Press release from the leadership of the Tema Canoe Owners Association

CANOE OWNERS ASSOCIATION
TEMA MANHEAN
TEMA CANOE BEACH
December 5, 2010
PRESS RELEASE- SEPTEMBER 17TH POLICE ATTACK AT THE TEMA MANHEAN CANOE BEACH, ISSUES AND CONCERNS
On the 17th of September 2010, Police Officers from the Tema Regional Police Command without provocation started firing tear gas into hundreds of people who have been working as fisher folks at the Tema Canoe Beach and on women drying anchovies on a 16.004 Acre adjoining land.
This action was in apparent response to the refusal by us the fisher folks in Tema to hand over the 16.004Acre land that serves our socio-economic interest. Even when we have reluctantly agreed to negotiate with Wilmar Africa who then had promised to replace the drying of anchovies, canoe repairs and other related activities with a more modern technology, they attempted to forcefully eject all these activities including customs, whale museum and the recreational “5” beach without respecting the terms.
The police in the process willfully killed two persons one into the sea and the other shot close to his home, they also maimed a number of persons with both live bullets and rubber bullets, moved into people’s homes and into their rooms and got them arrested, and women made to strip to ascertain their gender all this on the 17th of September 2010.
The Police meted these inhuman treatments on the law abiding fisher folks of Tema only to satisfy the interest of Wilmar Africa, a company said to be investing $40million into an Edible Oil Refinery on the said parcel of land that support the indigenous fishing industry in Tema which has an investment in excess of GHS 30mil and employs over 13,500 people directly and to a large extent many parts of coastal Ghana.
• What we need to know if the action of the Police supported by the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority targeted us because we are fisher folks?
• Why has the Government not set up a probe into the action of the police and have the death of the two young men investigated?
• Why should the Police target the leadership of the Canoe Owners Association and send scores of armed military and police officers to arrest us between 3:00am and 4:30am, two days after the incident, when we, the Chairman, Secretary and the Patron where all not at the riot scene and wouldn’t hesitate to respond to police invitation?
These issues are of great concern to us as fisher folks and give us the reason to believe that the government has no regards for our lives, work and wellbeing.
Thanks for your support.
ISSUED AND SIGNED AS FOLLOWS;

Adjetey Tawiah Nii Adjieteh Kwei
(Secretary-0244618602) (Chairman- 2006 Nat Best Canoe fisherman-0241126231)
Nii Adjei Klaku
(Patron-0540863984)