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| Rawlings Pal Builds ‘Socialist Cities` |
1/16/2007 |
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Although most Ghanaians believe strongly that the series of coup d’état witnessed in Ghana after independence were glumly masterminded or carried out by the Military forces, a senior citizen of this country says the Militaries are innocent of all such coups. According to Mr. Denis Asuman, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Propaganda Secretary for the Jaman North Constituency in the Brong Ahafo Region, all the overthrows were rather influenced and supported by the civilians who kept on criticizing government after government. “Soldiers have not done any wrong, blame the civilians”.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Northern Regional Bureau of The Chronicle in Tamale, the NDC aged Propaganda Secretary expressed fear of another possible coup in Ghana, due to the way the public were still criticizing governments. He asserted that the Military in those days became conscious to stage coups whenever the civilians begun to speak against a particular ruling government for non-performance and inefficiency.
Mr. Asuman categorically mentioned names of two current strong Journalists in Ghana (names withheld) who according to him, were advocating or leading the operation “let the blood flow” during the Rawlings’s revolution era and were describing Rawlings as “Junior Jesus”. According to him, those two Journalists who were at that time in the University, firmly criticized and condemned the then General Akuffo’s government before Flt Lt Jerry John Rawlings also realized the need to overthrow that government. But now they are the same people who have turned round condemning Rawlings and attacking the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government. “The very moment civilians will start insulting, criticizing and attacking a sitting President and his government then the soldiers will also say yes if I plot a coup I will get support of the civilians.
“So I don’t think it is soldiers who stage coups but rather the civilians,” Mr. Asuman explained. He further lamented that no government, since the time of independence had ever been praised by Ghanaians and was very surprised about how Ghanaians who were praising J.J. Rawlings and describing him as “Junior Jesus”, had quickly turned round to insulting and condemning his leadership style.
Though the NDC Propaganda Scribe was not calling for another coup, he described the 1979 coup by Mr. Rawlings as justifiable. It was that coup or revolution which he said, brought about Ghana’s democratic or constitutional rule. The NDC loyalist accentuated that “timely and necessary insurgency” did not only make Rawlings very popular, but also made him the saviour of this nation, after Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, saying, even the international communities hailed his revolution and its good fight which has transformed Ghana and its people. “It is evidently clear that if the Ex-President Rawlings is allowed to contest with even President Kufuor today, he will defeat him hands down”.
He cautioned the media, which he said, also contributed to the coup d’états to be circumspect and accurate in their reportages to avoid inciting the public against governments. Mr. Asuman mentioned some Ghanaian newspapers, which were bent on using Rawlings to sell their papers but however questioned whether those papers could still survive if Rawlings passed away. The Chronicle
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