Pressure Group Condemns Death Of Nima Demonstrator

Accra,(Greater Accra) 4 Nov. The Alliance for Change (AFC) today condemned the "terror and unrestrained violence unleashed by the police on defenceless demonstrators" protesting against the deplorable sanitary conditions at Nima on Friday, October 31. A statement issued in Accra today said the AFC sees the action as part of a continuing trend of quick resort to violence as a means of repressing the citizen's right to freedom of expression. The statement signed by eight members of the Alliance, including Nana Akufo-Addo, Dr Nyaho-Tamakloe, Mr Kwesi Prat (Jnr) and Madam Hawa Yakubu, also stated that this trend denies the citizen of his right to ''protest against bad government policies and practices.'' The police action was to stop some residents of Nima from protesting against the deplorable sanitary conditions in the area. Two juveniles received bullet wounds, and a third was killed from a gunshot in the chest. The statement said ''this is the clearest demonstration of irresponsibility and unrestrained violence exhibited by the police.'' The AFC recalled a similar incident, which saw four people dead on May 11, 1995, when ACDRs opened fire at people protesting against the value added tax. It said the latest police action has been preceded by similar incidents and noted that instead of cowing the people, such actions rather ''provides the groundswell for the inevitable mass struggles.'' The Alliance called for the establishment of a committee of enquiry into this and other incidents to identify the killers. They also called on political parties and all independent organisations, such as the TUC and the NUGS, to join in the effort to bring justice for the victims of these acts.