A Catalogue Of Horrors
Mercy Oppong
For since the coup of 3rd April, graduates of Camp Boiro, the notorious prison for opponents of President Toure have been released by the new government to narrate their harrowing experiences. But hundreds of others who died cannot be resurrected to tell their stories. Millions who went into exile are also returning home to nostalgic receptions. But while this is not an attempt at a post-mortem on the reign of the late Guinean President, his record has had to be related here to expose the hypocrisy and conspiracy of the international community and the media which is often cloaked in rare. expressions of remorse and disgust over flagrant abuses of human rights in certain parts of the world.
The Amnesty International, charged with monitoring human rights abuses, never lost an opportunity to hold the Sekou Toure regime responsible for the death in mysterious circumstances of many Guineans, including the first Secretary General of the OAU, Diallo Telli. the international media couldn't be moved to take the Guinean government to task. The Business community and all the international monetary organisations such as IMF and World Bank couldn't be swayed. from doing business with that regime.
Members of the Ghana Democratic Movement, an organisation dedicated to the restoration of democratic freedom including full human rights, have seen an extension of the indiffer- ence shown to the Guinean atrocities being extended to Ghana under Flt-Lt Rawlings Provisional National Defence Committee.
But they are determined to reverse this trend by pricking the conscience of the international media with facts and figures at their disposal about the repressive nature of the PNDC.
At a press conference at the Africa Centre in London the movement requested all western governments and 1982. the media to confront the Rawlings regime on the naked facts of its abysmal record on human rights.
Secondly, they should tie their assistance to the Rawlings regime whether bilaterally or through the IMF, IBRD, EEC and other multi- lateral, agencies, to some credible performance by way of restoring human and civic rights which Ghanaians were accustomed to before the coup of December 1981.
Thirdly, they called for credible links with the democratic forces in Ghana so that when the day of reckoning comes for the regime, Britain, Europe and America would be welcomed as friends of the new Ghana and not the rejected nightmarish regime of Jerry Rawlings and Kojo Tsikata.
The movement also released to the press copies of a memorandum they have sent to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr Javier Perez de Cueller in connection with the latter's visit to Ghana.
In it they catalogued various incidents of dehumanising brutalities by agents of the government against civilians. Among these was a case of a manager at Lever Brothers, a soap factory in Tema who had a barrel of caustic soda tipped over him by a group of 'revolutionary workers' in 1982.
In another incident a Mrs Alice Bossman was arrested for not giving way to an army vehicle, assaulted, flogged and dumped into cell. In both cases the assailants have never had to answer any charges.
Stressing that the ordinary protec- tions of the law and police are not available, they also pleaded with the Secretary General to seek explanation for the detention of the following: J. Riley Poku, ex-Minister of Defence; Dr John Nabilla, ex-Minister at the Presidency; Mr Joe Hyde, ex-Member of Parliament, Mr Ampah Kwofie, former Deputy Minister of Information; Mr Sam Okudzeto, former President of the Association of Professional bodies; Mr E Obeng Manu, lawyer, politician; Mr Tommy Thompson, newspaper proprietor; Mr John Kugblenu, journalist; Mr Mike Adjei, journalist; Mr K. Garbral, ex Deputy Minister of Defence; Mr S. 0. Lamptey, National Organiser PNP; Mr Felix Amoah, ex-Minister of Works and Housing, most of whom have been detained since January 1982.
They also urged him to seek an opportunity to talk personally with Dr J. E. de Graft-Johnson, Vice-President of the Republic from September 1979 to December 1981, to learn from him of the brutalities that he suffered himself and witnessed other people suffer while they were detained in 1982 in the military camp.
Another document released at the press conference was a letter addressed to the Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat also imploring his organisation to bring out the facts concerning human rights situation in Ghana with a view to securing prompt remedial action.
What Others Say
Warning signal
Numerous governments which have hitherto followed generous policies and have strongly supported my office's humanitarian endeavours in favour of refugees have in recent times, demonstrated a most distressing tendency to apply stringent deterrent measures with the most evident aim of stemming the flow of asylum-seekers. Such measures run counter to the humanitarian objectives of international action in favour of refugees: they are also indicative of a tendency to overlook the special situation of the refugee to assimilate his treatment to that of other aliens. It is at this point that some form of warning signal from the world community is called for, because understanding of the special position of the refugee strikes at the very heart of international action their behalf.— Poul Hartling,
U.N. High Commission for Refugees.
Migrant workers and refugees
In order to discuss the refugee problem in a concrete way, we must look at the problem in its entirety, and also at its origin. Only in this way can the populations of our countries understand their situation and show moral, spiritual and maybe even economic solidarity, not merely to refugees but to migrant workers as well.It would be dangerous to turn foreigners who are not refugees into the scapegoats of a situation the ultimate victims of which would be the refugees. The problem of acceptance of refugees will be solved more easily if we try to fight xenophobia in all its aspects.
— Simone Weil,
Former Minister, France.
No Xenophobia As Such In Africa
I don't think that the problem we are encountering in Africa is really a problem of xenophobia as such… There are tremendous problems within the continent - there is a high degree of intolerance which of course affects refugees. But experience of the African continent as regards its treatment of the refugee shows that it has one of the most generous approaches... I do not think that any ordinary citizen in many countries of Africa feels frightened by the presence of refugees, even in countries with tremendous problems who have to deal with thousands of refugees... Of course, there is a limit to the traditional hospitality, but tremendous efforts are made by the host countries and by the population to try to understand and to accommodate them and to share the little that they have with the refugees.— Salim A. Salim,
Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Previously The Refugee Drama
