Mahama ‘smuggles’ in 94 Syrians

In spite of the difficult ingestion process of the two ‘bitter’ ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees’ pills, President John Dramani Mahama and his National Democratic Congress (NDC) government have still gone ahead to force some 94 Syrian and Rwandan ‘dosages of the medication’ down the throats of the good people of Ghana.

The refugees started trooping into the country since January 7, mostly at the blind side of Ghanaians, because the Refugees Board had not registered that much. More of them are expected to follow in due course.

President Mahama, during a session with the media in January ended up being economic with the truth when he said Mahmud Umar Muhammad bin Atef, 36, and Khalid Muhammad Salih al-Dhuby, 38, who are to settle in Ghana for two years, were low risk detainees at Guantanamo, only to be exposed later on American Television channel, Fox News, that the duo were ‘high risk detainees’ and as such were considered threats to the security of America and its allies, the reason they are in Ghana.

This latest development concerning the Syrian refugees appears worrisome, because the Minister of Foreign Affairs is yet to brief Members of Parliament on the circumstances surrounding government’s decision to accept the two ex-Guantanamo Bay detainees, whose arrival sparked public outrage, mainly grounded on the security of Ghanaian citizens.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hanna Tetteh, had said that due to grave humanitarian crises in those countries, “government decided to allow relatives of members of the Syrian community already resident in Ghana, who have been displaced as a result of the conflict in their country to resettle in Ghana.”

She added that in all instances the persons who were being allowed into the country were subject to security clearance, adding that their activities would be monitored during their stay in the country.

“Ghana recognizes that as a member of the International Community we have a responsibility to assist in International crises situations having regard to our own resources & capacity to assist, and it is in this regard that the Government has decided to take these actions,” the Minister indicated.

Although the two Yemeni nationals had assured Ghanaians they would live peacefully with them, as they were not on any suspicious mission, that explanation would not convince the Syrian community who had had reasons to fear their counterparts, advising that the government shouldn’t have accepted them.

The Head of the Syrian community, Abdul-Ghani Badenjki, who said he had been appointed by the United Nations to liaise with Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry to integrate his country folks into Ghana, said the activity of Yemenis in the Middle East gave him so much to worry about. “We in Syria are even against terrorists and we don’t support it because it is destroying the image of everyone and that’s why we are not happy about the Yemenis being here,” he said.

The Minority Caucus in Parliament, led by Member of Parliament for Subin, Isaac Osei, who blew the lid over the matter, told the media at a press conference in Accra that the ruling government was flinging the security of the state into jeopardy. The former diplomat was preparing the minds of Ghanaians ahead of the Minister for Foreign Affairs’ briefing of the two ex-Guantanamo detainees in the legislative house today [Friday].

According to him, the President’s decision in bringing in the two detainees and the 95 Syrians without parliamentary approval “represents a serious breach of the very Constitution he has sworn to uphold.”

Mr. Isaac Osei did not understand the Speaker of Parliament’s demeanour in handling requests from opposition Members of Parliament, who were eager to raise questions about the Ex-prisoners, on the floor of the House.

He recalled that: “Parliament is concerned and at least five members have filed urgent questions but the Right Hon. Speaker is yet to admit them so the Business Committee cannot list them. I personally filed an urgent question asking the Minister of Foreign Affairs to detail the circumstances leading to the agreement for Ghana to accept the two GITMO detainees. One of my colleagues also filed an urgent question seeking an explanation of the nature of the agreement and the rights and obligations of the two state parties.

“Yet another wished to know what travel documents they came in on, Yemeni, American or Ghanaian? What visa, entry or resident permit did they enter Ghana with? Simple questions requiring simple answers and we are unable to ask them on the floor of the House because the Speaker of Parliament has not allowed them.”

While worried about the Syrian refugees too, Mr. Osei revealed that: “It is interesting to note that the leader of the Syrian refugees in an interview while saying that Syrians were generally moderate in their religious views, was at pains to describe the Yemenis as extremists and he expressed worry that the GITMO-2 were in Ghana.”

The Director of Communications of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akomea, commenting on the issue told The Chronicle that, the President’s action was in breach of the laws on Immigration and anti-terrorism.

“It is also in breach of the 1992 constitution which provides in Article 75 (2) that ‘any treaties, agreements, or conventions executed by the President shall be subject to ratification by an act of Parliament or a resolution by more than half of all Parliaments.”

Ahead of Ms. Hanna Tetteh’s address to Parliament, Nana Akomea wants government to answer these questions: “if the Gitmo two were really low risk and harmless, then why were the negotiations transfers done in secret?

What consultations were done when the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Interior all decline public knowledge on the process? Are the Gitmo two here as free individuals or still in detention? What is the cost to the people of Ghana in terms of their upkeep and security? Where will they go from here after 2 years?