Gambia President "not welcome in Ghana" afrol News, 29 June - President Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia knows he is not a popular man in Ghana. But he nevertheless is to participate in the African Union (AU) summit in Accra that starts on Sunday. Ghanaian MPs say he is "not welcome" and activists plan anti-Jammeh demonstrations.
A total of 52 African Heads of State may participate at the 1-3 July AU Summit in the Ghanaian capital. Most local attention is however directed towards the Gambian leader.
President Jammeh internationally has a growing reputation of a cruel despot, the terminator of the Gambian press, a torturer, a fake AIDS-curer and the worst dictator in contemporary West Africa. But in Ghana, Mr Jammeh is most known for being responsible of the slaughtering of 44 Ghanaian immigrants.
In July 2005, a group of 46 Ghanaians was arrested at The Gambia's border with Senegal together with six national from other African countries - all seeking to find their way towards Europe. The Ghanaian version of the story is that they where framed up in a fake coup and butchered to death. Only two managed to escape and lived to tell about the incident.
The slaughter caused outrage in Ghana and after considerable pressure from Accra, a joint Ghana-Gambia investigation looked into the incident. But the Gambian party has been branded "uncooperative" by Ghanaian officials in these attempts to shed light on the issue. Human rights groups meanwhile have concluded on "extra-judicial killings" and the Accra government has lost confidence in its Banjul counterpart.
On this background, Ghanaian politicians this week have demonstrated their disgust with President Jammeh's participation at the Accra AU Summit. Ghanaian Minority Spokesman on Foreign Affairs, John Mahama, told the local online media 'Joy News' that it was "unfortunate" Ghana cannot stop Mr Jammeh from attending the AU Summit. "We are not happy he is coming and he is not welcome indeed," Mr Mahama was quoted as saying.
Also Ghana's Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister, Akwasi Osei Adjei, today told 'Joy News' that the Accra government was not at all pleased with the lack of cooperation from The Gambia. But he also underlined that Ghana was not in a position to stop Mr Jammeh from participating at the AU Summit, indicating his government would have preferred such an option.
The same feeling is widespread among ordinary Ghanaians, who still have the 2005 slaughter freshly in mind. During this week, several demonstrations have been planned for the Accra Summit. Human rights activists announced demonstrations against President Jammeh's attending of the Summit. Other demonstrations were to address the situation in Darfur and in Zimbabwe.
But Ghanaian police today announced they had banned all demonstrations during the Summit, referring to security concerns and "overstretching" of police capacity. Around 2,000 police are to protect the Summit, counting on assistance from the armed forces. As demonstrators do not need police permits in Ghana, some minor manifestations nevertheless are expected.
To meet popular demands regarding a reaction towards the unpopular Gambian President, Ghanaian President John Kufuor is now expected to address this unresolved issue in meetings with his Gambian counterpart. Media reports even indicate President Kufuor is considering bringing up the issue in front of other African Heads of State.
By staff writers
© afrol News
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