Mills snubs June 4

The official sheet containing events lined up for the 30th anniversary celebration of June 4 uprising by the June 4 Secretariat might not include the name of sitting President John Evans Atta Mills.

But TODAY can say on authority that the non inclusion of the President in the celebration is neither an omission nor deliberate decision by the organizers not to include the President in the celebration.

Indeed the President, TODAY is reliably informed is not the least enthused about being part of the 30th anniversary celebration of June 4, in lieu of attempts by the organizers to go public on the celebration.

As a lawyer, the President is said to be wary about the legal implications of public celebration of an event that had been outlawed by the highest court of the land-the Supreme Court.

For once the celebration of the June 4 anniversary is assumed a high profile with the event being staged at the prestigious Accra International Conference Centre. It is under the theme: “Ensuring Accountability in our Democratic Dispensation; the Return of Power to the People”.

There will also be a wreath laying ceremony at the Flagstaff House, Cenataph by the United Cadre Front/ State Protocol tomorrow at 8 am and an anniversary rally at the former Kasoa market to be organized by the Awutu Senya Constituency of the United Cadre Front at 3pm.

The climax of the celebration will be a countrywide clean-up exercise also organized by the United Cadre Front at District, Municipal and Metropolitan Authorities throughout the country on Saturday, June 6th 2009.

Intelligence signal picked by the paper offers an indication that the June Secretariat is fervently preparing for tomorrow's celebration, with the possible inclusion of the security forces. However the presidency is said to be preventing the involvement of the security in the celebration.

The Vice President, John Dramani Mahama, who also doubles as the chairman of the Police and Armed Forces Council, investigations have confirmed has stuck vehemently against the involvement of the security personnel in the 30th anniversary celebration of the June 4 uprising.

With the passionate affinity of former President Rawlings towards such an occasion, and his hold on the Ghana's military as was witnessed in the recent parade that was organized by the Sunyani military barrack in his honour, perhaps it is only the event days-today and tomorrow, that Ghanaians would realize whether the stance of the presidency or that of the former President could hold sway under the circumstance.

The programme line up in possession of TODAY indeed confirms the non involvement of the President and his Vice. Speakers at the celebration which begins with lectures and speeches on Wednesday are either Rawlings loyalists or cadres who virtually rose to fame through the June 4, 1979 uprising and the December 31st, 1981 revolution.

The first Speaker for the day will be Research and Development Consultant, Mr. Carl Wilson, who is also a cadre of the June 4 and 31st December revolutions.

A former Minister of Education in the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) era, Dr. Mohammed Ben-Abdallah will be the second speaker. Dr. Ben-Abdallah, who is currently a Lecturer at the University of Cape Coast, will give a lecture and other poetry recital.

The third Speaker will be a Rawlings loyalist, Dr. Benjamin Kumbour who is also a deputy Minister of Health with former President Rawlings giving special remarks at the tail end of the programme.