NDC Battle Against Harassment, Intimidation

NDC Informs Sekondi Police of Intent to Demonstrate Against Harassment and Intimidation

The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Western region has written officially to the regional police command in Sekondi informing them about their intention to go on demonstration to protest against what the party perceived as unnecessary harassment and intimidation of its executive members.

Chronicle learnt that the regional executive of the party led by Nana Alex Asamoa originally wanted the demonstration to come off on Tuesday, July 1 but the police turned down their request on that particular date because they did not have adequate personnel to monitor the demonstration.

Chronicle gathered from sources within the NDC in the region that the intended demonstration would also serve as the march for survival that is being organized by the leadership of the party nationwide to protest against the alleged hardship and economic mismanagement by the NPP administration.

When the regional chairman Nana Alex Asamoah was contacted, he confirmed the story. According to him, the police are arranging to meet them to agree on a date early in August for the demonstration to come on after the cancellation of the previous date he and his executives chose.

According to Asamoah, the government is using the police to unduly harass the leadership of the party in the region. He cited a recent invitation of the leadership of the Tertiary Education Institution Network (TEIN) of the NDC at the Takoradi Polytechnic by the police for questioning as the typical example of the government harassment through the police.

Asamoah told The Chronicle that recently Takoradi chapter of TEIN organized a forum on the campus and invited the leadership of the party to address them.

He said after the function had come to an end without any incident, the police, for reasons he cannot explain, invited the TEIN leadership for questioning.

The NDC Western regional chairman regretted that after their programme and the subsequent invitation of the students for questioning, NPP also went there to do what he believed to be damage control but the same police did not see it necessary to invite the leadership of Tertiary Education Confederation (TESCON) of the NPP who organized the programme for questioning as they did to the NDC.

"Clearly one could see the political motive behind the action of the police in this particular case and this is what we want to protest against because political organization must be done in freedom", he said.

An independent source that spoke to The Chronicle however said the police invited the students for questioning because they felt they should have been informed about their programme to enable them provide the necessary security at the function.

Continuing, Chairman Asamoah noted that demonstrating is a constitutional right of every Ghanaian therefore he and his executives would not accept any excuse from the police that for the second time they do not have personnel to protect them during the day of the demonstration which, he said, would surely be led by Prof. Atta Mills and ex-President Rawlings and other top hierarchy of the party.

He further told The Chronicle that the regional executives would also not accept any obscure routes that would be given them by the police adding that demonstrations are always organized for people to see and not buildings.

According to Asamoah, when NPP was in opposition, they organized series of demonstrations against the then NDC administration over a number of issues among which was the VAT which they have now not only embraced, but have started increasing gradually.

To him Ghanaians have now seen the double standards of the NPP and their propaganda work and have started shifting camp to NDC to the extent that they have started making inroads in the big towns which hitherto were the preserve of the NPP.

So long as the hardship that is emanating from the poor management of the economy by the NPP administration continues, people who voted massively for them would continue to have a change of mind, he said.

Meanwhile, the regional executive of the party were expected to meet their MPs from the region last Monday July 14, 2003 to discuss how to move the party forward and also plot a strategy that they would adopt for their campaign.

According to the programme they have made available to the press, the regional executive would also be meeting newsmen on the same day to outline their programme to them, the vision that the next NDC government would have for the Western region inclusive.