FONKAR refutes ban of group

Accra, Aug. 16, GNA – Mr Saint Emmanuel Osei, Deputy Communications Director of Friends of Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings (FONKAR), said no individual or group of persons could dissolve or ban the organisaton.

“FONKAR is not accountable to the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the party has no legal mandate to ban the group even though our members are largely from the party,” he said.

Mr Osei said this when he addressed the media at a press conference in Accra on Tuesday.

He said groups did not have to be officially recognized by the party structures to operate and organise in this country provided they did not claim to be official organs of the party.

He said FONKAR had never claimed to be an official organ of the NDC and would continue with its activities without fear or favour, adding that rather than trying to clump down the group, the leadership should work towards uniting the party for victory in the 2012 election.

He said FONKAR, as an organisation, was formed with a clear agenda to preserve, protect and uphold the legacy of the Rawlingses and their objective was embedded in the principles of probity, accountability, truth and social justices.

Mr Osei said they were surprised that party leaders were indulging in activities that had the tendency of destroying the unity they sought to achieve within the rank and file of the party.

He bemoans the alleged blatant abuse of executive power to intimidate and arrest FONKAR members nationwide saying “it is shameful, cowardly, irresponsible and a very bad example to the youth”.

“Just last week three members were arrested in Accra and Cape Coast for no offence,” he said.

He called on the leadership of the party to address these intrigues since it would not promote discipline and unity in the party but would rather increase the cynicism and antagonism.