Angst-ridden ex-President J. J. Rawlings has said the recent coup plot alarm raised by the government is false and that the real coup, which will topple the NPP government will be staged by the electorate in 2004.

Mr. Rawlings said there is no need for any soldier to overthrow the government in a military coup even though they are grossly inept and that such an action will be tantamount to “a murder of our infant democracy”.

According to him, in a democratic society like Ghana’s, the power to stage a coup lies in the hands of the electorate who, he said, must use what he called “positive defiance” to reject misrule and bad policies.

Speaking in his first ever interaction with The Chronicle, Mr. Rawlings said the NPP government does not deserve the honor of a coup because the suffering of the masses and the alpine cost of living combined with the series of scandals which have rocked the government are enough to deflate the attack-dogs of the government in the 2004 elections.

However, he noted that even though it is not right for any person to overthrow a constitutional government through a coup, the manner in which the government is conducting its business provides a very fertile ground for such a situation to occur.

The Ex-President noted that it is unfortunate that people are twisting and giving wrong interpretations to his call for positive defiance adding that the concept has been used in many civilized countries including America.

“When I say positive defiance, I mean being able to stand up and refuse the wrong orders of government. What sections of the media are doing is positive defiance because you are looking into the face of government and you are saying that this is wrong, you can’t do that.”

According Mr. Rawlings, the NPP government had a very good opportunity to stay in power for the next election but they have blown it away adding that the government itself knows that it has become very unpopular.

He noted that corruption is at all time high under this government, while harassment and wanton victimization are taking the better part of its functions.

“Ooh! Jehovah,” he exclaimed

THE SERIAL KILLINGS

On the thorny issue of the killing of the 34 women in Accra, the Ex-President reiterated his claim that he knows 15 top members of the government who masterminded it.

“Listen, I am not stupid to just get up and say such a thing; it’s unfortunate that I made a mistake and said that 15 Cabinet Ministers.”

He said he disagreed with claims by some sections of the public that he should spare the nation the cost of purchasing a lie detector test saying that the amount of money that the government spent on Adabuga to come and lie to the nation was enough to purchase lie detector.

Mr. Rawlings stated that sections of the NDC leadership doubted him when he said he knew the killers of the women while some even felt that he shouldn’t drag them into the controversy until they themselves went and found out things on their own.

“I have called for the statement issued by the NDC and I want to know what they found,” he said.

He noted that Prof. Evans Atta Mills, the NDC flag-bearer for the 2004 elections has a very bright chance of winning the 2004 and urged all the rank and file of the party to throw their weight behind him to snatch victory from the black-hand government of President John Agyekum Kufuor.

THE MEDIA & SEX ALLEGATIONS

He touched on the performance of the media and told the story of why he had vowed not to grant any interview to The Chronicle. This reporter also told the Ex-President that like all other institutions of democracy the media also make mistakes just as his government also made mistakes.

“I vowed not to grant any interview to your paper because of some of the things you guys did in the past, but I am speaking to you because I think you have integrity,” he said.

Mr. Rawlings said it was unfortunate that sections of the media are just on a warpath to malign him and his family as well as members of his government.

He recounted the allegation that he had sexual relationship with Ms. J R. Cotton, a lady journalist, formerly of GTV and the wife of an African head of state.

On the allegation of him having a sexual relationship with Ms. Cotton, Mr. Rawlings said that it was very bad that hardworking officers of the NDC government like the former Finance Minister, Kwame Peprah have been imprisoned because of the suspicion that the loan was recklessly guaranteed because he was sleeping with Ms. Cotton.

He stated that the only relationship which existed between them was professional and nothing else adding that Ms. Cotton can be chemically interrogated through her lawyer to find out the truth or otherwise of this matter.

On allegations that he was flirting with the lady journalist, Mr. Rawlings said, it was another piece calculated by Chris Asher, a one time publisher and editor of the defunct Palaver to defame him.

He recalled that in those days he always went to journalist’s mother’s bar at Cantoments drink chocolate and soft drinks after playing polo.

“I went with Boakye Djan or somebody like that to the Times Corporation and he was talking to somebody whiles I sat on the desk of the lady journalist. I saw Chris Asher passing and the next day, there was a headline that I was dating her,” he said.

Mr. Rawlings also recounted that there was another allegation that he was sleeping with one of the African president’s wife and it took him a lot of effort to purge himself from this vicious allegation.