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Rawlings & Mills must ceasefire and talk - Dr. Spio-Garbrah

By Citifmonline
Politics Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah
JUN 6, 2012 LISTEN
Dr. Ekow Spio-Garbrah

A former flagbearer aspirant of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, has admonished sitting President John Evans Mills and party founder Jerry John Rawlings to 'ceasefire' and jaw-jaw.

According to Dr. Spio-Garbrah, who has held several positions in the NDC and recently resigned as a vice chairperson of the party, 'mutual forgiveness has to be one of the most important rules that we should abide by.'

His comments come on the back of the never-ending verbal feud between the 'camps' of the founder and his family - the Rawlingses – and government which is led by President Mills.

Former President Rawlings has over the years criticised the leadership style of Prof. Mills, accusing him of overseeing corruption and shunning the tenets and values on which the NDC was founded.

Conversely, government has taken an entrenched position, ignoring and sometimes responding harshly to the comments of the founder. These Dr. Garbrah is asking both sides to stop and rather use dialogue in resolving their differences.

Speaking on Accra-based  Joy FM  on Wednesday, Dr. Spio-Garbrah quoting from the Bible intimated that 'Matthew 6:54 says that 'I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you'.

'So to the extent that anybody believes that somebody hates them or has said anything negative about them, I think there's a lot of room for mutual forgiveness, and at the end of the day we should also remember the admonishing that we should not judge others lest we be judged.'

He added: 'If we don't follow that example, especially for those who are in power now and we realise that if we don't unite and move forward peacefully into the election, another party can take over. 

“Let's also look at Matthew 5:25, it says 'agree with thy adversary (in your own party) quickly while thou act in the way with him (whiles you're on good terms or while you can still talk) lest at anytime the adversary delivers thee to the judge and the judge deliver thee to the officer and the officer cast thou into prison', so that's one option that awaits us.'

Dr. Spio-Garbrah, who is the CEO of the Action Chapel International and head of the Dominion University College added that, 'recently there seem to be a number of news reports indicating that there has been a decision at a certain point that those who were attacking former Minister [of Justice] Martin Amidu should put a halt to it and I've heard Martin Amidu also say that since he has been approached by some elders of the party not to write anymore and not to say anything he's also willing to as it were ceasefire.

'So a ceasefire can be arranged. Former President Rawlings is a peacemaker in Somalia, he is a military man, and he understands ceasefire, we have President Mills also who is a  Nana Asomdwe Hene , who has also helped in Cote D'Ivoire and other places as a member of the AU to bring peace to parts of the continent, so they both understand how to bring about peace or to try to bring about peace.'

Source: Martin Asiedu-Dartey/Citifmonline

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