The Minority in Parliament has condemned what it described as an alarming culture of impunity under the President Akufo-Addo government following demolition of the Bulgarian Embassy in Accra at Kakramadu Road, Plot No. 10 East Cantonments.
According to the side, the shocking, lawless, provocative and mafia-style operation is not only a stab to diplomacy but an unrivalled audacity that must not be allowed to fester.
“Armed rogue elements with extra fortification from deviant land guards and errant personnel allegedly from the Cantonments Police Station had the sheer effrontery in broad daylight to evict Bulgarian Embassy staff, throw out inviolable assets belonging to the Bulgarians and assaulted the Honorary Consul, Mr. Nicolaas C.M. van Staalduinen in his effort to restrain them.”
“Valuables including generators, computers, printers, refrigerators, archival documents, which represent a treasure trove of deep historical bonds and a stash of vital diplomatic exchanges were not spared by the marauding encroachers.”
“They subsequently returned at dawn to raze down the entire Embassy. The perpetrators are now building their own structure with the speed of light, at day and night, to conclude their nefarious mission,” the Minority revealed.
Minority leader Haruna Iddrisu described the incident as a diplomatic blunder by the Akufo-Addo government.
The President, he said, is Ghana’s key diplomat with a duty to keep relationships with foreign friends and neighbours and expressed disgust at the reported demolition of the Bulgarian Embassy.
“This is unacceptable and can severe ties between Ghana and Bulgaria and its other foreign allies. We just don’t want to believe that all this is happening under the watch of President Akufo-Addo, a former foreign Minister and former Attorney-General.”
“He cannot even respect the Vienna Convention on Diplomacy, we are disappointed,” he added.
Ranking Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in a statement condemned the demolition and indicated it is a grotesque violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961.
This latest act, he said, follows another brazen demolition of the Nigerian diplomatic property that strained bilateral relations with the West African neighbour and triggered a war of words and almost led to conflict.
According to him, unbeknownst to many Ghanaian taxpayers, they are now spending millions of Cedis to restore the Nigerian diplomatic facility as adequate compensation.
“Credible and verified information point to the fact that all these grave violations have been possible because of a “powerful man” behind the invasion, demolishing, construction and purported takeover.”
“I shall have him exposed in due course, save to add that those who consider themselves strategic allies of the Akufo-Addo presidency must reflect deeply on how their conduct will impact on the long term legacy of their most-favoured government,” he said.
Mr. Okudzeto noted the NDC caucus in Parliament and the vast majority of law-abiding Ghanaians would certainly not accept this detestable misconduct and will not allow the criminal masterminds to get away with this.
The Minority, he said, will demand a full public parliamentary probe into these bizarre circumstances with the view to identifying all the conspirators and bringing them to justice.
He said, “We shall not allow the shadowy characters behind this hideous act to enjoy the comfort and security of anonymity; we shall smoke them out and their collaborators, and ensure that never again would a few greedy bandits damage our hitherto high diplomatic reputation.”
The Ranking Member condemned the unresponsiveness of Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to numerous queries from the Bulgarians, particularly after the Bulgarian government sent a delegation led by Ambassador Yanko Yordanov to Ghana last month, which has not helped in easing tensions.
He applauded the Bulgarians for their exceptional patience since the attack and emphasized a friendly country such as Bulgaria, which shares rich historical ties with Ghana from the Nkrumah era, and has only recently announced a generous scholarship package for Ghanaian student evacuees from Ukraine does not deserve to be subjected to crass lawlessness from a few corrupt nepotistic brigands determined to tarnish Ghana’s good name.
