Ex-President Rawlings has once again exposed his inordinate desire for coups d?etat using the pretext of a supposedly fraudulent electoral process to justify his position.

Speaking at a rally at Ashiaman, a town near Accra and Tema, to mark the 26th anniversary of ?June 4 Uprising?, Rawlings told his captive and fanatical followers: ?If you do not want a coup d?etat, that is a revolt from the will of the people, then what it means is that we are required morally, legally and constitutionally to respect the will of the people by ensuring the integrity of the electoral process?.

Reiterating his point, Ghana?s legendary coupist said ?If you don?t want a coup; if you are going to condemn a coup; if you call a coup the stealing of the power of the people then don?t go through a fraudulent electoral process to steal the will of the people?.

According to him, if the sanctity of right of choice of the people was going to be destroyed then what moral right and authority ?would you have to condemn coup d?etat?. He wondered how long it was going to take Ghanaians to restore the culture of good governance and true democracy ?if we now go astray from the true will of the people?. ?The basic question is President Kufuor, if you are listening to me, where are you??, Rawlings charged.

He accused the President of nepotism ? packing his government with blood relations and cronies in the face of an abundance of people with wisdom talent, experience and integrity.

According to him, Ghanaians were now in the golden age of corruption where farmers, fishermen, teachers and people in the private sector and industry were being strangulated. ?Innocent people are going to prison because of selective justice and abuse of power?, he said.

The ex-President said whilst Ghanaians could not afford to pay their taxes and utility bills and were afflicted with hunger and starvation, members of the Kufuor administration with impunity were knocking down people?s houses and raising in their stead mansions overnight.

?Have you ever seen a government so totally engulfed in such collective greed and corruption that their own leaders do not see any malfeasance, wrongdoing or conflict of interest?, he asked, adding ?I feel so sad?.

Recounting events that led to the ?June 4 uprising?, Rawlings underscored that such events were present today. According to him, the ?June 4? revolt ?was meant to discourage or put an end to the greed, selfishness and power drunkenness of public office holders especially those in government who took undue advantage of their various positions to perpetuate grave injustice against the people and recklessly misapply and misappropriate the nation?s resources to the exclusion and disadvantage of the majority?s welfare and progress?.

?June 4? commemoration, he said, was an annual event to remind Ghanaians to hold their leaders and society accountable, adding that the event ?would forever be a reminder for a more vigorous campaign of civic and moral education across the length and breadth of our nation and beyond?.

Rawlings asked where President Kufuor, his family and the New Patriotic Party (NPP) would stand when it came to the truth and integrity for ?Patriotic Ghanaians?.

He said the truth, integrity and patriotism were the foundation upon which a solid nation with an irreversible culture of democracy could be built.

He accused his audience of being the cause of their own problems, for their lack of courage in confronting the truth and integrity.

According to him, the biggest treat to peace and stability is the inability to recognise the integrity and the will of the people.

He used the Liberian situation as an example.

The event which was held at Ashiaman Mandela Park was attended by mostly the top hierarchy of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) including their followers in NDC paraphernalia. Also present was Prof. Atta Mills, the flagbearer for the party in the 2004 general elections.

According to him, ?June 4? provided an important lesson for Ghanaians and that without truth and probity Ghanaians were no going anywhere.