Opinion: Int. Press Freedom Day: Ghana Army beats up Journalists at KPLETSO
On 15th April, 2021 armed men in Ghana Army Uniforms after firing live bullets violently assaulted journalists and indigenous land owners who were visiting the Kpletso land at the direction of the La Traditional Council.
The unruly men in Ghana Army Uniforms guarding the land destroyed property including vehicles and allegedly stole cameras, phones and othe items belonging to the journalists and La citizens.
Almost three weeks after the Military High Command promised to conduct an investigation into the dastardly acts of the LANDGUARDS in Military Uniform, there has been no communication nor reprimand confirming the fears of the Coalition of La Associations (COLA) that the Ghana Armed Forces was insincere and complicit it the landgrab and assault; therefore must not be allowed to investigate itself and engage in an obvious cover up.
The victims of the Military brutalities have through the Coalition of La Associations (COLA) are seeking a BIPARTISAN PARLIAMENTARY ENQUIRY into LEGAL ACTION against the Military, the Officer(s) who deployed the unruly and the violent men in Ghana Army Uniforms as well as the Individual persons who assaulted them at KPLETSO on 15th April, 2021.
THE SILENCE OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE DEFENCE Minister on this assault of journalists and other Ghanaian citizens from La, is most unfortunate as it communicates their total lack of interest or actual support of the assault and the ongoing landgrab in the name of the Military.
Interestingly, the military is still developing the KPLETSO LANDS which were to have been released by Government to the La Stool since November 2020; which was specifically directed by the President to be released before Easter 2021 yet disregarded by the Military.
The Ghana Army be held to account and must not be allowed to become a tool used by some persons to brutalize Ghanaians let alone Journalists.
It will be recalled that a similar incident occured recently at Tontokrom in ASHANTI, where men in Ghana Army Uniforms assaulted journalists destroying a vehicle and camera of the media house.
These men in Ghana Army Uniforms in the company of militants from the NPP’s notorious Delta Force, released Chinese Galamseyers who had been arrested by Ghana Police and the Anti-Galamsey Taskforce which was covered by the media and has gone viral on Social media.
What has the President and the Defence Minister said or done about this?
Who deploys these men in Ghana Army Uniforms to assault journalists and citizens, while on such illegal Galamsey and Landguard duties.
THERE MUST BE A PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO THESE MILITARY BRUTALITIES AND ILLEGAL OPERATIONS.
This demand for the Bipartisan Probe into the Military brutalities is independent of the URGENT QUESTIONS filed by the Member of Parliament for La Dadekotopon for the Minister of Defence and Lands Minister to be brought before the house to provide answers on the Landgrab which triggered the brutalities.
On the occasion of World Press Freedom Day, this call for the President to speak will include a call for the reopening of the Media Houses as promised by his Minister of Communications during her VETTING…
#NANAkasa
By Prince Derrick Adjei
