I am not covering up for the government or any of my colleagues."
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey stressed the need for the media to do things right in the interest of all Ghanaians since "members of the Dagbon community could be found everywhere in the country; and if their sensibilities are inflamed in anyway, none of us can estimate what can happen."
He maintained the government’s stand to "clear" all stories before publication, saying, the "government has no interest whatsoever in gagging the press. What we are trying to do is to work in co-operation with the media to come out with only what will move this country forward. We are not in the business of censoring genuine reports."
He also denied an alleged government pressure - through letters, tickets to travel abroad and to Mecca - on the late chief to leave either his palace or the Dagbon
Area. "The closest that I know of is the reports that the former President advised the late chief not to leave his palace," Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said.
He said the clearance of stories by his ministry would continue as the period of emergency lasts in the Dagbon Area. He stressed that freedom of speech was paramount "but your freedom of speech should not put somebody's life in danger." He appealed to talk show hosts, to find ways of screening callers into their programmes to ensure that the situation is brought to normalcy rather than worsened.
Ms Elizabeth Ohene, Minister of State in the Office of the President cautioned journalists not to put their lives on the line since, in their genuine quest to inform the public, they might lend themselves to criminal prosecution. She cited the instance where a journalist in Rwanda has been indicted by the UN for what they called inciting genocide through his reportage of the Rwandan crisis.
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Exercise moderation on the Yendi issue – Media Commission
Accra
(Greater Accra) 02 April 2002 - The National Media Commission (NMC) has
appealed to the media to exercise moderation and circumspection in reporting on
the situation in Yendi.
Mr Yaw
Boadu Ayeboafoh, Executive Secretary of NMC said in an interview that,
"what is happening in Yendi has wider implications for the security of the
nation and we should not assume that Accra is detached from the conflict
area".
He said
there might be Dagombas all over the country that might be aligned to one side
or the other, and therefore if the media were not cautious, it could inflame
passions. Mr Ayeboafoh asked Journalists to desist from quoting eyewitnesses
since they might also be aligned to one side or the other thus causing one form
of problem or the other.
"They
must ensure that they talk rather to the security agencies on the ground. It is
unfortunate that earlier stories quoted eyewitnesses instead of the security
agencies. If you quote the security agencies, you are less liable. This will
reduce the incidence of publishing anything from any source."
Mr
Ayeboafoh said Journalists have their credibility at stake and should jealously
guard against it at all times. The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) Code of
Ethics demanded respect for ethnic sensibility and respect for national ethics.
"We must exercise care in matters of this nature so that we do not stoke
the embers," he emphasised. Mr Ayeboafoh urged the security apparatus to
co-operate with the media and update them regularly with the objective
realities of issues on the ground.
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 April 2002 - The ministerial team led by Senior Minister Joseph Henry Mensah has presented an initial report to President John Agyekum Kufuor.
An official statement issued by Mr Jake Obetsebi-lamptey, Minister of Information and Presidential Affairs, said the team met with traditional and opinion leaders of both the Andani and Abudu Gates.
The team, which was in Tamale and Yendi on Good Friday, also met the government officials and members of the security services, including the army commander, the Northern Sector Commander, the Deputy Commander of Police (Operations) and delegations from the Nayiri in Tamale and Yendi.
Accompanying the Senior Minister were Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey, Mr Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Major Courage Quashigah, Minister of Food and Agriculture and Madam Hawa Yakubu, Minister of Tourism.
The statement said the team found that the security services, in the face of overwhelming firepower, had been able to contain the conflict within the immediate vicinity of the Ya-Na's Palace at Yendi thereby preventing the conflict from spreading to other areas.
The statement said they had subsequently established calm in Yendi and imposed a curfew. It said the team found that the traditional and opinion leaders in Tamale had been able to help the security forces to prevent the spread of the conflict to Tamale.
The statement added that every group that met with the team agreed that there was the need for peace in Dagbon and they all volunteered to work towards that objective. Furthermore, the leaders pointed out the need to avoid any provocative acts or inflammatory statements. It was also agreed to treat the wounded and bury the dead, 13 of who were yet to be identified.
A pathology team and forensic experts were sent to Yendi to help establish the causes of death and the identities of the dead and to commence investigations into the event, the statement said, adding that the ministerial team was, however, unable to confirm or deny if any of the bodies was that of the Ya-Na.
