Those who breach norms of journalism will face the law - Ministry

Accra (Greater Accra) 2 Nov. '99

"Those who breach the basic norms of journalism and seek to undermine the peace and stability of the country" by vicious, unverified and unsubstantiated allegations against the elected Head of State and government of the country must be prepared to face the laws of the land.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Ministry of Communications in connection with a publication in the "Weekend Statesman" of 29 October ? 4 November, 1999 under the banner headline "Tapes from the Rawlings Episode". Joy FM, an Accra radio station, also broadcast the audio tapes.

The statement, signed by Commander P.M.G. Griffiths, a Deputy Minister of Communications, said the Ministry has persistently cautioned against the abuse of press freedom. ?Freedom of speech can never mean the freedom to scandalise.?

The statement said the publication contained serious allegations, which impinge on the integrity of the President and the government as a whole.

The Ministry of the Interior and Police had announced steps to conduct thorough investigations into the matter and establish the source of the recording and the person(s) behind the release of the audio tape.

The statement said the Weekend Statesman delivered copies of the recording to the Ministry of the Interior and IGP on the afternoon of 29th October 1999, when the paper had already come out with the story, falsely stating that they had already delivered the tapes to the said state officials.

"While waiting for the outcome of investigations, the Ministry wishes to express its outrage at this latest attempt to bring the President of the Republic and the government into disrepute, hatred, ridicule and contempt."

The Ministry said the publication is "a very bizarre twist in the unending saga of the vicious efforts to sow seeds of disaffection against the government as part of the dirty tricks by a section of the opposition in a pre-election year."

The statement noted that a section of the private press, including local FM stations, have conspired to publish and broadcast all manner of unverified and fabricated allegations calculated to taint the image of the government.

It cited stories that claimed the government was engaged in drug trafficking, a falsified picture of the President allegedly swimming at a Swiss resort as some of the examples.

"In the view of the Ministry, this latest publication in the Weekend Statesman is designed to foul the atmosphere for the pending visit of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and lower the esteem of the President and the people of Ghana, who elected him."

The statement added that the Publication also fits into the grand design of a section of the opposition to generate hostility against the government as part of their preparations for the demonstrations previously planned for 4 November.