....Forces of democracy must exercise vigilance

Accra, Aug. 7, GNA - The main opposition party, National Democratic Congress (NDC), on Thursday called on democratic forces to exercise vigilance in the wake of orchestrated rumours of coup plots. It said the government had set in motion such rumours to divert attention from more important national issues

"With the security services behaving like the proverbial shepherd boy, who cried Wolf! Wolf! It is necessary for civil society and the forces of democracy to maintain vigilance," Mr John Mahama, NDC Director of Communications, stated at a press conference in Accra.

The press conference was to comment on the story of a coup plot and to confirm the party's irrevocable commitment to upholding the constitutional order, sustaining multi-party democracy and preserving the country's peace and stability.

Describing the coup plot as a "diversionary strategy", Mr Mahama, urged the government to spare the country "these horror stories and deliver the people from the harsh economic conditions brought on by their ill-conceived liberal democratic policies characterised by HIPC, full cost recovery and unreasonable high taxation".

"Painstaking investigations by the NDC's intelligence wing have established beyond reasonable doubt that the recent touted coup is the result of a fixation with coups d'etats and a sign of the desperation of the NPP Government."

He said the government's handling of the coup plot further exposed its incompetence; stressing that the government intended to use the alleged plot to accuse and harass persons with high professional records, who are perceived to have worked for and supported the PNDC and the NDC regimes.

The NDC Communications Director also alleged that ever since the party's "March for Survival" demonstration, which was followed by an analysis of the economy by its flag bearer, Professor John Evans Atta Mills, the NPP has unsuccessfully tried to divert attention from the serious issues raised.

Mr Mahama, who is also the MP for Bole, said President John Agyekum Kufuor's Government had been orchestrating stories of coup plots as a ruse to arrest and intimidate NDC members and other opposition stalwarts.

"In the present circumstances it is likely the allegations of a coup plot may be a convenient smokescreen to clamp down on the rising tide of public criticism and agitation against the incompetence and corrupt NPP Government," Mr Mahama said.

He said the plot was also to divert attention from the government's inability to deliver on its campaign promises of bringing down the cost of living, provide employment for the youth and to make education less costly, especially at the tertiary level.

"Every time the NPP Government is in deep crisis, their response is to raise the false alarm of a plot to destabilise the Government, which is counter productive."

Mr Mahama warned that the NDC would not tolerate the use of allegations of coup plots to undermine the freedom and liberties of Ghanaians through the imposition of a state of emergency.

The Government last Tuesday said that there was no threat to the peace and stability of the country due to the commitment of the Armed Forces and the Police to constitutional rule after media reports said a number of people had been arrested for an alleged coup plot.

"The security agencies have assured the government and the public that there is at present no threat to the stability of the country," a statement issued in Accra and signed by Nana Akomea, Minister of Information, said.

The statement said the security agencies would ensure that the present peace and tranquillity, which the nation had been enjoying, were sustained.

The statement said security agencies conducting routine investigations into matters relating to state security interviewed three serving military officers, a retired soldier and a civilian, who were later allowed to go home after the interview.