Obed hints at a bloody 2008

The former National Chairman of National Democratic Congress (NDC) and now a leader of yet to be outdoored Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Dr. Obed Yao Asamoah, has pre-empted bloody clashes in the 2008 general elections, if they are left solely in the hands of the two major political parties in the country.

He said since key elements in the NDC were threatening a revenge by putting to jail all the members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), with counter resistance from the NPP to still hang on to power to avoid being put to jail, there was bound to be a do or die scenario in the country, a situation that could easily lead to chaos and anarchy in the country.

To avert the likely bloody clash in the country, he suggested the total rejection of the two parties by the electorate, and a replacement with more neutral and people-centered DFP, which has the stomach to accommodate all the divergent views and opinions about governance of the nation.

“ If the coming 2008 elections are left between the NDC and the NPP, there would be bloody clashes. We need to stop this. We should not allow this to happen. We need peace and unity in the nation for development,” he opined.

Dr. Asamoah, who was accompanied by Mr. Bede Ziedeng, the former Acting General Secretary of the NDC, who also resigned recently, Alhaji Illa Bawa, the former Greater Accra Regional 1st Vice Chairman of the NDC, Mr. Addison Smiley, Hajia Hawa, Mr. Adjei, Regional Coordinator of DFP, Representatives of Nii Okaija Adamafio, former Interior Minister and host of ex-NDC stalwarts, who have now joined the DFP, made this observation at Kofi Kwei, a suburb of Obom Domiabra constituency in Ga West District of Accra, recently.

According to him, the nation cannot be governed by politics of vilification, acrimony and vendetta and urged members to consider the DFP as the alternative to both NPP and NDC.

Recalling from history in the pre-independent era on why there was a split from the United Gold Coast Convention (UGCC), Dr. Asamoah, also the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General, said he now understood why others leave one party to form another.

“I used to wonder in those days why Kwame Nkrumah had to break away from the UGCC. Now I understand why he broke away. There comes a time when circumstances could not allow you to work with people that you have worked with before, that is what is happening now”.

“In those days, freedom was being used a lot. Today, we are fighting for freedom, for the democracy to be deepened in the society so that people with different views are vilified, abused or attacked by people on radios especially serial callers employed by people without any provocation at all.”

According to the veteran politician, “We in the DFP are in to revolutionarize freedom and setting up revolution to free the people from African politicians. We need to concentrate on things other than insults and threats. Threats and insults would not solve the problems of development and others. Threatening people with imprisonment would not solve the nation's problems.”

The DFP Leader bemoaned a situation where individuals with different opinions on issues, were subjected to various forms of innuendos, adding that in certain political parties, it was a crime to think differently. To him, such tyranny must be condemned, saying, “We in the DFP would not indulge in insults, threats and lies because those things do not solve the nation's problems. We should discuss issues on principles.”