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Did JJ Break The Law? - What The People Are Saying

Sun, 25 Aug 2002 Source: .

Results of the Poll

I was on a private visit to Ghana when this issue came up. The govt needs a good lesson in democracy.
-- Thor (MP of another country)

Rawlings is not guilty of anything, has Kuffour forgotten what he said when he was in opposition? He should be careful, because he will soon be at where Rawlings is now.
-- okuntwa

Rawlings should shut up. He was never an advocate of free speech so he should not enjoy free speech. He should fade into oblivion.
-- bibi

He never broke any law...the present regime made more subversive comments than he did when they were in teh opposition
-- alr

The rule of law entitles every citizen to speak his or her mind in every national issue.
-- KWASI KUMAH

Laws must not necessarily be written. he should know enough to advise himself accordingly. i think however that the kuffour admin is playing into his hands. he should be ignored .
-- nana otu turkson

Rawlings' statement although irresponsible, was totally lawful. It is true that the man has a history of seizing power forcfully, but charging him with treason when he was just execising his rights under the constitution (freedom of speech) would be setting a bad precedent. The man has nothing to do with his life at the moment, he is just creating a diversion because once again the focus is on the money that allegedly, he and his wife stashed in foreign accounts. He should be ignored and allowed to wallow in misery, just like Obed is doing.
-- Chucky

Infact i dont really see why there should be such pressure on him to explain, what he said and how he got those cars. If NPP thinks that he has done wrong, let the laws work, this is pure witch hunting to jj. We shall not allow u make noise.
-- salifu

Many such speeches were given by eg kofi wayo ,dan lartey ,why were there no government reactions?
-- eddie

no. i think he is saying the truth.i am not in the country now.but can feel the hardship my follow ghananias are facing today.
-- abukari andani

Does he have to start a coup before you take him seriouly. Rawlings remains a treat to the country as a whole. To avoid a civil war do not allow him to continue with these speechies, he is a tyrant and the country does not belong to him. Ghanaians, if we have to progress have to think about the future and not just the present and Rawlings represents a bad hope and a bad future for all of us he must shut up before some one shuts him up for good.
-- Peter Becton

What is democracy without freedom of speech . All Ghanaian citizens, including JJ Rawlings, should be able to express their personal views freely. God bless Ghana.
-- Ato Kwamena

Evil speeches brings evil reactions, therefore he must be called before the court to know his intentions
-- Augustine A

During Rawlings's regime, the OPPOSITION did and said worse things than what Ralwlings is saying. Do we remember the KU ME PREKO demonstration on VAT which KUFFOUR admin. is enjoying TODAY? KUFFOUR is just reading meaning into Rawlings's pronouncements. Afterall RAWLINGS' mouth ibi gun.
-- ANANE-ABEBRESE

As a former president such ultterances shouldnt have said by him before then he should have consulted his advisory body or the legal interpretors to weigh the value of the use of words. secondly, he himself has done some so far in the Ex President Liman's era so knowing it very well that at this time all what he will be doing is a reference to his past glories or events thank you.
-- obiba JK

To me, there is nothing against the law in his speech as far as democracy is concern . What I think the BIN should do is to deal with him according to the law. In my opinion, no one should be silenced by anyone in power under democratic governance.
-- Wilfred Johnson

I think the ex-president is right. The kuffour government has fail us completely.
-- George

Rawlings is misdirecting the weak minds in the Ghanaian society. This amounts to conspircy to cause anarchy in the country. He needs to be more logical in his presentations. First and foremost he needs to clear himself from the several allegations against him. ie the presidential plane saga, high school fees for his kids, etc
-- Solomon Quaye

The paranoic atmosphere being created by the npp politicians is uncalled for. afterall, if they are doing the right things, why would they be afraid of a call for positive action?
anyway, it is not rawlings the man but the issues he raises that matter. he can be gotten rid of but the issues will remain. let no one pretend that ghanaians are dunderheads who will rush out at every call.remember what the french philosopher said? you can't stop an idea whose time has come!!!
-- kinky

