Minimise Demonstrations - IGP Advises

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Peter Nanfuri, on Friday appealed to the leadership of opposition political parties and concerned groups to cut down on the frequency of demonstrations.

He said this would enable the Police to concentrate their attention and limited resources to combat criminal activities like armed robberies and serial killings.

A statement signed by DSP Angwubutuge Awuni, Director of Police Public Relations, said the frequent deployment of Police personnel and logistics for the maintenance of order during demonstrations tends to detract the attention of Police from tackling other priority issues.

The statement also commended all Police officers and men for the able manner they handled the opposition political parties demonstration last Thursday.

It said the firmness and professional manner in which the police handled the situation is an indication of the readiness and capabilities of Police to rise to any future occurrence

Meanwhile the National Democratic Congress (NDC) on Friday commended the Ghana Police Service for the professional manner it handled Thursday's demonstration by opposition political parties.

"Their conduct represents an overwhelming pass-mark in the eyes of the Ghanaian society".

This was contained in a statement signed by Mr Vincent Asiseh, National Press Secretary of NDC.

The statement expressed the NDC's appreciation to supporters of the party, traditional authorities and public-spirited groups for their peaceful stance on the demonstration.

It said the insignificant turnout coupled with the fact that the demonstration was largely ignored by the public showed that the majority of Ghanaians would have nothing to do with "politics of confrontation".

"The restraint shown by NDC supporters despite some provocative utterances and placards of the demonstrators also attests to the party's philosophy of development within a peaceful and stable environment".

The statement, however, commended the demonstrators for heeding the admonition of the Police and the "peace-loving" people of Ghana to conduct the demonstration in a peaceful and orderly manner.