Findings of “arbitrary or unlawful killings by the government or its agents; cases of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or on behalf of the government; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious restrictions on free expression and media, violence and threats of violence against journalists, and unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists.
Also the substantial interference with freedom of assembly; serious government corruption; Judicial officials accepting bribes to expedite or postpone cases, “lose” records, or issue favorable rulings for the payer of the bribe etc.”
These are not findings that any true constitutionalist, liberal, progressive, or anyone who played any role, no matter how peripheral, in the ousting of the PNDC regime, can ignore, devalue, or otherwise trivialize.
Nor can anyone who is sincere about the rule of law, development in freedom, better Ghanaian agenda, etc. read such findings and simply move on.
These are findings that call for us to immediately set aside our political lenses and engage in deep reflection and soul-searching.
It was to avoid such events that we fought so hard to return to democracy and constitutionalism and we must ask why these events persist almost three decades after we rejected military dictatorship.
It is easy to take comfort in picking on the messenger. But that comfort will do nothing more than perpetuate these socio-economic maladies.
We cannot normalize this cycle of lawlessness at the highest levels, corruption, bad governance, poverty, and hopelessness without risking an imminent total breakdown of society.
Government of Ghana calls for immediate positive action to contain and address these recurring socioeconomic maladies, a massive reform of the political parties, their processes for selecting candidates, and their financing.
Even if the devil incarnate is the messenger, the value is irrevocably in the crystal-clear message.
Content created and supplied by: BATACH (via Opera
News )