The flag bearer of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says it is “premature and a stab in the back of ECOWAS” for President Mills to have publicly denounced the collective decision of the sub-regional body when the group had not exhausted the use of diplomacy in dealing with the Ivorian crisis.
He described as “an act of blowing hot and cold and a diplomatic blunder” the President’s recent comments on the situation in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana’s position on it.
Speaking at a press conference, which was also addressed by the Chairman of the NPP, Mr Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Nana Akufo-Addo said ECOWAS had not reached the point of requesting for troops from Ghana, hence the pronouncement that Ghana would not contribute troops was unfounded.
He cited the Liberian crisis on which ECOWAS took a collective decision to use military force to intervene and explained that out of the 16-member countries, only three, including Ghana and Nigeria, contributed troops.
He said the others who did not participate in the military intervention did not initially kick against the decision to send troops to Liberia, as was being done by President Mills.
The NPP flag bearer was of the view that Ghana was a pivotal and responsible member in sub-regional and international issues and, therefore, it should whole-heartedly support ECOWAS in all its decisions in bringing a lasting solution to Cote d’Ivoire.
Nana Akufo-Addo said it would not be in the interest of Ghana to fold its arms and watch while the situation in Cote d’Ivoire deteriorated because of the repercussions it could have on the country.
He said that was the reason that had over the years informed Ghana’s determination to invest heavily in bringing peace to its neighbours, especially Cote d’Ivoire.
He said the determination of when to use military force did not lie in the hands of Ghana but ECOWAS, for which reason Ghana should not be seen to be thwarting the efforts of the sub-regional body.
Referring to President Mills’s claim that Ghana should mind its own business and that Ghana was not the one to select a leader for Ivorians, Nana Akufo-Addo noted that if Ghana did not support ECOWAS to find a solution to the Ivorian problem, any full-scale war in that country could have serious consequences on Ghana.
He said Ghana was obliged, as a beacon of hope in Africa, to ensure that the democratic wishes of the people of Cote d’Ivoire, which had been upheld by ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations Security Council, were respected.
Asked what he would have done differently, the former Foreign Minister under Kufuor’s administration said he would have ensured that Ghana, being part of ECOWAS members that appended their signatures to the Abuja Accord on Cote d’Ivoire, acted within the collective decision of ECOWAS.
He described the call for his personal position on the issue as “fanciful, infantile and hypothetical”.
Nana Akufo-Addo said President Mills should use Ghana’s election experience over the years, especially how he (President Mills), after serving as Vice President, lost two elections but bided his time for eight years before winning the will of the people to finally become President.
Reading the NPP’s statement, Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said the conflicting signals by President Mills on Ghana’s position was having a negative effect on international efforts to resolve the Ivorian crisis.
“Regrettably, Ghana is fast losing face as a major stumbling block against efforts to bring to an end Gbagbo’s quasi-military coup which has been massively condemned by a concerted combination of regional, continental and international pressure,” he added.
He said since the President met media practitioners at the Castle early this month, he (the President) and his spokespersons had been giving conflicting and inconsistent positions.
The NPP Chairman said the Foreign Minister, Alhaji Muhammed Mumuni, commenting on the confidential cable from Ghana’s Ambassador to the UN, had said, “It is in fact an affirmation that a military option is no option at all. In other words, in defining a formula for resolving the Ivorian crisis, no resolve should be made to military intervention....”
He said ironically, it was Alhaji Mumuni who first opted for a military alternative, explaining that although the December 7, 2010 communiqué by ECOWAS had not called for military action, Alhaji Mumuni, in an interview with Citi FM, an Accra-based radio station, on December 8, 2010, had stated, “ECOWAS will have no option but to resort to brute force to remove Gbagbo from office if diplomatic efforts failed.”
He said the indecision and weak leadership exhibited by President Mills in the Ivorian crisis culminated in ECOWAS sending a high-powered delegation, including the President of Burkina Faso and the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Messrs Blaise Compoare and Victor Gbeho, respectively, on missions across the world.
Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said the delegation had to re-assure the international community that ECOWAS “remained resolute in its decision to see to it that the democratic will of the Ivorian people is observed and in the shortest possible time”.
Stating the NPP’s position, he reiterated Nana Akufo-Addo’s earlier statement that the nation had noted with approval the call by President Mills for Ghanaians to pray for peace in Cote d’Ivoire, noting, however, that much as Ghanaians believed in the efficacy of prayer, that alone could not be substituted for the active policy of Ghanaian diplomacy and engagement.
He said Nana Akufo-Addo had urged Ghana and the international community to avoid the spectre of Cote d’Ivoire descending into the status of a rogue state whose leaders acted in defiance of domestic and international law.
“Also, bloodshed and chaos should not be the price for an individual seeking to remain in office at all cost,” Mr Obetsebi-Lamptey said, adding that in spite of that statement, the NDC was calling the NPP war mongers.
No comments:
Post a Comment