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03.06.2009 Politics

June 4th is back

By Daily Guide
June 4th is back
03.06.2009 LISTEN

Flt. Lt Jerry John Rawlings The annual June 4th activities in commemoration of the putsch which brought the then Flt. Lt Jerry John Rawlings into political limelight is back after a long break, having been struck off the calendar of official state celebrations.

Since the downgrading of the event, ex-President Rawlings and some members of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) sulking over the development have always strived to keep the flame of the controversial coup d'état of 1979 alive through commemorations of sorts outside the public view and the ambit of the state in the form of public lectures at places like the Arts Centre and the Teachers' Hall.

With the assumption of power of the NDC, the commemoration appears to have found its way into the purview of state protocol once more as frantic activities are on by various players including the Police and the Military.

In connection with the resuscitated commemoration, a wreath-laying ceremony at the Flagstaff House Cenotaph is on the cards.

A special cloth will be spotted by sympathizers of the June 4th putsch which saw the execution of a number of former heads of state.

President John Evans Atta Mills is scheduled to grace the occasion with his presence in solidarity.

According to information gathered by DAILY GUIDE, one of the highlights of the occasion will be a public lecture at the Ghana International Conference Centre where ten speakers are scheduled to speak, among them are Mrs. Betty Mould-Iddrisu, Attorney General and Justice Minister, and Fiifi Kweetey, Deputy Finance Minister.

The daughter of the late Justice D.F. Annan, one-time Speaker of Parliament, has been scheduled to be the MC for the occasion, DAILY GUIDE has learnt.

Previous June 4 lectures were held at the Teachers' Hall, not so however with its upgraded status as organisers want to mark it in pomp and pageantry.

The programme itself has been hijacked by the 31st December Women's Movement from the cadres or foot-soldiers of the revolution.

The section of the Liberation Road between the Afrikiko and the Christ the King Parish Traffic Intersections to the 37 Military Hospital will be temporarily closed to traffic from 7am to 11am.

There will therefore be no access on the Cantonments Post Office to Christ the King road during the period.

The weeks of doubts and speculations as to whether the June 4 celebration will be upgraded into a state affair is now over as it is certain the event will take place.

Elsewhere in Techiman, Brong Ahafo Region, the Progressive Voluntary Organizations (PVOs), made up of cadres of the June 4th and PNDC revolution, have lined up programmes to mark the 30th anniversary celebration at Techiman on Thursday, June 4th 2009.  

The PVOs which went into comma when the NPP was in power is poised to preach the gospel of the June 4th revolution.

In the Eastern Region, the occasion would be marked with colour.

In the case of the Brong Ahafo Region, the regional celebration will take place in Techiman so that cadres from Atebubu, Pru, Sene, Nkoranza, Kintampo, Wenchi and Jema will join their counterparts from the Ahafo area of the region to converge at the market nerve centre of the region.

Kwadwo Nyamekye Maafo, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister and a cadre himself, is expected to address the occasion.  

Meanwhile invitation cards have been widely distributed to various organizations and individuals to grace the occasion.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE on the celebration of the June 4th revolution, a 70-year-old ex-serviceman, WO II Sarpong Kumankomah, said left to him alone, the celebration should not go on in this era of  democratic dispensation.  

He said that he took part in the June 4th revolution but 30 years down the road, he has come to realize that the atrocities committed by some of his colleagues should not be replayed for the younger generation. He said the occasion should rather be used as a sober reflection rather than celebration, asking, “Are we going to celebrate the murder of Afrifa, Acheampong, Akuffo and co or what?”

By A.R. Gomda, Accra & Eric Bawah, Techiman

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