I sugguest that Mr Rawlings should stay out from the Ghana politics. After 19 years of Great mess distroy in our belove country Ghana. I think it is enough for him to stay out of Ghana politics he shouldn't get himself involved in such a public speech like Kumasi and Ho speech.
Furthermore, the leaders of his party (NDC) should adviced him not to make himself like he is the only person ghana can do better for the country. I think the ( N D C ) party has no mutare person to lead the party without thier so called founder of the party J J the only High school president we have ever had in the country.
-- Kofi Ghanaian

Freedom of speech. take it in good faith. this is democracy not democrazy.
-- anonymous

If the people of ghana don't want the present regime; they will decide that through the ballot box ;not on the advice of mr rawlings
-- nana nketia

Which law did Rawlings break. Someone please educate me. i'm lost. His speech may be inapproprite but certainly not unlawful. Let's not confuse the two. I hear his speech may have constituted 'a treasonable act' Amazing! by the way what is a treasonable act? I think the ex president's ranting was totally uncalled for and in my opinion inappropriate but i don't think it is unlawful in any respect. Thank you
-- Osah

Rawlings is right because this present government is full of lies and has no sense of directions.
-- Francis

Freedoms have their limits and as a former president of this country, he should know the limits of his freedoms. If it had been his time, whoever made such a speech would have been languishing in BNI cells if he/she were lucky or at the Teshie rane, Bundase or an unknown location.
--Nana Gyan

The ex-President has every right under the constitution to express his opinion on bad governance. What the ex-P said, to me, cannnot be deciphered impulsively. It requires an unprejudiced mind to see the logic and values embedded in his philosophy of 'positive defiance', which implicitly bears the same meaning as 'postive change'.
The gov't not read evil into everything the ex-P says. A Gen Erskine once said, there's a lot of security lessons to be learnt from the man Rawlings. Let the NPP gov't eschew pride and learn from the experiences of the former President. He has his short comings alright but so far as Ghana's democratic dispensation is concerned, Rawlings needs a better treat than insults. having said that, those who think he has broken the law, should go to court. If not, then Rawlings should be left alone.
-- James Boakye

The best way to establish whether Rawlings broke the law or not is to arraign before a court. Some of us are not lawyers so we may not be able to assess his statements against the background of the constitution.
--Kwasi Yeboah

Why the hell can he not shut up his mouth and think about the rest of his life or engage in a meaningful business. Afterall he had his 19 years of "rule" He has to realise that no government can do things that are acceptable to all people(not even to the peoplein the government itself) I mean ex President Clinton is definitely not satisfied with all that President bush is doing.(niether are all americans) To call for any kind of defiance is wrong. I wish the people of Ghans will realise the importance of democracy. Many people think democracy is speaking your mind. I think it is something more than that. viz. be tolerant and respect the constitution and all about it. I cannot understand why the press in Ghana still give this man attention. Somebody who has thrown the civilation of a country more than 20 years back (that is what a coup does). Let is wake up!
-- Larry Akoto

The Non-Performing Party (government) is only being haunted by their past.
The likes of 'Kume Preko', 'Alliance for change', "we will make Ghana ungovernable...", etc. For 19 months, not a single project to show. 43 foreign trips, 76 nations =no investment. The reason Kuffour and his entourage only talks about Rawlings and his party when they go on these expensive reward the boys trips. Rawlings like any of us has the right to say his mind. He has the right to say 'kume preko' etc. Akans say "abaa yede bo Baah no, ye de bebo Takyi" (The cane that is used in caning Baah will be equally be used against Takyi). What is needed now is for Kuffour 'to visit GHANA'. Rawlings put down his suit, worked the gutters, farms, mud, beaches, raillines, bridge construction, and lead communal labor nationwide. Today you are enjoying the fruits of his hard labour, Kuffour. Stop disgracing Ghana. SHAME ON YOU, KUFFOUR & CO. You could not even handle and lead Kotoko, let alone lead a whole nation. W'anim agu ase.
-- BARIMA AGYENIM

I think if , Rawlings said categorically that, the ruling goverment should be booted out before his term of office expires,then,he has broken the law, by his speech, which to me is bordering on inciting the people against our constitunationaly elected goverment.
-- skiddo

The issue is not so much whether Mr. Rawlings broke the law as it is about whether Mr. Rawlings' speech impairs national security. Mr Rawlings enjoys immunity from prosecution under the transitional provisions. This effectively endows him with supra-rights while cursing his many victims with sub-rights. Sub-rights, because these victims have no recourse for the many crimes that Mr. Rawlings committed against them.

