ATTRITIONS OF JUNE 4 REVISITED…

…”Rawlings, Boakye Djan should be tried”!

BY ATO KEELSON &TIMOTHY ANTWI-OTOO

Several decades after the execution of eight senior military of officers, including three Former Heads of States, a Veteran Politician, Joshua Attoh Quarshie, is furious over why the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice, International Human Right Activists, and other International Human Right Organizations, have not queried former President Rawlings and his then second in command at the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council (AFRC) junta, that carried out that heinous act.

The AFRC overthrew the Supreme Military Council II (SMC II) government of General Fredrick William Kwesi Akuffo on June 4th 1979 at the time that the SMCII was preparing to hand over the reigns of power to a constitutional government. The intervention of the AFRC shifted the handing over to Dr. Hilla Limann's People's National Party (NPP) government from an earlier date to September 24, 1979.

As part of its house cleaning exercise, the AFRC junta executed three former Heads of State, General F.W.K. Akuffo, General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong and Lt. General Akwesi Amankwaah Afrifa, together with Major General Edward Kweku Utuka, Real Admiral Joy Komla Amedume, Major General Robert Ebenezer Abossey Kotei and Colonel Roger Feli at the Teshie Military range.

Mr Attoh Quarshie is worried about the hypocrisy of these organizations which have indicted and accused some former Heads of States of genocide, execution and war crime related issues and have brought them to face the law.

Speaking to TODAY in an exclusive interview, Mr Attoh Quarshie said “these International Human Right Activists and Organizations stood against the Ex-President of the US, George W. Bush, when he arrested the Ex-President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, prosecuted and finally had him executed, yet those who perpetrated similar atrocious killings in Ghana have not been brought to book and are walking freely.

“Despite the fact that Saddam Hussein had killed several innocent people, yet people protested against his execution, and why not the same in Ghana against the killings of our Former Heads of State in 1979?” the Veteran Politician questioned angrily.

Mr Quarshie said he personally confronted Major Boakye Djan on this issue and he confessed that he, Mr Boakye Djan, was not happy about the killings, since it was based on tribal sentiments, and no particular accusations were raised against them which deserve executions.

He said the “International Criminal Court has arrested the Ex-President of Liberia, Charles Taylor, and is being tried in a Special Court in The Hague for and genocide and crimes against humanity, yet those who were responsible for the killing of Ghana's three former Heads of State, Afrifa, Akuffo and Acheampong, and five respected, handsome, intelligent and experienced high ranking officers are walking freely, why? Is Ghana killers above the international human rights laws?”, queried Mr Quarshie.

“If the truth and justice prevailed in The Hague, and they are not hypocrites, they should let Ghanaians know why these people were executed. How can they issue an arrest warrant against Sudanese President who has not invited people to witness the killings in Sudan? This shows the international hypocrisy or so-called International Human Rights.”

He explained that the perpetrators invited people to come and witness the killing at Kpeshinaa, near Labadi Beach, but people have kept silence over all these things.

He also took a swipe against critics, spiritualist and traditionalist accusing them of being hypocrites.

“None of them was bold to condemn the killings of these people, adding, all these eight people had traditional rulers, yet none of them spoke against this wicked execution though the evil executioners invited all the citizen of this country, as well as international and local journalists to come and witness the killings and in the face of these the country do not demand the reason why they were killed up to today. How can God bless such a cruel nation?”

Mr Attoh Quarshie revealed that “though we shall cry for God to help and bless us, but He will not listen to us, till we take away this abominable crime from our shoulders”.

He warned that if this is not done, no one should talk about democracy in this country or spiritual leadership in the country since they are all cowards.

He noted that “anyone who fails to speak the truth over this issue is equally guilty as well as the perpetrators”. The Veteran Politician called on wulomei (fetish priests) and traditional rulers who knew that such bloodshed occurred in their holy place, Accra, to go and perform the necessary rituals and take away the spirits of those executed.

Mr Quarshie intimated that it is his belief that “these people's spirits are walking up and down at Kpeshinaa in spirit, and advised that something should be done”.

Further, he also urged the Wulomei to do this as early as practicable, since it is a taboo on the Ga Land, advising, all God-fearing Ghanaians to endeavour to read the following memory verse: Isaiah 33:1-2 and Isaiah 10:1-3.