FONKAR Calls On Mills To Act On Party Violence

The attention of FONKAR have been drawn to a violent incident involving one

of its members in the Ejisu/Juaben district in the Ashanti region where

FONKAR¹s coordinator Mr. Joseph Yaw Dosu was brutally attacked and beaten by

bodyguards of Mr. Yaw Obimpeh, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the NDC during a

meeting last Friday, for daring to advise the Regional Chairman to desist

from using insulting language.

The Ashanti Regional NDC Chairman is known for his character of violence

against those who disagree with him. Mr. Obimpeh has pursued an agenda of

harassment towards NDC members who came out in their numbers to welcome

former First Lady Nana Konadu Agyeman-Rawlings on her thank you tour of the

Ashanti region recently.

The NDC Ashanti Regional Chairman also has a history of using Œmacho men¹ to

intimidate and harass his perceived opponents. In 2009, after his election

as Regional Chairman at Mampong, he sent the same Œmacho men¹ to beat up a

Deputy Propaganda Secretary of Asawase constituency, Mr. Yakubu Tony Aidoo

for disagreeing with him, and this is on public record. Mr. Yaw Obimpeh must

be stopped for the interest of party unity.

FONKAR see these attacks on its members as a deliberate ploy by some

supporters of President Mills who are bent on disuniting and disintegrating

the NDC. Just recently, another FONKAR member, George Boateng got detained

by police for no apparent reason. Several examples of violent attacks on

members of FONKAR by President Mills¹ supporters since the end of congress

in Sunyani in July abound.

FONKAR has pursued nothing but party cohesiveness. FONKAR has no other

interest other than the survival of the NDC. It is therefore very sad when

people close to the President continually act provocatively - even violently

- towards members of FONKAR before, during and after the NDC congress in

Sunyani.

It is becoming clearer us that some people within the NDC are hell bent on

sowing seeds of disunity. It only re-enforces the notion that certain

elements in the party are bent on destroying the NDC and its ideals in order

to enable the CPP to survive.

FONKAR wishes to condemn in no uncertain terms these violent and physical

attacks on our members by haters of our dear party tradition and fanatics

and sycophants of President Mills.

We are also sending notice to the perpetrators of violence against FONKAR to

put a stop to the violence if they claim to love the NDC.

FONKAR also calls on President Mills to rise above the pettiness and call

these disuniting elements such as Yaw Obimpeh to order before things get out

of hand. Failure on the part of the President to call these disuniting

elements to order will give us an indication that he is complicit in all

these orchestrations against NANA KONADU AGYEMAN- RAWLINGS and her friends.

Unlike others, FONKAR will not pursue violence. FONKAR will not pursue

disunity, but FONKAR will take every step to protect its members and what

they stand for - which is to see NANA KONADU AGYEMAN-RAWLINGS¹ vision for

Ghana and the NDC come to pass.

Signed:

Brogya Genfi

Communications Director ­ Ashanti

MOBILE: +233 24 958 2140, +233 20 837 7704