Underlying such a fragile and volatile constitutional arrangement, is the implicit assumption that Mr. Rawlings will exercise supra-responsibility.

When Mr. Rawlings fails to act with decency and make speeches that insults the sensibilities of his many victims, it is not very difficult to imagine how these constitutionally handicapped victims will want to take the laws into their own hands and wreak havoc on Mr. Rawlings.

Some have expressed concerns that Mr. Rawlings is preparing to overthrow the government. However, I do not believe that this is the case. Nor do I believe that Mr. Rawlings is capable of overthrowing the NPP government. His ability to overthrow governments is entirely overrated. The fact is Mr. Rawlings has never been a smart military strategist but has been the beneficiary of others' stupidity. The more serious concern is that one of his many enemies in the military will become so incensed with the current government's inability to hold Mr. Rawlings accountable for the many atrocities that he unleashed on the military establishment as well as on-going boom speeches. As you probably know, no group of Ghanaians dislike Mr. Rawlings more than the soldiers. He never won more than 20 percent of the votes at any of the barracks in the country.

National security is threatened whenever a man, who has killed others for owning a television set, can buy 4 luxury SUVs at over $300,000 and quickly turn around to lecture the country on probity accountability and integrity.

Mr. Rawlings has no appreciation of the pain and suffering being endured by his victims. He has no appreciation of the effects of his corruption on the body politic of the country. Mr. Rawlings has no appreciation that the majority of Ghanaians see him for the fraud that he really is. His failure to appreciate these things coupled with the failure of Mr. Kuffuor and his government to hold him accountable will eventually lead to his downfall!
-- Kweku Azar

It will be really strange and unsubstantiated to say that the speech of the former president breaks the law.Which law are we talking about over here? In fact it is becoming increasingly clear that most Ghanaians exhibit strong political affiliations in dealing with normal issues and statements of late.The reaction to Rawlings' statement has been recieved outside the country by objective analysts with regret. Have we already forgotten the fundamentals of democracy? Have we already forgotten about freedom of expression? Have lost consciousness by treating whatever Rawlings says with disdain and extreme opulence? My God. It is widely acknowled that the wise will always listern to all(every opinion) and but allow reason to be their guide.
To me ,it is grossly unnecessary for the government to be making matters out out this Rawlings statement.By so doing the government is in a tricky style lazying itself on the responsibility and challenge of steering Ghana forward.It is time the government sat and aggressively pursue programs and policies that will make Ghana an attractive haven for business and foreign investment. Lets give every citizen of the land the respect and rights due s/he as a citizen and be tolerant to divers opinions whilst concerntrating on issues that are essential to as a nation. For it is only through hardwork and respect for one another devoid of vengeance and retaliation that we can rationally expect to go forward as a nation.
-- Yao Amekor (St Louis ,MO USA)

Well, we should all remember that Rawlings started the same behaviour during the Liman administration, which eventually led to the overthrow of the PNP government by the same JJ Rawlings.
There are people, especially from the P/NDC party who wish Ghana is in flame so that they could get the "free launch" they were getting during the era of P/NDC.
Rawlings want to tell Ghanaians that he is the only person who has the right to criticize a government and nobody else. he want to "praise" Kwasi Pratt the very person he put to jail fourteen times without charge. He Rawlings is critical about kwaku Baako and threatening death when the latter questioned his wealth.
We are all aware of the brutalities they (P/NDC) committed against those they claimed to be the "enimies" of the so-called revolution.
Rawlings never saw anything wrong with the corruption, tribalism and nepotism within his party for the twenty years of his rule.
But he has the gust to question a two year-old government of the NPP.
Well if the P/NDC want to result to violence so that they are not brought to accountability and probility then they should remember that the majority of Ghanaians will equally result to the same method to get Ghana back to democracy.
Rawlings has all his children in Ireland and UK and he is telling others that they are corrupt,what a nonsense. We are all waiting.
-- kwabena Osei

