Ho, April 21, GNA - The Asogli State Council has expressed its sympathy with families of victims in the April 8 boat disaster on the Volta Lake. A press release issued and signed by Mr John Kukah, Secretary of the Council and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) expressed regrets about the allegations that the victims were forced onto an over-crowded boat.

The release said it appeared those who enforced the eviction order failed to consider the means by which the settlers were expected to leave the islands that had been their home for several years. Officials of the Game and Wildlife Department were reported to have entered the Dzudzume and other islands on the Afram Plains designated as forest reserves and forcibly evicted the settlers after several attempts to get them out failed.

Some survivors alleged that in the process of getting them out of the island, the Game Wardens forced them onto boats, one of which capsized.

The release said the Council opined that the Game and Wildlife Department of the Forestry Commission should have provided an alternative settlement for the people on the island and planned the movement in a well-coordinated manner.

It called on the Department to pay adequate compensation to families of the victims and also ensured that the survivors were properly rehabilitated. The release called on the Government to institute a thorough investigation into the disaster and "Those found to be culpable face the law." 21 April 06