Features
Let us never forget -Part 1
There is a popular saying that forgive and forget. It is a good advice but there are certain events, which forgotten, can repeat themselves and create problems for us, as a country.
June has become a month of enormous significance in the life of this country called Ghana. About a month ago, we had cause to remember victims of the June 3 disaster.
This is an event that will be remembered not for joy but for sadness regarding the loss of lives and property and injuries sustained by the survivors.
The scar this sad event left on the psyche of the nation, will forever remind us of the need to prioritise safety in our environmental planning activities.
About 46 years ago, on June 26, 1979 to be precise, some military men both active and retired, were executed by firing squad after being found guilty by courts which lacked transparency.
Again on June 30, 1982, another event concerning the murder of three Justices and a retired military officer occurred, as attested by the busts in front of the Supreme Court building.
The reason why it is important to revisit these events is a certain narrative gaining momentum currently in the country, that we need a coup to bring some order and also help resolve our numerous socio-economic challenges.
I believe I have a responsibility as a senior citizen, to advise the Gen-Zs who have become enchanted by what Ibrahim Traore is doing in Burkina Faso.
What we should realise is that each country has its own history and it serves as an important guide to future events. Again, you cannot pick one instance and make a hasty generalisation that a coup is the way to go.
Check the history of coups all over the world and you can only arrive at the conclusion that, the worst democratic rule is better than an administration under a military junta. Our history of coups in this country has not been a pleasant story and gives credence to this assertion and conclusion.
In this country, mayhem was visited on innocent civilians for no apparent reason. Women were stripped naked and paraded along the streets and in some cases were positioned and ordered to spread their legs, for people to come and view their what mama gave them.
That was what came to be known in Ghana as ‘eye han, eye kanea’. People’s shops especially women, were taken over forcefully and their wares mostly cloth, auctioned to the public without recourse to any lawful process.
People’s lives were destroyed overnight and others were tried in what can best be described as kangaroo courts and sentenced to prison.
All it took was for someone to put a false charge on you and your life will be in serious jeopardy. A lot of people had to flee this country for fear of their lives because of false accusations levelled against them.
Since when, did it become a crime in this country to go for a loan from a bank in this country or in the whole world for that matter?
One of the military personnel who were executed by firing squad, Maj. General Felli, his crime was that, he had contracted a loan of 50,000 Cedis to invest in Agriculture. How can a man be murdered for this reason?
The stories that were told by people who were victims as well as witnesses at the hearings organised by the National Reconciliation Commission, were just heart wrenching. I vividly recall, a man collapsing in the witness box as he recounted how his vehicle was suddenly taken from him, while on his way to an appointment.
The next day, Chairman of the commission, announced that the man had passed on after he was rushed to the hospital.
NB: ‘CHANGE KOTOKA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TO KOFI BAAKO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT’
By Laud Kissi-Mensah