Ghana Ready To Send Guantanamo Bay Detainees (GITMO 2) Back To America

Ghanaians are crying for America to come for their prisoners. Their time have expired and need to be return back to where they came from. Many are afraid of the stay of these two men and asking the government to send them back.

The questions to ask are:

Why were the two Yemen citizen not sent back to their mother country or stay in America?
Were suspected terrorists charged?
Did Ghana government take money from US government?
Was President NanaAddoDankwaAkufoAddo, the then candidate for NPP consulted?
What is the meaning of refugee and who is a refugee?
Can Ghana government send them back to America or Yemen or Saudi Arabia?

Credit: Maxwell K. Acquah – www.mkacquah.webs.com

In the year 2016, the United States of America, in agreement with Ghana government transferred two detainees namely Mahmoud Omar Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhubyfrom the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, located in Oriente Province South in Cuba to Ghana.

These two men were imprisoned because of 11^th September 2001 attacks in the US. According to article I read on BBC, they were never charged (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35249107 , 7 January 2016). My question is if they were not charged and are to be freed why were they not sent back to their mother country or compensated to stay in America?

On the website of Ghana government ((http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-35249107 , 7 January 2016), I quote, ‘the two Yemeni men were born in Saudi Arabia, but are considered citizens of Yemeni based on their family and tribal ties. Dozens of countries have received former Guantanamo Bay detainees, including other African states such as Uganda and Cape Verde.’ So this means Ghana is not the only country to receive perceived or suspected terrorists.

The Agreement
The agreement is unknown to Ghanaian citizens. Both the past and present government has the details. When the US ambassador to Ghana revealed that the then opposition party leader was consulted the party denied (http://citifmonline.com/2016/04/16/nana-addo-was-informed-about-gitmo-2-not-consulted-npp/).I quote, ‘The US Ambassador to Ghana, Robert Jackson has revealed that the Flag bearer of the largest opposition party in Ghana, New Patriotic Party (NPP), NanaAddoDankwaAkufo-Addo was consulted ahead of the transfer of the two Guantanamo Bay detainees to Ghana.’ (https://www.newsghana.com.gh/us-ambassador-exposes-akufo-addo-over-gitmo-2-trasfer/). In my opinion whether the then opposition leader was consulted or not he is now in power and has details of the agreement.

Ghana accepted them in my opinion are because of the friendship that exist between Ghana and US, and also some Africa countries have already accepted some of the people, and in addition because US has been aiding Ghana in so many ways. I also think Ghana couldn’t have refused because of the perception of superiority of America over Africa. The US also sees Ghana of its hospitable culture. Ghana is peaceful, and the ex-convicts (as I may call them) can freely live and enjoy life. It is interesting to be told by our leaders that those two Guantanamo Bay people are here under refugees’ status whilst there is no war in Saudi Arabia where they were born (even if there is no peace in Yemen) and America. If they are refugees as has been put out there, why did the USA not gave them a stay?

Refugee Status
Refugee is defined as a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. A refugee, generally speaking, is a displaced person who has been forced to cross national boundaries and who cannot return home safely.

Who is considered to be a refugee? According to the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, held by world governments in Geneva in 1951, a refugee is someone who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his. (www.culturalorientation.net/learning/about-refugees)

There is no war in Yemen the mother country of Mahmoud Omar Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby or Saudi Arabia where they were born. Even if these countries do not like them couldn’t US have made them stay with them?The US because they said the two men are perceived to be dangerous wouldn’t want them there. Could Ghana have asked US to receive perceived terrorists as they asked Ghana? These men do not qualify to be refugees and must be in their country. If the US doesn’t see anything wrong and are harmless they should either made them stay with them or send them back to their country.

The executive power of Ghana
Ghanaians would have been quiet if these two men were just ordinary refuges but they are not. They are perceived to be dangerous and have an affiliate with some terrorist group(s); that’s what Ghanaians are afraid of. If the US which claim to be superpowers and upon all their weapons of mass destruction are afraid to give them permanent stay; why should they create enemies for Ghana that does have anything.

The executive power of Ghana can send these two people back to America without any breach of UN refugees’ law. Many awarded contracts are being reviewed by government and some may be cancelled. So I would plead that the government exercise its executive power as he is exercising it in reviewing contracts and other policies to send the people to America.

Majority of Ghanaians are against the stay of GITMO 2, the president can just tell the Americans ‘my people do not want your prisoners’.

The blame game between NDC and NPP is too much; nothing prevents Ghana to deport the GITMO 2 people.

NOTE: Feel free to contact the writer for any correction of grammatical error you may find.

Credit, Maxwell Kobina Acquah, www.mkacquah.webs.com and www.facebook.com/mkacquah[email protected]

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