Statement: Is The National Peace Council Compromised?

The National Peace Council over the last few weeks has made frantic efforts to ensure peace before, during and after the elections.

This effort must be commended.

Ghana needs and deserves peace and no effort should be spared to ensure this.

But Martin Luther King Jnr aptly put it that ‘’ peace is not the absence of war but the presence of justice’’. The National Peace Council can pretend to be preaching peace but if they do not make efforts to be equitable, fair and just, with time to come they will lose their essence.

The National Peace Council found the need to hold a press conference on 7th December at about 12 midnight to react and caution the New Patriotic Party and its General Secretary (Sir John) for unsavory comments which it deemed a threat to peace. Never mind the Press Conference by the NPP General Secretary, was in reaction to a Press Conference by the President’s Spokesperson as well as his campaign coordinator earlier the same day.

On the night of 11th December, 2012 a combined Police and Military force in Rambo style forced their way through an NPP research centre, took with force computers and documentary evidence that the party was putting together for court. The Peace Council is on record to have advised and indeed encouraged the NPP to go to court.

Surprisingly, the same Peace Council that held a press conference to react to a political party sees nothing wrong in state institutions being used by the government to collect and destroy the same evidence they encouraged us to present in court.

The silence of the National Peace Council is deafening. At least calling the security agencies to restrain themselves in their use of force will be the least appropriate response expected of the peace council. If the council will turn a blind eye to all injustices against the NPP and yet not hesitate to call us to order, it will be safe for us to conclude that the council is at the this point compromised.

The Young Patriots are therefore calling on the National Peace Council to unreservedly condemn the action by the joint military and police task force yesterday at the NPP research facility.

Secondly, the council should intervene to ensure the government, President Mahama and the security agencies stop any further tampering with evidence and brutalities of members of the NPP. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Justice must prevail.

SIGNED

Richard Nyamah

Fred Amankwah Sarfo

Hopeson Adorye

John Kumah

Adomako Baafi