June 4 Has Lessons For All ? Mills

The flagbearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Professor John Evans Atta Mills, has stated that the events of June 4 have reinforced his personal convictions on the need for public office holders to be trustworthy, sincere, straightforward and fair at all times.

He said these values were the safeguards against a recurrence of the traumatic and painful reaction against injustice.In a statement issued in Accra yesterday and signed on behalf of the flagbearer by his Communications Director,, Mr Rojo Mettle-Nunoo, Prof. Mills declared ?may the spirit of June 4 guard and guide the Ghanaian political leadership of today, tomorrow and forever?.

It said as a social democratic party ?we pledge that never again shall ordinary Ghanaians feel so betrayed, so deceived, so marginalised and so helpless to exercise their fundamental human rights, that they lash out against the guilty and innocent alike?.

The statement said June 4 was one of the NDC party?s anniversary dates under the party?s constitution, saying that although the commemoration of the day evoked mixed feelings among some Ghanaians who would have wished that June 4 would go away and be forgotten, it did not help to hold a prejudiced view of our history.

It noted that ?even though events like June 4 may evoke bitter memories for some families and individuals, the essence of remembering the day is to reflect on the root causes and renew our commitment to build our nation on the foundation of social justice, honesty, truth and integrity?.

The statement said Ghanaians needed to remember June 4 because it was part of our history and our history must not be distorted if future generations were to learn from it.It added that ?whether or not we played a direct part in the events, whether or not we were old enough to have personal memories of that time, we need to understand what happened and why it happened.

In doing this, we come to terms with the past and move forward as a just and peaceful nation?.The statement reminded all those who find themselves in positions of trust to remember that day ?so that we avoid recreating the circumstances which enraged Ghanaians 25 years ago.

?Every principled Ghanaian deplores the excesses, indignities and injustices perpetrated by individuals who used the June 4 uprising as a cover to engage in a brutal vendetta and acts of personal vengeance. They must bear the moral consequences of their actions and inaction?, it said.

The statement said if stories recounted at the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC) were anything to go by, they had made it clear that such individuals who took undue advantage of political situations to perpetrate callous acts could be found at all periods of our nation?s history and even to the present.

?One thing beyond dispute in the account of June 4, 1979, is the extent of public anger against traders, contractors, smugglers and the like as well as the powerful interests behind them who were engaged in corrupt and anti-social practices summed up in the Ghanaian coinage ?kalabule?,? it said.

The statement said but for the leadership of Flt Lt J. J. Rawlings, who is the founder of the NDC and the former President, the frustrations and anger unleashed on June 4 would have run the full bloody cause.