International coverage of shooting (collected by GRi)

In a phone call to one of our stringers in Accra this morning, it was confirmed that things are calm in the capital, albeit the demonstrations are due to resume next Monday.

BBC teletex, in London, reports that the latest casualty figure stands at 8 dead and 27 still in hospital.

The following news items were monitored by Steven Asare in the USA and posting on the Ghanaian net: okyeame

Copyright 1995 Reuters, Limited Reuters

May 12, 1995, Friday, BC cycle -12:45 Eastern Time

Ghana launched an inquiry Friday into clashes that killed at least five people when government supporters hit the streets during a huge anti- government protest in Accra.

Police and hospital sources said four people died from gunshot wounds and one was stabbed to death Thursday during clashes between rival groups- one backing the government's tough economic policies, the other denouncing economic hardship and demanding change.

It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the deaths but Interior Minister Emmanuel Osei-Owusu pledged a full-scale inquiry. "The minister explained that the security forces acted to bring the situation under control and gave the assurance that they will continue to employ measures to maintain law and order," state radio said.

Police said they had made a number of arrests during the incidents in the capital, including a man with a pistol.

Ghana, after over a decade of World Bank and International Monetary Fund belt-tightening, has been hit by protests this year from government workers saying they have nothing to show for their sacrifices.

Supporters of the Alliance for Change, which rallied an estimated 50,000 marchers, and members of a counter demonstration organized by the pro-government Committees for the Defense of the Revolution, clashed near central Market Square.

Witnesses said shooting broke out during the clashes. Some blamed members of the pro-government protest. Another said police had fired warning shots to disperse rioters and when they came under attack from a gang of youths throwing stones.

Protesters carried placards demanding that President Jerry Rawlings stand down. Slogans included "Rawlings you are a liar- you have failed the nation."

Organizers said before the march that they wanted a peaceful protest. "It is a protest against the harsh economic conditions," Nana Akuffo Addo of the opposition New Patriotic Party told marchers.

Unions have organized regular protests saying because of the massive devaluations workers need up to 70 percent more pay to make ends meet. The government has offered 25 percent- a figure rejected by the unions.

The April introduction of Value Added Tax at 17.5 percent has, unions say, made life even more difficult. A committee of government, employers and unions has been meeting to try to resolve the impasse but the government says it just does not have enough money to pay the increases demanded.

Copyright 1995 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse

ACCRA: At least eight people were killed and 47 others injured when government supporters fought demonstrators holding a rally here to protest economic hardship in Ghana. The violence erupted Thursday morning when men wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the name of the Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution, which backs President Jerry Rawlings, fired pistols at the protesters. An AFP correspondent at the scene said some 500 Rawlings supporters fought about 7,000 demonstrators for almost two hours until anti-riot police began to detain suspects.

Copyright 1995 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse

May 12, 1995 Ghana -unrest lead 08:01 Eastern Time

ACCRA, May 12 (AFP) - At least eight people were killed and 47 others injured when government supporters fought demonstrators holding a rally here to protest economic hardship in Ghana, police said Friday.

The violence erupted Thursday morning when men wearing T- shirts emblazoned with the name of the Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (ACDR), which backs President Jerry Rawlings, fired pistols at the protesters.

An AFP correspondent at the scene said some 500 Rawlings supporters fought about 7,000 demonstrators for almost two hours until anti-riot police began to detain suspects.

The government ordered an enquiry into the incident, but many Ghanaians, including supporters of the president, criticised the government for allowing the counter- demonstration.

By Friday morning an uneasy calm hung over Accra, with several dozen soldiers patrolling the city centre, where opposition forces have promised to stage another demonstration.

"We will demonstrate every day until our demands are satisfied," an official of the Association of Civil Servants of Accra (GACSA) said. "Soldiers or no soldiers, we will do it."

The violence erupted after a month of protests in which civil servants staged five marches to demand a 70 percent salary increase and the repeal of a value-added tax imposed in March.

The tax added to the woes of Ghanaians, already battered by high inflation and austerity measures. The jobless rate stands at 30 percent. Thursday's violence was the worst in street demonstrations since Rawlings' accession to the presidency in 1982.

Copyright 1995 Agence France Presse Agence France Presse

May 12, 1995

At least eight people were killed and 47 others injured when government supporters fought demonstrators holding a rally Thursday to protest economic hardship in Ghana, police said Friday.

