Dr Adam Bonaa, a Security Analyst, has criticised the conduct of some protestors of the Democracy Hub during their recent demonstration, describing it as unacceptable.
More than 50 protestors were arrested by the Police during the three-day demonstration, which happened between Saturday, September 21 and Monday, September 23, 2024.
The protestors, who have been accused of engaging in acts of lawlessness, were arraigned and remanded into Police and Prison custody by a Circuit Court in Accra early this week.
They are to reappear before the court on October 8 and October 11, 2024.
The arrest and the subsequent detention of the protestors have sparked debate among section of the public, with some human right groups calling for their release.
Speaking on TV3’s “The Key Points” programme on Saturday, Dr Bonaa criticised the conducts of some of the protestors during the demonstration.
According to him, although the protestors had a genuine cause to protest, the actions and inactions of some of the demonstrators on the day called for concern.
For instance, he said, it was wrong for the protestors to block a major road to a referral hospital– the 37 Military Hospital, thereby endangering the lives of others.
“We are all against galamsey, but if you are demonstrating you don’t take the law into your own hands,” Dr Bonaa said.
Also, the Security Analyst faulted the leadership of the protestors, particularly Oliver Barker-Vormawor for some of the events that ensued during the demonstration, saying they did not do enough to ensure the protestors abided by the laws.
While acknowledging the excesses in the Police’s attempt to ensure law and order, Dr Bonaa commended the Service for how it handled the issue.
“Over the years, there have been significant improvements, it is important to acknowledge the improvement while talking about the duty not to be excessive. The Police had a duty on the day to ensure law and order because we saw some of them (protestors) literally take the law into their own hands,” he said.
Mr Martin Kpebu, a Private Legal Practitioner, speaking on the same programme, accused the Police of violating the rights of the suspects
“What the Police did constitutes a great violation of our constitution, police arresting the suspects without allowing lawyers and relatives to access them is a violation of their rights because you need a lawyer in there from day one,” he stressed.
Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Vice Presidential Candidate, National Democratic Congress (NDC), has expressed concern about reports that the democracy hub protestors were treated with high-handedness during their three-day demonstration in Accra.
A statement issued by Mr James Agyenim-Boateng, the Spokesman of the NDC’s Running Mate, copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the reports of manhandling, arrests, starvation, denial of access to family and legal counsel by the police, as well as the subsequent remand of the protesters, including a pregnant lady, by an Accra Circuit Court were alarming.
It said the brutal and high-handed response of the authorities, raised questions about the government’s commitment towards fighting against illegal mining and the destruction of Ghana’s water bodies, forest and farmlands.
The statement stressed that Prof. Opoku-Agyemang expected the authorities to re-direct their clampdown on the protesters toward a genuine fight against illegal mining and its harmful effects on waterbodies, the health of the people, destruction of cocoa farms and the implications for food security.
The statement said it was incongruous that those actively behind illegal mining were freely walking about and smiling all the way to the bank, while protesters who were concerned about the harmful impact of the menace were being suppressed.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang had therefore urged the Government to desist from suppressing the right of Ghanaians to protest, especially as protesting were fundamental to their human rights.
The statement said the “feudal, authoritarian, and early century reactions by the Government to a peaceful protest,” had no place in a 21st century democracy, and called for an immediate end to the persecution of the protesters and unconditionally release those in custody.
The statement said the Government should be taking a cue from the NDC’s pledge to professionally train illegal miners and give them expert mining advisory services, including attaching mining engineers to their operations, to ensure responsible mining without adverse impact on water bodies, forest reserve and the environment.
GNA