It said the team therefore pledged a full investigation into the events that occurred at Yendi and said due process of the law would be allowed to take its course without fear or favour.
Traditional and opinion leaders pledged to work with the president to seek a long-term solution to the problems of Dagbon and bring about a lasting peaceful solution. Twenty-eight people were reported dead and 21 others were injured after three days of clashes between the two factions involved in the Yendi Skin Affair.
The Ya-Na Abdulai Andani, 66, Paramount Chief of the Dagbon Traditional Area, was also killed during the fighting. Nine of the injured are still on admission at the Yendi District Hospital.
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Britain lauds Ghana's human rights records
Accra (Greater
Accra) 02 April 2002 - The British Government on Thursday lauded the human
rights record of Ghana over the last few years and pledged its continuous
support to help build upon the strong foundations established.
Mr
Ruben Gwynn, Deputy British High Commissioner, said this at a day's media
sensitisation seminar and launching of a handbook on; "The basic rights of
the Ghanaian woman" in Accra.
He said
the visit of British Prime Minister, Tony Blair to the Ghana underlined the
support and commitment of Britain to the process. The book is a simplification
of the major provisions of the United Nation's Convention on the Elimination of
all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the provisions on women
in the 1992 Constitution of Ghana.
He said
the establishment of Human Rights Project Fund (HRPF) under the foreign policy
directives in 1998 as a source of funding for human rights projects worldwide
demonstrated the commitment of the British government.
He
explained that support for human rights was an integral part of the work of the
Foreign and Commonwealth Offices (FCO) world-wide and that, " the FCOs are
to work through international forums and bilateral relationships to spread the
values of human rights, civil liberties and democracy."
Mr Gwynn,
who also launched the book, said through the HRPF 14 civil society
organisations in Ghana have benefit from a total of 300,000 pounds sterling on
projects such as organising women's rights training workshops, a programme on
rural women's and girls' emancipation and the production of 24 radio dramas to
help improve women's legal literacy.
The
others were a Prison Service Development Programme to help the service
formulate a strategic reform plan, a children's election project to help
develop awareness of democratic issues and techniques among the future voters
of Ghana.
Mrs
Gladys Asmah, Minister for Women and Children's Affairs, said government had
released over 3.28 billion cedis for disbursement under the Women's Development
Fund (WDF) to assist rural women farmers to cultivate maize, cassava and soya
beans. She said, "this is in recognition of the contribution of women to
national development", adding, "they are the backbone of the family
and the Ghanaian economy."
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Accra (Greater Accra) 02 April 2002 - Vice President Aliu Mahama on Tuesday appealed to Ghana's development partners and donors to help to adequately equip institutions charged to ensure good governance. The Vice President said this when he presided over a meeting of the Governance Thematic Group at the Castle, Osu.
It was attended by Mr Kwadwo Mpiani, Chief of Staff, Mr Alfred Saliah Fawundu, UNDP representative in Ghana, Dr Appiah Koranteng, National Co-ordinator of National Institutional Renewal Programme (NIRP), representatives of donor countries and members of the diplomatic corps.
The Governance Group is one of 13, formed to provide the platform for the government and its development partners and donors to co-ordinate and harmonise their activities on development in line with the government's agenda.
Alhaji Mahama said: "We need to work together to improve the management of human and financial resources, infrastructure and facilities, records and information systems. "We need to provide opportunities to the staff of governance institutions to deepen their knowledge with regard to their constitutional mandates and functions."
The Vice President, however, said the resources required for satisfying the needs of the institutions was colossal, hence his appeal to the development partners. He underscored the government's commitment to the achievement of good governance and cautioned that, ill-informed and ill-equipped project management teams could cause a lot of damage to the well-designed programme on governance, resulting in failure.
Alhaji Mahama called for the monitoring of the activities of the institutions to ensure that investments were put to maximum use for the benefit of society. Mr. Fawundu commended the government for assigning the co-ordinator of NIRP as its permanent representative on the Governance Thematic Group, saying the Group had since its formation three years ago sought that kind of high-level commitment.
Other Governance institutions that require support are the Electoral Commission (EC), National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE), National Media Commission (NMC), FIDA, and other NGOs.
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