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Ex-president John Rawlings says his comments on BBC about the death of President John Mills were without malice. In a statement the ex-president said he still respects Mills' contribution to the development of the country. His statement follows a barrage of criticisms that greeted his BBC interview shortly after Mills' death. He told BBC on Wednesday, a day after the President had passed, that whilst the death of Prof Mills was regrettable, he (Rawlings) was convinced Mills would have averted his own death, or at least prolonged it, if he had done something wiser. His comments were heavily criticised by members within the NDC with the latest coming from family of late president. A statement signed by the head of Mills' family Abusuapayin Ekum-Kyerba Twidan described Rawlings' comments as "uncouth, derogatory and uncensored insults." Shortly after the release of the statement, Mr. Rawlings broke his silence with a statement regretting the comments made on BBC. He said the comments were without ill-motives. "The Office of President Rawlings would like to assure the family of former President Mills that no ill motive was intended in the comments of President Rawlings. "President Rawlings wishes to assure the family of the late President Mills that he retains a healthy respect for the contributions that President Mills made to the country of Ghana and the NDC party. Any misunderstanding or misrepresentation of the statements on BBC is therefore regretted," the statement further added.