NPP Germany: No anti-Mahama demonstrator was arrested

The Germany branch of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) has said none of the Ghanaians who demonstrated against President John Mahama during his two-day visit to the European country early this week was arrested by Berlin Police for not having required papers.

A statement signed by branch Chairman Alhassan Yakubu Tali described earlier media report to the contrary as a “shameless lie.”

“Concerned about this alleged development, NPP Germany took it upon itself to contact the Police authorities in Berlin who denied categorically that any of the protestors was arrested, let alone for being an illegal immigrant,” the statement issued on Friday January 23, 2015 said.

The branch said: “We have also spoken personally with Berlin Police Inspector Hartman, who led the team of police assigned to guide the demonstrators on that day and he has also confirmed that no one was arrested.”

“He, in fact, went on to point out that, under German law, the police are not allowed to control people’s immigration status at permitted demonstrations,” the statement said.

Below is the rest of the statement:

Again, we have made contacts with the organisers of the demonstration and they have also confirmed that all those who took part in the demonstration are back to their various cities safely.

What is clear is that President John Mahama and his Flagstaff House propagandists are bent on using old-fashioned communist tactics to strike fear against Ghanaians abroad who want to speak out against the corruption, and bad governance under his watch in this second term of the NDC’s eight-year rule.

It is a disgraceful act by a failing Government that wants to take away the fundamental human rights of Ghanaians abroad to assemble and demonstrate peacefully against their visiting President.

We believe the Ghana Embassy in Berlin and the Flagstaff House in Accra should come out to correct this false and negative international publicity with which it has tagged the German government.

These are the kinds of reckless propaganda tactics that can cause a needless diplomatic row between our country Ghana and Germany. It is way below the belt.

We will end by advising the state-owned Daily Graphic to stop this embarrassment of being used as a propaganda tool of Government. It must retract and apologize to the public. The NDC cannot frighten Ghanaians both at home and abroad from expressing their views against the way their beloved country is being run down.

Signed

Alhassan Yakubu Tali

Chairman, NPP Germany