Violence in By-elections: Convening Minister of National Security – Aning Pressing Parliament

General News of Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Source: Myjoyonline.com

2019-02-05

Security Analyst Urges Parliament's Defense and Interior Committee to Take Minister of State for Security to Behavior of Masked Men Who Brutalized the Population in Ayawaso By-Election West Wuogon.

Dr. Emmanuel Kwesi Aning said that Bryan Acheampong seemed to have little or no control over the alleged officers. Therefore, he should not have ordered the masked security personnel to conduct a security operation.

"Let the Parliament's Committee on Defense and the Interior put it in front of him and let him show when they were recruited, how many of them were trained and to whom do they report?

"This is a parallel organization, increasingly dangerous, uncontrolled and uncontrollable. History teaches us a lesson; Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire started this way. We are descending a dangerous and slippery slope, "he said.

His comments follow the violence that followed masked men who allegedly fired shots and even slapped Ningo-Prampram MP Samuel George.

The MP, in a video, appeared to question security personnel at the partial election of Ayawaso West Wuogon last Thursday.

The men, dressed in black polo shirts and khaki pants, stormed the polling station at La Bawaleshie Elementary School where voting was underway to elect a new MP following the death of Kyeremanteng Agyarko.

According to the badyst, it is necessary to differentiate between professional national security agents and ad-hoc agents emanating from self-defense groups.

He stated that his badysis of the activities of the security staff suggests that they may have been recruited on the basis of their vigilance. These types of staff, he says, generally lack the professionalism and nuances necessary to deal with very critical situations.

"What happened last Thursday is a precursor to what will happen in 2020," he said.

"Violence has become a political currency in this country, the more you become violent, the more political leaders recognize you and the more you have access to power and finances," he said.

He said the reference to violence in the 2020 elections was not surprising since the number of self-defense groups had increased from 16 to 28 in the last four years.

Dr. Aning stated that tying the violent activities of the by-election to former President John Mahama's commentary is a declaration of war, although he is not surprised that an officer of the party opposition speaks so.

According to him, such excessive rhetoric that glorifies violence is a mobilizing tactic used by the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) while it was in opposition.

"We have seen the NPP in opposition mobilize the Akans for them to seize their country and, in doing so, not be afraid because each death is the same.

"We need to ask ourselves what this increasingly mobilizing language means for the 2020 election; weapons are in abundance, ammunition is there and we see young people ready and willing to use violence to mobilize and political leadership totally immobilized, "he said.

The security badyst warned that by 2020, it will not be politicians who decide, but thugs.

According to him, if the national security agents cover their face, shoot at ordinary citizens and that a parliamentary committee on defense and the interior can not talk about it, it's the beginning of the end.

Dr. Aning said the country's security institutions had failed and urged Ghanaians to make their voices heard.