Deputy General Secretary of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho says Ghanaians, [mainly the then NPP in opposition] were too quick to pick apart former President John Dramani Mahama’s decision to accommodate two Guantanamo Bay ex-detainees in Ghana.
According to him, if Ghanaians had exercised a bit patient, they would have gotten the genuine gist of the two former detainees' stay in Ghana.
“When you are resettling people, they must have a status. So these people [the detainees] were coming to a resettlement program in Ghana so certainly they have to enter the country on some status and the status is that, they must enter as refugees. Simple and short,” he said.
The NPP government is left with ‘no option’ than to keep the two detainees in Ghana after weeks of back and forth deliberations about their future in Ghana.
Whiles in opposition, some key members within the NPP were unhappy the then Mahama-led government accepted to provide accommodation for the ‘terrorists’ – the NPP considered to ‘send them back’ should they win power.
The NPP [now government in power] has announced that the two former Guantanamo Bay detainees in Ghana will continue to stay in the country although the two-year agreement with the US government has expired.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Shirley Ayorkor Botchway, who made this known in Parliament on Wednesday, said the two have been given refugee status and are therefore the responsibility of the Ghana government.
The move, however, seems to have enraged some majority MPs who blame the previous Mahama-led administration for their continued stay.
Defense Minister contributing to discussions on the floor of the House accused the previous government of granting the ex-Gitmo 2 refugee status which makes it difficult for government to send them out of the country.
But Koku Anyidoho on NEAT FM’s morning show ‘Ghana Montie’ said, the NPP together with some clergies ‘planted sticks’ in their own ears so that they will not pay attention to details of the agreement with the detainees.
“President Mahama mentioned compassionate grounds for accepting the detainees but some so called men of God said the president should apply compassion with common sense. People were not just ready to listen to President Mahama; they were not ready to listen to the NDC,” he said.
Adding that, “Mahama told them the story but they were not ready to listen. The NPP knew about this refugee status. They are now exposing their ignorance but we will not pardon them for that. The NPP should apologize to the country.”
Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana
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Koku, its very shameful, as a deputy Gen sec to assume that the status of refugee is set when one claims refugee status. It's the biggest ignorance and lies ever heard and told. Ask any Ghanaian who has entered any country as a refugee. The first step is to enter as a refugee claimant through an application process. Then you go for a hearing after background checks have been done whether you pose a security threat. Once the hearing is completed (a qusai-judiciary process) and a decision is made by the body authorized to grant refugee status, that is when one becomes a Convention Refugee. My understanding of the matter is that the Refugee board has granted them refugee status as Convention Refugees and that is very different from entering a country as a refugee claimant. So it is for the Foreign Minister to tell Ghanaians, how the Convention Refugee status was granted/conferred and whether it was just granted with or without a due process or there was a due process. That's the interrogation needed to determine the truthfulness of the past government and the present NPP govt because i can not buy what the Foreign Minister is saying. When this matter came up last year, the Minister should have set in motion a process to unravel everything on the status of the Gitmos through a refugee board if there is one and Immigration dept because they will be responsible for any type of status of any person wanting to live in Ghana, being a foreigner. So Koku, Im sorry but coming into a country as refugee implies you come in to claim that status unless the UN is involved in the process. We have to interrogate the matter to determine if they were just granted as an underhand dealing or they applied to become refugees in Ghana.
I WONDER HOW A DEPT. GEN. SEC OF THE BIGGEST OPP.PARTY LIKE NDC CAN TALK LIKE THIS. MENTION THE NAMES OF THE NPP GURUS WHO WERE AWERE OF THEIR REFUGEE STATUS. JOHN MAHAMA DID THAT THING ALONE WITHOUT EVEN TELLING HIS CABINET.VICKED PRESIDENT WITH EVIL INTENTIONS.NOW GHANAIANS KNOW JOHN MAHAMA DID NOT HAVE GOOD THOUGHTS ABOUT US. HE WILL SUFFER FOR IT ONE DAY.
These NDc people are l.i.a.r.s.... They will never rule this country again..... John Ford Mahama took bribe and brought the ter..rorists into our country. NDc was 100% sure they will win the 2016 elections and they were caught pants down with the loss of the elections.
Eeiiii O.fuiiii Koku, when will you for once speak common s.ense?
Does koku anyidohu knows what is truth? This man has never told the truth in hid life and so why should Ghanaians believe him this time around?
Look at this adoow. As usual his brain is dead once again.
So, a whole deputy general secretary of a party that has ruled before and seeking to rule again later in life that it should take only two weeks for even illegal entrant to make a move for refugee status? Why were they given refugee status months after their arrival into this country. Some of these people can spare us their ignorance, its no longer funny
See that is the sadestt thing to hear. These politicianz are so weakk mindded that you can even give them poizen to Ghana and they the politicianz will come to defend it as Coke. It is a factt that Mahhama has a weakk conscienze. As long as monney is involved, he will do anything for it. Just dont care.
“Mahama told them the story....He told the ''story'' to who Koku? you are not growing younger in politics so stop behaving as a toddler in politics.
And NDC deliberately refused to capture it in the handing over notes. In fact Prez Mahama is the cause of the problems of Ghana. It was a great mistake he was smuggled to the presidency.