Uneventful Protest

The journey to a nationwide demonstration by organised labour was reached yesterday. Thankfully, no bones were broken, especially in the nation's capital, as law enforcement agents walked alongside their compatriots to the final destination.

The police in Accra and the leadership of organised labour must be congratulated on the feat: it showed that after all, a nationwide demonstration is possible without rubber bullets or teargas being fired.

It would have been dangerous for the authorities to stop the demonstration as some sought to do, by for instance, seeking a court injunction to stop the protest march or sheer brawn. The demonstration allowed for the ventilation of the anger in the workers. The stress in town is so intense that any attempt at suppressing it could lead to untoward repercussions.

We have observed, with regrets though, that while other regions reported uneventful outcomes, the Brong-Ahafo Region recorded assaults by policemen.

The pictures about policemen assaulting their civilian counterparts in the regional capital was such a horrible sight that we wonder whether unlike his counterparts in other regions, the Regional Commander ordered his officers to beat up those they were expected to protect. If he did, it was most unfortunate, especially since the Police Administration at the Police Headquarters level mapped out an effective strategy to deal with the demonstration nationwide.

It is important that whatever happened in the Brong-Ahafo Region during yesterday's demonstration is probed with a view to establishing what really took place.

In a vibrant democracy such as ours, demonstrations in the streets cannot be stopped and would therefore continue to feature here and there when people are disgruntled with the government policies and quality of governance. Police officers should therefore learn to live with it and grant permission to those who come seeking their nod to hit the streets over their grievances with the government.

Police officers such as the Brong-Ahafo Regional Commander, who are averse to demonstrations because of the extra fatigue they impose on them, should exit the Service and not vent their frustration on those they are paid to protect.

It is not an acceptable spectacle when policemen descend upon civilians as it happened in the Brong- Ahafo Region. It is a moral drawback which can spread to other parts of the country when those who indulge in it are not stopped.

It is instructive that the Police Administration does not condone such conducts and would therefore expectedly delve into this act of brutality so that those who were caught on camera perpetrating it are brought to book.

We are pained that what was by and large a successful demonstration by Ghanaian workers was marred by the irresponsible behaviour of deviant cops in Sunyani. This misconduct notwithstanding, shall we pop champagne to the health of the nation.