Reconciliation Not Enough - Dr. Kwaku Asare

Reconciliation Not Enough To Right Wrongs Of Rawlings? Era - Dr. Kwaku Asare (Azar)

?When identifiable people commit crimes, as happened in Ghana, the state must identify and punish these criminals not advocate reconciliation with them,? Dr. Kwaku Asare said in an interview following the appearances of Mr. Rawlings and Mr. Kojo Tsikata, before Ghana?s National Reconciliation Commission (NRC). ?Imagining a fictitious feud and prescribing reconciliation is no panacea. That is the proverbial ?bury your head in the sand? approach and it must be rejected.?

The much-awaited appearance of Mr. Rawlings finally occurred February 12, 2004, following a subpoena by the Commission. While many believe his appearance is a boon to Ghana?s fledgling democracy, others doubt that the NRC is the appropriate venue to bringing closure to the events of Mr. Rawlings? PNDC era.

The Commission was formed in January 2002 ?to help reconcile the people of Ghana by finding out the truth about past human rights abuses and help those who were hurt by the abuses to deal with their pain and to move on with their lives.? As well, the NRC seeks ?to help those who participated in the abuses to come to terms with the experiences and to obtain forgiveness.? The NRC was modeled after South Africa?s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was set up with a similar mandate, to bring closure to the abuses under the Apartheid regime in that country. But Dr. Asare, Professor at the University of Florida, said Ghana?s political history is different and therefore does not call for a similar probe. ?I believe our situation is different from other countries that have engaged in protracted feuds with all sides engaged in acts of brutalities and barbarism,? he said.

Both Mr. Rawlings and Mr. Tsikata were subpoenaed to answer allegations regarding atrocities they were alleged to have been involved in, particularly relating to the murders of three high court judges and a retired military officer in 1982. The three judges, Justice Cecilia Koranteng-Addo, Justice Fred Poku Sarkodie, Justice George Agyepong, and Major Sam Acquah, a retired Army officer were abducted from their homes at night, shot and their bodies burned at the Bundase Military shooting range. The three judges were critical of the Mr. Rawlings? PNDC government.

Several military personnel were tried and some including Joachim Amartey-Kwei, Cpl. Amedeka, and Michael Senyah, were executed. Others Johny Dzandu, Tony Tekpor, and Adebuga fled the country but were tried in absentia. They have since the Commission?s mandate, been invited to tell their stories.

The NRC accordingly invited Mr. Rawlings for the sole purpose to respond to allegations made against him regarding a tape, which was reported to contain confessions by Amartey-Kwei before his execution by firing squad. But Mr. Rawlings simply told the Commission that he did not have the tape. ?I am trying to tell you that I don?t have it. I am telling you what I know about it. I have seen excerpts but I cannot provide it. It could be with the late Warrant Officer Tetteh. Between him, the security apparatus of Ghana Broadcasting, I don?t know,? Mr. Rawlings said.

?It seems the chairman was called to answer questions about the tape of Amartey Kwei's confession that presumably exonerates Kojo Tsikata. Apparently, there is no such Tape or if it ever existed it cannot be found. From an evidentiary point of view, this bursts the balloon floated by Kojo that Kwei did confess,? said Dr. Asare.

He also believes that the tapes are not ?that significant. What is significant is the circumstantial evidence. Kwei could never have masterminded the abduction of the judges without the approval of the security apparatus,? he said. ?He needed a curfew pass, he needed to elicit the help of the soldiers (Amadeka, Senya, and the others).

?Someone gave him the approval and if Kwei, facing death, said that that someone was Kojo Tsikata, Why did Kwei not mention other members of the PNDC? He could have mentioned Akata Pore, Nunoo Mensah, Chairman Jerry John Rawlings, or others. These were members of the PNDC and mentioning their names could have done more damage to the PNDC, if we are to believe Kojo's theory that Kwei wanted to discredit the PNDC.

?There is just too much circumstantial evidence here supporting Kwei's claim. And if one adds the fact that Kojo committed perjury when he denied knowledge of Amadeka (falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus), then one can begin to understand the case against Kojo Tsikata. This is why the SIB named him as the mastermind of the abduction and murders,? he noted.

At the hearing, neither Mr. Rawlings nor Mr. Tsikata admitted to any allegations or had anything to apologize for. Dr. Asare said the attitudes of the two men ?validate my strongest objection to the (reconciliation) exercise. Mr. Tsikata appeared before the commission and read a 47-paragraph document. At the end of that, he responded to a few ?Mickey Mouse? questions leaving many significant questions unanswered. Mr. Tsikata denies knowing Amadeka, although Amadeka was the head of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) security. That strains credibility. Mr. Tsikata claims Amadeka was implicated in a murder of Tsikata's cousin in April 1982. He sent for Amadeka, who never showed up and Tsikata did not follow up. Again, that seems implausible,? he charged. ?Mr. Tsikata could not even confirm that Senya was executed in 1982, as published by the PNDC. Rumors abounded in 1982, that Senya had been sent to Cuba in exchange for his silence at the SIB.?

Concurring that the postures taken by the two men in their defense do not necessarily imply that they were lying, he emphasized that there are too many circumstantial evidence surrounding the case, and thus warrant a serious investigation.

?I expected Mr. Tsikata to be asked questions pertaining to his job as head of security as it pertains to the night of the judges' murder. How did the murderers get the needed curfew pass? How did the murderers get access to Bundase, which was a very restricted military range? So I agree with Kojo that there is the need to reopen the investigations to get to the bottom of the matter,? he stressed.

?I also think the Commission lost a rare chance to ask him many questions about the many lives that were lost under his watch as National Security Advisor. Kojo claimed he was tortured in 1975 for his role in a coup d'etat. As the Security Chairman under PNDC, he should have explained what happened to Gyiwah, Gorkah, Kyeremeh Djan, and others,? he said.

?What the victims need to do is to bring civil suit against these people and the government of Ghana to seek recovery for the loss of their beloved ones.?

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