Puts members on Red Alert

As Ghanaians hope and pray for peaceful elections this year, signals picked up by this paper point to the fact that the security agencies have a tall order in guaranteeing and ensuring that we have a violence-free campaign and election.

The latest flare of potential violence is flicking in Cape Coast from where the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has virtually declared war on the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and ordered its members to be on red alert following a claim that the NPP has declared war on it by holding a rally at its (NDC’s) regional secretariat.

In a statement signed by Mr. Allotey Jacobs, the Director of Operations at the NDC’s Central Regional Secretariat titled CENTRAL REGIONAL NDC STATEMENT ON THE NPP RALLY IN FRONT OF ITS REGIONAL SECRETARIAT IN CAPE COAST ON THE 30TH OF DECEMBER, 2003, the NDC maintains that the NPP held a rally in front of its (NDC’s) Regional Party Secretariat at Cape Coast.

The NDC charges that “ The District Police Command in connivance with the Regional Minister Isaac Edumadze, the District Chief Executive Muniru Arafat and Christie (sic) Churcher, the MP for Cape Coast granted the NPP permit to hold a constituency rally in front of the NDC Regional Secretariat, an act we deem as very provocative and which shall have a serious consequences (sic) on our political landscape.”

“Christine Churcher and her rascal NPP activists using children as human shield to protect themselves against any reprisals from the NDC due to the provocative nature of the rally was quoted as saying that “since she is a Minister of State she has the backing of the Army and the Police and therefore ordered her supporters to uproot a pole bearing the flag of the NDC in front of the Secretariat.”

The NDC statement further charges that “We emphatically want to make it clear to the Ghana Police Service and the Ghana Armed Forces that the Central Regional NDC will react damned the consequences that it will have on our political landscape.”

Continuing, the statement said “It is clear by this provocative act that the NPP has declared war on the NDC.

We are therefore by this statement urging all NDC activists and foot soldiers in and around the country to be on RED ALERT and fight mercilessly when they are provoked. They should respond with every force at their disposal to send signals to the whole world about our preparedness to go any length when our patience is exhausted”.

The statement which was copied to the NDC’s Flagbearer, The NDC’s National Chairman, Otumfuo Osei Tutu, Cardinal Turkson, the Speaker of Parliament, the President of the National House of Chiefs, the IGP, the Regional Police Commander, Cape Coast and the NPP’s Central Regional Chairman said “We are appealing to our prominent chiefs and religious leaders, especially the great Otumfuo and Cardinal Turkson to bring the NPP Government and its functionaries to order, for if such provocative acts continues (sic) Ghanaians should not be surprised to see Ghana blown out of our faces.

The statement continued thus “In this period of hardship and frustration, Ghana needs peace and tranquillity to move forward as a nation and not provocation and intimidation that will undermine the very Ghana we all belong.”

The NDC further said “We want to re-emphasise our determination to mobilise thousands of our supporters to rally in front of the NPP Central Regional office very soon whether the Police will issue permit or not.”

Meanwhile, Central Regional Minister, Isaac Edumadze has described the effusions of the Central Region NDC as ranting of a dying party that would clutch on anything imaginary to survive.

In a telephone interview yesterday, Hon. Edumadze said he was informed of NDC’s accusation upon his return from Tepa in the Ashanti Region.

According to him, he took time to establish the truth or otherwise of the accusations only to find out that all the accusations against the Cape Coast branch of the NPP were false.

He said his checks with the security agencies in Cape Coast showed that all that Allotey Jacob and the NDC were claiming were false.

Hon. Edumadze disclosed that the Central Regional executives of the NDC who obviously were not happy with the utterances of Allotey Jacob have even taken up issue with the NDC Allotey Jacobs on the statement.

He assured that “at the right time the NPP will respond to the accusations levelled against us”.