Reconciliation BOMBSHELL!

A bolt from the past ...pre-independence petition looms

Fears that the work of the National Reconciliation Commission will be mired in controversy because of the limit in the time frame were on Wednesday confirmed by a leading grassroots political activist whose career spans all the nation’s political eras.

Speaking in a telephone interview with the Chronicle on Saturday, Mr. J. Attoh Quarshie, also an industrialist, said he hoped the New Patriotic Party (NPP) government would see wisdom in reviewing the date to include our pre-independence political eras.

He told the Chronicle on Saturday that he is aware that relatives of Sgt. Adjetey, Odartey Lamptey, Cpl. Attipoe and others would be pushing for a review of the date or make appearances.

“So will the families of victims of a pregnant woman who was shot dead in the streets of Accra at the time of the “Positive Action” J. Attoh Quarshie, who rattled to the paper a heavy list of names of political detainees who suffered in the first republic, believes that for the soul of the nation to be pacified, Ghanaians need to put aside all traces of political partisanship and deal objectively with the matter.

“I also believe it is those people who will make up the Commission that can determine our common weal or woe in this delicate matter.”

Mr. Attoh Quarshie, who claimed he had been jailed more than any other Ghanaian in the political history of Ghana, said every child must be told about the good, the bad and ugly things that have affected our political development since the UGCC and CPP eras.

“Everybody who has a story to tell must be allowed to do it.”

Victims whose cases need to be looked into, according to Attoh Quarshie, include Joe Myles who attained the age of 80 while in prison, and J.E. Vanderpuije who was over 75 years.

The rest are Enoch Mensah (Awuley Mensah’s Uncle) who was over 70 years, Konkonte Brown, 73 years, Dzenkle Dzewu over 60 years, Attoh Okai over 70 years, Deku from Ho, over 70 years, Odame (Volta region) over 60 years, Moses Dadevi (Anloga) over 60 years, Atsuga and Atsuvi (Anloga) over 70 years.

Detainees from Kumasi include Baffour Akoto over 66 years, Opanyin Kyekyere over 82 years, Opanyin Kwasi Duah (Konongo Odumasi) over 90 years, Asibri from Bawku who was suffering from stroke was also detained while he was over 70 years.

The following women were also detained. Assaba Kwaku, Adjoa Saaba, Alice Koomson and Akosua Nyameba, elder sister of Osei Asibe Mensah from Sekondi were also detained for cooking for Railway workers who assisted Nkrumah to stage his positive action. Baffour was killed by Yaw Twumasi one afternoon.

One Sowah also killed Oheneba Akwasi Ampofo at Kibi. Jacob Fulani and some CPP hotheads kidnapped Henry Thompson, Carl Reindorff, Oti Ankrah and Oku Glover in broad daylight and took them to the CPP headquarters to be brutalized.

They were mercilessly beaten with blood flowing onto their shirts and were going to be dumped into the slave dungeon beneath the Osu Castle when white Superintendent of Police, Roy Jones, led a platoon of policemen to search the room at the CPP headquarters where they discovered the victims. Jacob Fulani and others were jailed for this crime.

“This is not a story. It is a true fact. There are people who to me have died in vain just because a few greedy politicians sought to falsify our national history. There has been no acknowledgement, no recognition of their roles, no compensations, nothing.”

The time frame for the work of National Reconciliation Bill, which is currently awaiting presidential assent (it's been signed) has been a subject of controversy since it was tabled in parliament with the opposition National Democratic Party (NDC) MPs staging a walk out on the day the vote was taken for its ratification into a bill.

The opposition NDC parliamentarians later held a press conference acussing the ruling NPP of partisanship in a matter that ought to be handled in a non-partisan way.

The NDC on Tuseday petitioned president J.A. Kufuor to take a second look at teh bill which they stated, threatens to divide Ghanaians. The mendent had not reacted, at the time of going to press.