AUDIO: Akufo Addo FINALLY Speaks On Gitmo Ex-Detainees Saga

The 2016 presidential candidate of the New Patriotic Party, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, has described the ongoing saga involving the arrival into Ghana of two Guantanamo Bay detainees as yet another example of the failure of leadership on the part of President Mahama. According to Nana Akufo-Addo, the law, as contained inSection 35 of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008, (Act 762), prohibits the transaction into which President Mahama has entered with the United States government. In addition to this, the President’s decision not to consult the relevant stakeholders in the country, so as to assuage the fears of Ghanaians, has resulted in heightened levels of fear amongst Ghanaians. Had President Mahama done the needed consultations, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that the “Ghanaian people may well have been spared the disquieting anxiety, in this time of justifiably heightened fear of global terrorism, that we are being led by a President who, ostensibly in the name of compassion, prefers to ignore laws designed to defend the most sensitive area of all, our nation’s security.” The NPP flagbearer made this known when he delivered a tribute in honour of the late Alhaji Alhassan Bin Salih in Wa, at an event of homage held on Tuesday, January 19, 2016. According to the NPP flagbearer, President Mahama’s failure in showing leadership in this matter “is a sad example of his belief that he is answerable to no one, not even to the laws of the Republic, like s.35 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (Act 760), which, as President, he is sworn to uphold.” Section 35 (1) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2008, (Act 762), states that “The Director of Immigration or an officer authorised by the Director shall not grant an endorsement or authority to permit a person to enter this country if there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is, will or has been involved in the commission of a terrorist act.” “Since he claims that only Presidents Rawlings and Kufuor have the right to criticize him, I would have wished that he had found it worthy to consult both of our two former national leaders before he took this grave decision that has consequences for us all,” he said. To this end, Nana Akufo-Addo admonished all Ghanaians, regardless of their political or religious affiliations, to “refrain from introducing religious divisions into the debate, for the issue at stake is not a religious one.”

Source: Peacefmonline.com

Saul Was A Terrorist…But God Had Mercy On Him – Ablakwa To Bishop Bonsu

The Deputy Minister in Charge of Tertiary Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has described as ‘unfortunate’ remarks by the Head of the Catholic Bishop Conference, Bishop Osei Bonsu. Bishop Osei Bonsu in response to President John Mahama’s comment on the former Guantanamo detainees; that Ghanaians should show compassion on the two said even though there is the need to show compassion, ‘compassion must be balanced with common sense’. "My Christian compassion is there and we need to be compassionate for people in need and try to help people but we have to balance compassion with common sense. If you know that somebody is a risk to the nation, you can't say that because of compassion we are going to take him. Then we may as well open our prisons and let out all the criminals” he said. A lot of government communicators have taken the Bishop to the cleaners for making such a comment. Speaking during a panel discussion on Radio Gold’s Alhaji and Alhaji, Hon Ablakwa asked the Bishop to retract his remarks. “The comment from the Bishop Bonsu was most unfortunate …that he expects the President to balance compassion with common sense? It is not right for a Bishop to speak to the President that way….i thought his language was unfortunate…he should think about it and retract it” According to the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, there is the need to have compassion on the Gitmo ex-detainees because God had mercy on Saul who a ‘terrorist’ and later got converted and became Paul. “… Saul (in the Bible) who later became Paul was a terrorist…he was killing people…he was on his terrorist enterprise when he met … if you read Acts 9:1-31 and I am surprised the leadership of the church, Bishop Bonsu has forgotten all about these” he added.

Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com

Ghana Cannot Return Gitmo Detainees; It’s A Done Deal - US Embassy

The United States Embassy in Accra has explained that it would not be possible to return the Guantanamo detainees which government has accepted to accommodate in Ghana for two years. Many Ghanaians have expressed disagreement with government’s decision on the detainees and have asked that they should be returned but some have however welcomed them and insisted they should be accepted on humanitarian grounds. In an interview on Accra based radio station, Citi FM Friday morning, the Public Affairs Counselor of the US Embassy in Ghana, Mr Daniel Fennell said returning the two men is out of the question since it was a done deal. “I just don’t see that as a possible eventuality, I think this is a positive movement, Ghana is showing leadership, it makes the world safer and better, and it is very little risk to it and we appreciate their leadership, we appreciate their partnership,” Mr Fennel said. There have been arguments and confusion over who was to finance the upkeep of the detainees whilst in Ghana. The confusion emerged when the producers of the television programme, Hot Issues posted a 1:30minutes interview between host Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr and Mr Fennel as a promotional video on Facebook. The programme is scheduled to be aired on TV3 on Saturday January 16, 2016 at midday. In the interview, Mr Fennell reiterated his comments which suggested that Ghana and the US were sharing the costs for the upkeep of the ex-detainees. He had made a similar comment earlier in the week in another interview with Richard Sky on Citi FM. This however contradicts what had earlier been put out by Ghana government that there were no financial commitments on the part of Ghana. In the interview on Citi FM Friday morning Mr Fennell apologized for his earlier comments said the US will provide the financial support whilst Ghana provides the infrastructure and men [security] for the upkeep of the ex-detainees. “…on the cost issue, the United States is bearing the cost … that are necessary to upkeep the detainees that were brought from Guantanamo Bay and the Government of Ghana is in charge of the infrastructure they are in command, and their personnel are in charge of monitoring and so we are infact, if there’s any payment necessary we are the ones that are providing that support so that Ghana doesn’t bear additional financial cost as a result of doing this,” Mr Fennell said. “If I cause any confusion with my private statement, I apologise. In fact the statement I have heard from the Deputy Minister, Felix are absolutely correct, he spoke correctly and very well and I apologise if I caused any confusion by muddying the issue,” Mr Fennell said. He said the United States would not want Ghana to be “out of pocket” on this issue and is therefore contributing money for the upkeep of the prisoners. What was said earlier on Hot Issues Mr Fennell had earlier stated on the television programme: “It’s a shared expense…we are contributing some for the monitoring and upkeep of the individuals. We are contributing some money towards that and the government of Ghana is making all the arrangements and taking care of them.” On the Hot Issues programme, when the host Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr. asked whether government was using tax payers’ money to take care of the former Guantanamo inmates, Mr. Fennel said “I think so” saying “is that so difficult to imagine that Ghana would pay for something that is happening in Ghana?” “I think it’s laudable and we should be proud of Ghana,” he added. Mr. Fennel also said the security of the former detainees is also “a shared cost.” “The government of Ghana under the constitution is responsible for the security of everything in Ghana so they are keeping track at it, they are better at it, they are smart and we think they are doing an excellent job,” he noted. He apologized for his previous comment and said it was misunderstood. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/U1dDAjb6Two" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Source: Daily Graphic

Fear not; we are not in Ghana for revenge - Guantanamo Bay ex-detainees speak

The two Guantanamo Bay ex-detainees, who presence in Ghana has provoked outrage among a section of public, have indicated that they are not in Ghana for revenge.

In their first radio interview since they arrived in Ghana, the two, ahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, also denied belonging to terrorist groups.

Stressing that they had been illegally and unjustifiably detained by the Americans in Guantanamo Bay for several years, they two said their priority now was to live in Ghana quietly and peacefully and to get their lives back on track.

“We have been wrongly arrested for 14 years without any charge against us. We have suffered but we are not looking for revenge. We want to leave in Ghana quiet and peacefully. And we want to put our lives together,” they told Accra-based Unique FM.

Although many Ghanaians have expressed anger and displeasure at their presence in Ghana out of fear that they could attract extremists to the country, the two still went ahead to express gratitude to their hosts.

They described Ghanaians as nice and hospitable people, adding that they were excited to be in the country.

“We are very happy for the warm reception that Ghana is known for. Ghanaians are very good people. We are very excited to come to Ghana because we know some of the things about Ghana.

“We are not part of any group for example Al-Qaeda or other things, we don’t belong to any part of them. We are healed, we want to leave very normal lives. Allah bless you and the people of Ghana,” they said.

- See more at: http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/56089-fear-not-we-are-not-in-ghana-for-revenge-guantanamo-bay-ex-detainees-speak.html#sthash.RnavvXZb.dpuf