What is freedom of speech? Is Ghana a democracy of under military. What didn't people say about Rawlings when he was president. Is this new to NPP. They are about to subvert our democracy and introduce facism. Watch out Ghana.
gahnaians4 democracy

He might not have broken the law, but he should follow the good examples of other Ex-Presidents like Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela etc who contribute constructively to national issues. He should not think Ghana cannot move to a better position without him for what has he got to offer again that he did not offer for the twenty years of his rein. He should better keep quiet or behave better. Was he not brought up in a proper way?
Atta Nuamah

There is every reason for me to believe ghana could not be any better than she has been in the past 20yrs. The lives of my people back home is worse. I said the NDC govt was very bad but at least they had sympathy for the average ghanaians when it came to tariffs on utilities. I think the NPP has done us more harm than good. They should stop apportioning unnecessary blames on Rawlings and deliver the campaign promises they made to the good people of ghana. We will react appropriately come dec 2004. Rawlings is a ghanaian. I never liked him but he seems to speak the truth which ghanaians refuse to accept. You should listen to what ghanaians here in london say on my radio station. They are fedup already.
-- Frank Anderson. UK

It is said "if you throw a ball at a wall it bounces back to you"
What is the different between president Kuffour's call for "Kume Preko", "Sie me preko", "Hye me Preko" and the like that preceeded the introduction to the very VAT which fruits he is currently enjoying and Ex President Rawlings calls for "Positive Defiance" to stop the NPP ROT?
They are all meant to stop Bad Govenance and Bad Policies.
Therefore:
If Kuffour and for that matter NPP organised "KUME PREKO " to stop VAT implementation,then Rawlings and for that matter NDC, could equally call for "yen hwe Ma mo nsei no" literally meaning "we won't look unconcern for you to cause the ROT ", to stop NPP's dramatic increase in the prices of basic necessities as well as it's privatization.

It's simply Payback time for the bombastic NPP executives. and their president MR. promise a lot but do little kuffour.
-- Nana Yaw Martin (Newark NJ)

JJ, You might not know me and you wife might also not know me. But to be frank cut this nonsensical behavior because you and your wife are hurting a lot of people of which in the Lord's will you would be bonded for the rest of your miserable life.
My reasons for these are, you and your wife are nothing but a bunch of thieves that have looted the coffers of Ghana , for many years. And now that Ghanians are smart enough to vote you and your cronies out of office you are trying hard to come back to it . For your own good not this time around, no matter how hard you tried.
Coming back to my assessment of you and your wife, you and your government are the only government in this world that would travel in a plane that up to now has no known owner. Your children goes to school overseas and you paid no school fees out of your own pocket what bustard father. You spend $300,000 to $500,000 on five SUVS and you can't even divulged the name of the person whom you claimed gave them to you. Who do you think you are fooling? Everything that cost money to you has to be paid by someone. For your information the rest of us worked to earn a living and we do not loaf of on poor Ghanians for our luxury life style or kill the rich in order to still from them.
You murder or hurt many Ghanaians during your stupid regime, that could have build the country through private enterprise.
Now that we are coming back from your dark ages, your are curling back to bite us again. As the Lord have said "The darkness is like a poisonous snake when you expose him, he would curl back to bite your again." The light of the Might Lord is now shining in Ghana and all your dubious ways would be expose just as the Nazi's were expose, during Hitler's regime. " For The Specter of God has being rustled from the Hands of Lucifer, and He has be imprison for one thousand years, therefore his henchmen are left with no power to hurt mankind ever again. Amen.
First you can never become a president of Ghana again base on the constitution of the country.
Secondary your party if they keep you as member would never gain any meaningful power in Ghana, again base on your destructive behavior. Third if you want to know me ask your cousin Mike S and Nana Yankee who knows your wife when she was a young girl. And Mike and I were roommates when he first landed in New York. They call me Howard Jonas Jones also a beloved Ghanian.
Let freedom ring in Ghana for Ghana is free at last. God Almighty we are free at last. May the blessings of the Might Lord bestowed on our mother Land forever. I would leave Ghanaians with the motto of the Son of Light ' Go Forward courageously and you will please God'
From a concern Ghanaian.

-- Sam Oscar Mensah-Lassor
755 Woodduck Drive
Woodbury, MN 55125
samoscar@msn.com