To hell with human rights activists – Nii Lantey Vanderpuije

An Aide to the President, Nii Lantey Vanderpuije, has damned human rights activists who dare to condemn the excesses of security agencies in the execution of their duties. He said the people of Bawku - where there were reports of human rights violations by soldiers - cannot continue to live in such a violent atmosphere and that those who perpetrate the violence must be crushed to ensure peace. “It is time those who do not want peace are forced to maintain the peace,” he said. Nii Lantey Vanderpuije made these statements following reports of violent clashes in Tamale on Sunday which saw the municipal Police commander, ACP Abanga shot in the arm during an NPP delegates’ congress. According to ACP Abanga who spoke to Joy news, the scuffle started when police tried to resist the force entry of a busload of youth into the premises of the congress. The bus was said to have been carrying the current regional chairman of the party. He said Police fired tear gas to disperse the crowd at the delegates’ conference and a fracas ensued after a group of macho men, who thronged the premises, were refused entry to the main hall because they did not have accreditation. Speaking on Metro TV’s Good Morning Ghana Programme Monday, the President’s Aide stated that if eliminating “mad men” who just go out shooting and killing innocent people will bring peace in the community, “they should be eliminated, adding that “If people are not ready to allow people to sleep in peace, those people must not be allowed to sleep in peace” either. He noted that as a country, Ghana “is getting tired of a few disorderly elements putting all of us under” siege and that “we must break out of those shackles and confront them because sometimes violence begets violence.” He appealed to the people of Bawku to point out those they know are in possession of guns and other destructive weapons so they can be dealt with. But the Member of Parliament for Bimbila Constituency, Domnic Nitiwul, who was a co-panelist on the Good Morning Ghana Programme, cautioned the President’s Aide on his pronouncements, saying that if his comments reflected the government’s position on the Bawku crisis, then lawlessness was being dangerously preached. He advised government to allow the security agencies who are professionals in their own capacity to handle the situation. “As civilians", he warned, "if we bring our own sentiments into this issue, we will throw the country into chaos”. By: Dorcas Efe Mensah/Myjoyonline.com/Ghana