The Germany Branch of the New Patriotic Party[NPP] is appalled and disappointed with the rather threatening statement issued by President Atta-Mills to crack-down on the opposition during his recent state of the nation address on Thursday February 17.The statement coming from an elected President is to say the least very unfortunate and marks a sad day for our democracy and freedom of speech.
In all civilized societies/democracies, the state of the nation address is an opportunity for the President or the head of the state to set out his vision and programmes for the nation and rally the people around that vision. More importantly, it is also the time for the people to put their political difference aside, find some common grounds and forge ahead together as one people with a common destiny. In effect, the purpose is to forge a sense of national unity and this has been the tradition since independence.
Most Ghanaians were therefore very disappointed and disgusted when the President decided to use this august occasion to lambast and threaten his political opponents with arrests and possible detention. This ‘Red Alert’ threat has further polarized the already existing divisions that have been deliberately created under the Mills-Mahama administration.
Prior to the ‘Red Alert’ statement,Nana Akuffo Addo leader and Flagbearer of the NPP raised concerns about the growing acts of Lawlessness, intimidation and unprovoked attacks by NDC supporters on other Ghanaians mostly NPP sympathisers.It is commom knowledge that the violence has become a political weapon in the hands of the NDC and its supporters under the Presidency of Professor Mills, something that was unheard of under the Kuffour Administration.
Recent events in Akwatia, Chereponi and Atiwa should serve as constant reminders that the use of brute force and total disregard for law and order have become acceptable means of gaining and maintain power in Ghana today. As the leader of the main opposition party whose supporters have been victims of these savage attacks ,Nana Akuffo Addo has the duty and indeed the responsibility to raise these concerns. The least the President could do was to rise up to this challenge so that a common and lasting solution could be found.
Unfortunately however, the President’s only response to such a matter of national importance, was to issue a threat[Red Alert] which it must be said is the wrong approach. By this singular act one is forced to come to the inescapable conclusion that President Mills is out of touch with the mood in the country. Apart from the economic hardship that has been the result of government incompetence, the other most important issues bothering most Ghanaians today is that of political violence and intimidation.
Between 2000 and 2008,ten bye elections were held in Ghana all of which were fair, free and incident-free. Under the Mills-Mahama administration all the three bye elections[Akwatia, Chereponi and Atiwa] held were marred by violence, intimidation and vote rigging in the full glare of security agencies. These developments are unhealthy for our young democracy and Ghanaians have every right to be concerned. Against this backdrop, it is right and appropriate for Nana Akkufo Addo to the articulate the genuine and legitimate fears and worries of all Ghanaians.
Perhaps the only people who have failed or refused to acknowledge and accept the reality and seriousness of the situation are the few extremists, the infantile leftists and the narrow-minded- tribalists surrounding the President. Whether President Mills can meet the challenge and address the problem of political violence in our country will depend on the political will and courage he can gather to purge the extremists elements in his government.
The President must be reminded that Ghana has come a long way in our quest for peace, freedom and democracy and any attempt to reverse these gains and return us to the dark days of the PNDC/NDC dictatorship will be resisted. It is also our hope that the Mills-Mahama administration will not give us cause to internationalize this issue.
We call on the President to live up his responsibility by ensuring that the acts of lawlessness and vandalism being perpetrated by the so called foot soldiers on Ghanaians and government institutions are brought to an immediate stop. This is where the problem lies and the President should be addressing the causes of the problem and not the symptoms.

We further call on the government to reconvene as a matter of urgency an inter-party committee meeting comprising of all political parties to meet, discuss and come out with the necessary strategies to arrest the situation. Such a committees should be at the National, Regional and District levels to make it meaningful and effective.

Finally, we wish to restate that freedom from threats and intimidation is the right of every Ghanaian and not a gift of the President or government; it is a fundamental right under natural and constitutional justice and it is not open to the President or government to determine whether we exercise that right or not.
Signed..
Kwaku Anane-Gyinde
Director of Communications
NPP-Germany