Kwesi Pratt defends claims

The Managing Editor of the Insight Newspaper, Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr, says he has evidence to support his claims that the US government is planning to set up a military base here in Accra.

According to him, the establishment of the base is part of a grand design by the US to control West Africa.

Mr. Pratt warns the establishment of such a base in Ghana is recipe for disaster and calls on Ghanaians to stand against it.

Speaking in an interview with Joy News, Mr Pratt said his claims are contained in a US committee's report written by US Vice President Dick Cheney.

“The evidence we have is in an official report prepared by the US Vice President which is called the Cheney Report. And it is a report commissioned by President Bush himself when he set up the Cheney Committee to review how to meet America's energy requirement up to the year 2015. If the US embassy here is denying it then I don't know what to say,” he said.

Mr Pratt said having a US military base in Ghana would lead to continuous conflict in the near future as it prevails in placing that US troops are present.

“The presence of American troops and the dignity of all Ghanaians whether Moslems or Christians cannot co-exist. We cannot have a situation where we have foreign occupiers on our land. There is no basis for stationing American troops on our soil. And the stationing of American troops on our soil will clearly be an affront to the dignity of Ghanaians and it must be resisted,” he said.

Mr Pratt said: “I am calling on people of Ghana to resist the presence of US military base on our soil.”

He suggested that the only way to prevent it is by going on a peaceful demonstration and protest marches.