Probe military attack on protestors, journalists – La youth petitions Bagbin

The Coalition of La Associations (COLA) wants the Speaker of Parliament, Alban Bagbin, to institute a bi-partisan probe into the events that led to an attack on some members of the Coalition and journalists last week.

A week ago, members of the group were attacked by the military after they thronged the Kpledzo lands around the military cemetery to protest what they said was the encroachment on La Stool lands by the military.

The spokesperson for the Coalition of La Associations, Jeffery Tetteh, said their call for a bi-partisan probe stems from the belief that “somebody might have given orders to the military, and they came there with a premeditated intention to cause harm to lives and property. That’s why we are asking Parliament to do [a probe]. We cannot leave such investigations in the hands of the army. So we want Parliament to do a good job on that”.

Speaking to the media, he described the attacks by the military as “unreasonable, because you can only go attacking somebody with weapons and ammunition when the person has similar weapons ready to fight with you.”

He added that the military’s action is contrary to their code of ethics because “the military came to the land, assaulted and brutalized innocent unarmed civilians.”

Meanwhile, the Chairperson of the Coalition, Oscar Nii Odoi Glover has expressed optimism about the yet-to-be-held meeting between La Stool Lands and the Ministry for Lands and Natural Resources on Friday.

“Since the issue happened, we’ve not heard anything from our organizers. Tomorrow, our fathers – that is the traditional council – will be going to meet the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources. Definitely, we expect that something productive will come out of the meeting. Apart from that, they have assured us that they will ensure that nobody goes onto the land. We will listen to them and we expect the military to also listen to them,” he said.

La stool lands and military brutality

On Thursday, 15th April 2021, a group within the La Traditional Council, the Coalition of La Associations, defied the orders of the police to suspend their intended demonstration over alleged encroachment by the military on La Stool lands.

Soldiers beat and chased away the demonstrators. Also, some media personnel like Citi News’ Nii Ayikwe Okine suffered a similar fate and were manhandled by some of the soldiers at the scene.

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) subsequently apologized to journalists and some other civilians who suffered military brutality during the protest.

---citinewsroom