Osahene Major Boakye Djan has gone to town on Flt Lt Rawlings, reminding him that much as he has his freedom to decide how to spend his precious hours, the worry of architects of the June 4 revolution is not the gimmicks he and his cronies are engaged in. According to him, their major concern is the flagrant misrepresentation and misapplication of the principles, the elements and details within them.
But, Osahene Major Boakye Djan is also angry because the so-called architects of the revolution - drunk in their illegal celebration - were not even aware that one of its members, Sergeant Sheikh Tetteh, had died on the eve of their celebration `unsung, unnoticed and unheralded.` He told Ghanaian Observer in an interview last Friday in reaction to the allegation that he hid in the face of the thundering of guns during the June 4 revolution, that he understands it as a distraction from Rawlings and his men, who he believes only want to avoid being called upon to account for their criminal involvement in an anti-constitutional coup in December 1981, which June 4 as a matter of principle frowns upon.
According to him, the principle of June 4 calls to account all persons responsible for removing constitutionally elected governments from 1966, 1972 and later 1981, of which he claims Rawlings is guilty by the Constitution and the laws of the land. `By that principle, Rawlings stands guilty of high treason together with his accomplices in the coup that brought about the Provisional National Defence Council administration, `Boakye Djan asserted.
Explaining his point, he reminded Ghanaians that the Supreme Court ruling on the legality or otherwise of the December 31st coup brought before the court at the behest of the New Patriotic Party declared by interpretation of the law the fact that Rawlings and his men were guilty of high treason against the State of Ghana. For some of us “all Rawlings and his cronies are doing now is dance around the issue in the hope that Ghanaians would remain ignorant of that crime. Reducing the issue to the level of politics and accusing government of economic mismanagement, he said, does not take away their sin and crime. According to him, what could be pardoned in law was the attempted restoration of a constitutionally elected government by Rawlings` own poorly-organised May 15, 1979 counter coup, Lt. Yeboah and Lt. Arthur`s failed counter-coups of April 17, 1967, counter coups against Acheampong by several groups and the June 4 revolution that rescued Rawlings from a court-martial proceeding and subsequent death.
Warning Rawlings and his band of celebrants, he reminded them that “they cannot hope to drum away the essential principle of June 4 merely by platform gimmicks that appeared to have succeeded in preventing people from holding them accountable for the December 31st 1981 coup so far.` Describing the Rawlings-led June 4 celebration as a carnival event for political purposes, he was surprised that up till now, those who claim June 4 as their baby have not found it expedient to respect the basic principle of the event in terms of application, programmes and operations. Repeating his earlier warning to restrain Rawlings and agents of the National Democratic Congress from celebrating June 4, he revealed that true architects of June 4 will start a series of programmes that will cost Rawlings and his men dearly, if they failed to heed the warning.
`We will not need to confront them, because this is a democracy; and men like him may have their freedom to talk, even when they have nothing to say; but we will make sure we hit them where it hurts most.` `We are ready to undertake our well-laid plans to minimise their chances of winning the next elections in 2008. We shall use their insistence on misapplying and misrepresenting the principle of June 4 and its essential elements and details as proof that they are not fit to govern this country,` he added.