The violence erupted Thursday when men wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the name of the Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (ACDR), which backs President Jerry Rawlings, fired pistols at the protesters.

An AFP correspondent at the scene said some 500 Rawlings supporters fought about 7,000 demonstrators for almost two hours.

The violence died down when anti-riot police arrived and began to detain suspects, mainly looters.

Police said they detained only one ACDR militant for firing a gun.

Reports said the casualties in downtown Accra were victims of gunfire or stabbings.

The government had said for days it feared violence during the march organized by opposition parties protesting high inflation and unemployment in the west African state.

Late Wednesday, police warned merchants to close their shops during the march and said they would hold the rally organizers responsible for any unrest.

Government supporters held a counter-demonstration in the morning.

The violence erupted after a month of protests in which civil servants staged five marches to demand a 70 percent salary increase and the repeal of a value-added tax imposed in March. The tax added to the woes of Ghanaians, already battered by high inflation and austerity measures. The jobless rate stands at 30 percent.

Copyright 1995 Extel Financial Limited AFX News

ACCRA (AFX) - At least eight people were killed and 47 injured yesterday when government supporters fought demonstrators rallying in protest against high inflation and unemployment in Ghana, police said.

Violence broke out when supporters of President Jerry Rawlings started shooting at the protesters, and an Agence France-Presse correspondent at the scene said some 500 Rawlings supporters fought about 7,000 demonstrators for almost two hours. The violence died down when anti-riot police arrived and began to detain suspects, mainly looters.

The rally followed a month of protests in which civil servants staged five marches to demand a 70 pct salary increase and the repeal of a value- added tax imposed in March.

Copyright 1995 Deutsche Presse-Agentur Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Five people have been confirmed dead and many others wounded in anti-government demonstrations in the Ghanaian capital, the Ghana News Agency (GNA) reported Friday.

GNA also quoted a statement from Interior Minister Emmanuel Osei-Owusu Friday as saying a number of people have been arrested in connection with Thursday's protests.

The statement said "a full-scale enquiry" would be conducted into the demonstrations.

More than 5,000 people heeded a call by opposition politicians forming the "Alliance for Change" to march against the high cost of living and the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT) in the country.

Violence erupted when they clashed with a group of pro- government demonstrators under the umbrella of the Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution.

There was tension in Accra Thursday as the anti-government protest took hold of the capital for hours during which gunfire rang out.

Business activity came to a standstill in the city as traders shut their stores and banks in central Accra were closed in response to a call by the Accra metropolitan authority, although Osei-Owusu's statement asked traders to open their stores on friday.

There was still a strong police and military presence in the capital on Friday, especially in the ministries and at strategic offices and installations.

The anti-government demonstration was the biggest since President Jerry Rawlings came to power in a coup in December 1981.

Copyright 1995 Deutsche Presse-Agentur Deutsche Presse-Agentur

May 12, 1995, Friday, BC Cycle 21:07 Central European Time

Ghana's labour movement Friday called for a judicial inquiry into Thursday's demonstrations in Accra which claimed five lives and left many wounded.

Labour representatives met in an emergency session to discuss the aftermath of the demonstration said the inquiry must have public sittings.

They also called for immediate prosecution of persons arrested in connection with the shooting during the demonstration. Interior Minister Emmanuel Osei Owusu said in an earlier statement that "a fullscale inquiry" would be conducted.

The shooting occurred when more than 5,000 anti-government demonstrators organised by opposition politicians under the name Alliance for Change clashed with pro-government demonstrators organised by the Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution.

The leaders of the "Alliance for Change" have called for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the killings and destruction of property.

"Compensation must also be paid to the bereaved families of victims of the brutalities," Nana Akuffo Addo, spokesman for the alliance told a news conference in Accra.

"We wish to state categorically that we hold (President Jerry) Rawlings and his regime ... fully and wholly responsible for these deaths."

The anti-government demonstrators had staged a march through the city centre protesting against the high cost of living and the introduction of Value Added Tax (VAT).

Business activity came to a standstill as traders shut their stores and banks were closed in response to a call by the Accra metropolitan authority, although Osei-Owusu's statement asked traders to re-open their stores on Friday.

There was a strong police and military presence in the capital on Friday, especially at government ministries and at strategic installations.

The anti-government demonstration was the biggest since Rawlings came to power in a coup in December 1981.