Ghanaians to demonstrate against US Embassy in Ghana

...over Mahama Tweets

Hundreds of Ghanaians will next week stage a peaceful protest march on behalf of government against the American Embassy in Ghana for launching an attack on a social media post by President John Dramani Mahama.


The demonstrators are seeking to petition the American President, Barrack Obama, through the American Ambassador to Ghana, Gene A. Cretz, for an apology and action against the Embassy official responsible for the blunder. The march is jointly being organized by the Progressive Socialists Forum of Ghana and the New Politics Network (NPN) - an apolitical grouping. It is scheduled for Friday July 25, 2014 in Accra.


“We are presenting a petition to the US President and his people via the Embassy to render an unqualified apology to the President and people of Ghana. We would request to know the position of the person they claim replied the President,” stated Ohenenana Obonti Krow, a social media communicator, who is at the forefront of organizing public support for the protest.


The group will also request the Embassy to tell the world where the personnel who pushed the trigger works in the Embassy and demand that he be transferred from the Embassy since the attitude makes him or her a serious threat to the country’s national security.


“I don't support any political twist to this reckless action by the US Embassy, we must collectively stand-up against this imperialist’s manipulations and recklessness. We may have our differences and can continue our internal political banter, but never must we allow any foreign entity to dictate the pace of our political movement,” he told Spy News Agency in an interview.

President John Mahama in his regular conversation with Ghanaians last week posted a tweet on his official tweeter handle assuring Ghanaians that the current economic difficulties will soon be over.


The tweet reads “As a people, we have had to make sacrifices. I wish to assure you that the results of these sacrifices would begin to show very soon.”


The US Embassy re-tweeted, “And what sacrifices are you making? Don’t tell me that pay cut.”


Some Ghanaian government officials including the Ag. National Youth Co-ordinator, Ras Mubarak and the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, Hannah Serwa Tetteh, immediately took the issue on, demanding an unqualified apology from the Embassy.


Even though the Embassy came out with some form of apology to the President and an explanation that claims that their official mistook the official Embassy tweeter handle as his personal handle, not many are satisfied with the clarification.

A deputy Minister of Education in charge of tertiary, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, on a radio discussion programme last Saturday, said the US Embassy and the US Government needs to do more in the current tweeter comment saga to convince Ghanaians that they really meant no harm.


He described the comment as unacceptable, and said the explanation given by the Embassy does not help matters.


He bemoaned the fact that some newspapers in Ghana have carried the development and portraying it as “NDC versus the US Embassy” thing, describing the development as “unfortunate.”


He argued: “this is about Ghana, our Sovereign Republic, which is at stake and not a political party…Our laws are very clear. Foreigners cannot engage in politics or meddle [in] our affairs.”


According to him, what is even more worrying is the attempt by the US Embassy to “clean it up,” adding “The subsequent tweets are very frightening.”