Attacks on journalists: Akufo-Addo's record is similar to that of Rawlings – Haruna Attah

General News of Sunday, July 28, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-07-28

Abdul Raman Haruna Attah, a veteran journalist, wants President Akufo-Addo to break his silence in the face of the growing attack on journalists.

According to the editor of the daily Accra Dail Mail, it is because his government rivals the dark days of former President Jerry John Rawlings.

Alhaji Haruna Attah recently noted in an interview with JoyNews TV that the attacks on the journalist "were things that I did not expect to happen but that I knew it would happen."

"Why did Ayawaso West Wuogon come? How is it that these thugs release their colleagues in Kumasi and that the Attorney General has seized a case of nolle prosequi? The combination of all these things is great; So, for me, the record is not brilliant, "lamented the former ambbadador to Namibia.

According to him, the deterioration of media freedom is evident with the closure of press houses favorable to the opposition – Radio Gold and XYZ – as well as the arrest of ModernGhana employees.

He believes that a government should be more concerned with protecting the media than punishing it.

"Even though they [media houses] They were wrong, they provided a service that was not delivered by many others … you close them, you deny some people other information, "he told the host Raymond Acquah.

Haruna Attah is shocked by the great silence of the presidency after the attack of the prophet Owusu Bempah, who, according to him, is the spiritual guru of President Akufo-Addo, after attacking Radio XYZ.

He badessed the performance of different governments in terms of freedom of the media and ease of journalism practice in the country.

Freedom of the media and the presidency through the prism of Haruna Attah

"For someone like me, I'm always amazed at what I came out with a lot of things under the Rawlings regime because I published a weekly column" Taking a Stand "in" The men of state ", where I always submitted to his regime.

"Outside of them [government] "I sent to Nsawam Prison for contempt of court, I largely shot the case," he said.

Describing John Kufuor's time as "the golden years of modern Ghanaian journalism," Haruna Attah praised the former president's decision to abolish the criminal defamation law in 2001 shortly. after taking office.

"His body language was favorable to the media and he preferred to err on the side of the media to chastise the media. The episode of Gissele Yazji could have been terrible. No head of state could sleep on it, but he went through this ordeal and no journalist was imprisoned or beaten, "he said.

According to him, although he received death threats under this regime, he did not attribute this to the state institutions.

The golden age of journalism in Ghana

Mr. Haruna Attah said that the country had experienced golden days in journalism, from the John Kufuor era, John Mills to John Mahama.

"There was not much intimidation, even if there were occasional explosions.In general, the body language of the first three gentlemen was that of conviviality," he said. he declares.

The person named in Mahama described the incident of former President Mahama's deputy, Stan Dogbe, who had broken the journalist's architect as one of the many attacks by "lone wolves".

He added that development continues to curb Mr. Mahama when the issue of media freedom will be addressed.

Mr. Haruna Attah said that thanking President Akufo-Addo, then attorney general of the Kufuor regime, for the repeal of the law on criminal defamation is somehow wrong, because the responsibility lies with the President.

"Ministers do not decide for the president. It is the president who decides and takes certain initiatives. Therefore, if Mr. Kufour did not agree, it would not have worked. It was accessible, so we had the chance to talk to him and we saw where his state of mind was, "he said.

Cynical about Akufo-Addo?

The veteran journalist said he was not the right person to evaluate the Akufo-Addo presidency for a simple reason.

"I did not vote for him and I did not expect much from him, so my fears seem to be confirmed again and again," he said.

Haruna Attah, who was the editor of the Statesman, said he feared the [Akufo-Addo] "Intolerant leadership" because he knew and could say that he had a tendency to intolerance.

"The intolerance that I knew was going to affect his relationship with a lot of things, whether it was dealing with people who were part of the so-called opposition, the media or people whom he was talking to. do not like it, "he said.

The 70-year-old president believes the president could "sit down" and be forced to do what is right.