Criminal libel will be back ?Aggudey

The 2004 flagbearer of the Convention People?s Party (CPP), George Aggudey says one of the prime decisions he will take when he becomes president after 2008 will be to revisit the Criminal Libel Law.

The NPP government repealed the Criminal Libel Law.

He said the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law after the 2000 elections was a mistake because President Kufuor rushed in abolishing it.

Aggudey is worried that people who have access to the print and electronic media use it to malign the people they disagree with.

The former flagbearer of the CPP described this as unfortunate because everybody has a role to play in society.

? The fact that you have disagreement with somebody should not give you the opportunity to destroy him or her through the media?, he said.

Mr Aggudey was addressing some member of the CPP at a rally at New Edubiase in the Adansi South district of the Ashanti region last Friday.

He said his prime interest is to protect everything Ghanaian so that people could come out to offer their brains for the betterment of the country.

? That is why I want to revise or revisit the Criminal Libel Law so that everybody in this country could feel protected.

Politicians in particular are mostly the victims because everybody thinks that they have the right to write against you,? he said.

According to him the repealing of the law has left the country currently in a situation where almost all the newspapers captures stories that are not factual but lies and propaganda.

Mr Aggudey says it has also given room to insubordination, reining of insults and disrespect for government.

? It has become the order of the day to hear people using irritating tones and abusive language on various radio stations across the country just to damage government, politicians and prominent individuals in society and all these things are going on because of the repeal of the Criminal Libel Law,? he said.

He believes that if the law is revisited, discipline, respect for authority and harmony which is currently lacking in the country, would be brought back.