Ghana Palaver Vindicated ...

EMILE SHORT LANDS FOTREIGN APPOINTMENT

* Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, President of GJA, Prof. Kwame Karikari, School of Communications Studies, Kweku Sekyi-Addo, Host, Front Page, Joy FM, Adwoa Aidoo, Hostess, Joy FM, Are They Listening ?

Well, well, well, indefatigable Jojo Bruce Quansah, Ghana Palaver Editor, must be laughing all the way to the National Media Commission demanding tonnes of apologies from Gifty Afenyi-Dadzie, Professor Kwame Karikari, Kweku Sekyi-Addo, Adwoa Aidoo and the host of serial callers who recently mauled our editor for claiming that Mr. Emile Short, Chairman CHRAJ, was job-hunting.

BBC World News broke the story on June 26, 2003, that the U.N. had approved a list of 18 more judges to assist to clear the backlog of cases in the Rwanda Genocide Tragedy. The Court sits in Tanzania.

The Rwanda Attorney General was not amused. He claimed the Court was cash-strapped and the problem was not additional judges. Be that as it may, a terse statement on GBC six o'clock news on June 26, 2003 announced that Mr. Emile Short, Chairman, CHRAJ, had been appointed one of the 18 judges. The news item was subsequently taken off the air and had not been repeated since. Neither has it been carried by any other radio station.

Ghana Palaver will not gloat. We will not even remind our readers about our publication, which incurred the opprobrium of the Ghanaian media guru world. We will only ask the following few questions:

(i) If this is intended to be an expediting team, then can Emile Short combine the two roles?

(ii) Does Mr. Emile Short still stand by his Press Conference denial that he was job-hunting?

(iii) Will Emile Short do the decent thing and apologise to the Ghanaian public? Ghana Palaver and Jojo Bruce-Quansah do not require an apology, but do we now appreciate the stuff Ghana Palaver is made of?

Meanwhile, while we wait for the answers, 'Ghana Palaver' can now come out to declare that it had the information about Mr Short's search for job from very reliable sources, not outside the United Nations, itself, before the publication.

However, the paper decided to “hold up fire” until the story is placed in public domain as it has now been. For Mr Short had then made available his curriculum vitae to the UN appointing committee.

That is why, even in the face of unguarded lies by a very responsible person, supported by a collection of media conspirators, the paper still refused to disclose its source of information and kept its “secret” without throwing even a punch, in defence, during the “radio trial” on Kwaku Sakyi--Addo's Front Page programme over the issue.

Soon, a Liar-of-the Decade will be born!