[ad_1]
The youth wing of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is calling on the #FixTheCountry movement to join its “march for justice” protest scheduled for Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
It comes after the Ghana Police Service pledged to protect NDC protesters for the planned protest.
Police previously declined an invitation to provide security for the protest on the grounds that COVID-19 restrictions were still in effect.
But the NDC insisted on launching the protest, denigrating the reasons for refusing their request.
Police reversed their earlier decision, however, after a crucial meeting between the two sides.
Speaking on Eyewitness NewsNDC national youth organizer George Opare Addo said he would give his platform to the #FixTheCountry movement to get his message across to the government.
He also said police should consider giving the movement the opportunity to exercise its right to protest.
“I have clearly criticized the government’s decision to prevent the #FixTheCountry movement from exercising its constitutional right to protest. I think that with the police accepting that they will be there to keep us safe, it is time that they also looked into the problems related to the country’s reparations movement. ”
“But I ask everyone, especially members of the Fix The Country movement to join the NDC. We are fighting for almost the same thing. I will speak with their leaders and tell them where they can align with our views and opinions so that they come and then, whatever they want to do, they can use our platform to get their message out, ”a he added.
But #FixTheCountry leader Olivia Batsa said while he was happy the NDC was allowed to protest, that didn’t mean they were lining up with their cause and whether they needed to join. on the walk, it should be a conversation that the whole movement should have.
He also questioned the police decision to grant the NDC youth wing security and permission to protest when theirs was not granted.
“One of the things we need to be aware of is that #FixTheCountry is not a group or an entity. When individuals speak, they speak on their own, so I can’t speak on behalf of the collective, but I believes we need to discuss the role of all political actors, including the government and the NDC, as well as their engagement in the mess we find ourselves in. ”
“Now, if they come forward honestly and acknowledge their role in the mess, that’s fine, but if they take the blame away, then I don’t think that fits the questions we’re asking because we said the problems were with the government’s success and this puts the NDC in the spotlight on what has gone wrong with the way this country has been run for the past few years, so it’s not because they have had the opportunity to demonstrate and that ours has been denied that our interests are necessarily aligned, ”he added.
Purpose of the protest
The youth wing of the NDC had informed the police that they would organize a street demonstration called ‘ A march for justice ‘on Tuesday July 6, 2021, to demand justice for all those killed or brutalized by the various security agencies in the country.
In a letter to the Inspector General of Police, the youth wing of the NDC stated that it wrote to the police in accordance with the Public Order Act (491).
But the explanation of the regional police command in rejecting the group’s request referred to article 4 of the law on public order of 1994 (ACT 491) concerning in particular public health.
“The restrictions imposed by Executive Instrument (EI) 395 to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic have still not been lifted,” police said.
The youth wing did not like it as they threatened to continue the planned protest despite the police department’s refusal to provide protection.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) James Oppong-Boanuh then asked to meet with youth wing leaders about their planned protest.
What happened with the #FixTheCountry campaign?
Police filed an ex parte petition with the High Court against the planned protest and obtained a ruling in its favor on May 6, 2021.
The High Court ruled that the planned protest is banned until the restriction on public gatherings is lifted.
“It is hereby ordered that the organizers / organizers of the FixTheCountry protest march, their associates, officers, agents, assigns and workers be prohibited from engaging in any demonstration on Sunday May 9, 2021 or any other date until the restriction of public gatherings. is lifted by the competent authority ”, indicates the order obtained by the police.
Unhappy with the development, the group took the case to the Supreme Court, where a five-member Supreme Court panel overturned the May 6, 2021 injunction order.
Speaking in court, Judge Srem Sai, counsel for the #FixTheCountry protesters, said the High Court order was absolute despite the fact that ex parte orders typically last 10 days with the option for parties to then appear on notice.
—Citinenewsroom
Source link
