Opinions of Friday, 6 October 2006

Columnist: Amankwah, Nana Kofi

Rawlings is proud of his actions

The subpoena order that was issue by the Honorable William Malley of Chicago Cook County circuit court in the United States will send a clear massage to John Jerry Rawlings and His (P) NDCS members; that intimidation, harassment, brutalization and atrocities are not the way to govern a country. How in the world can Rawlings continued to authenticate his bloody coup of June 4th 1979 and the coup of the 31st December in Ghana? In fact, in June 2006 his actions at the Madina Zongo Junction were injurious to many Ghanaians, most of all those who lost their lives and properties. The NDC’S founder should realize that due to his rudeness, violent and insensitive behavior, which he is proud of as he was saying at the medina junction, will bring him straight to justice in the international court.

In June1979, Jerry Rawlings was 29 years old with an O level education as the head of state. This was a disgrace to an intellectual county like Ghana, having such feeble-minded person ruling our nation. In fact, there was peer pressure from those officers who were more intelligent then him to hand the country over to the people’s national party (PNP) and the Hilla Lemann administration. Jerry Rawlings came back at the age of 31years old to overthrow the president who was elected by the people of Ghana. Now this individual continues to be delighted about his murderer’s way and disastrous economic hardship he has inflected on Ghanaians. The Acheampong case at Chicago Crook County circuit court against Rawlings should send a message to those politicians who think they live only under the law of nature. They cannot do every thing they want and expect to go Scott-free.

In our Nation’s political history, his (P) NDC administration has the worst record of unethical, criminal behavior and massacre rates, like the country has never experienced before. In June, Rawlings was still trying to justifying his behavior to Ghanaians. Rawlings does not realize that we are living in time when laws work. When he came to power, a dollar was 2.69 cedi. He left office with dollar rate of 8,300.00 cedis and Ghana airway was 6,500.00 cedis from Accra to London. He left office with 7, 300,000.00 cedis. Now Rawlings trying to justify these economic hardships from his PNDC to the NDC’s regimes. Rawlings left office with a national debt of 34 .9 trillion cedis in local currency debt from the bank of Ghana, excluding interest.

After the reconciliation committee hearings, a majority of Ghanaians decided that there was no need to reflect on the past, but to build a better future for the next generation. Yet, still John Jerry Rawlings continues to think that Ghanaians are obligated to hear from him. He insults Ghanaians. He should now think twice before he speaks. Shortly, there are going to be more charges against him in international court. Rawlings is the only person who caused many atrocities against the citizens of our nation for unjustifiable reasons. Now, he has to go to America and prove his innocence which he always clams. It is my prayer that Ghanaian politicians acknowledge that there is a due process of the law.

Despotic people should not govern our country. The NDC members who supported Jerry Rawlings comments at the Medina Zongo Junction and believe intimidation is the way to be as an opposition party should realize this now; the persecutor could use their action against Rawlings in this case for killing Kutu Acheampong and others for unjustifiable reasons.

Nana Kofi Amankwah (New York)

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