Rawlings reaffirms faith in constitutional democracy

President Jerry John Rawlings on Saturday spoke against lawlessness, politics of attrition and social evils creeping into the society and said these destructive tendencies spelled the doom of previous governments."I must warn that if we persist in interpreting our current democratic freedoms as a license to cause civil and industrial unrest without reasonable cause, abuse and vilify decent people, none of us will survive the serious upheaval that will definitely come as a consequence''.The President was addressing members of the security servicesand some voluntary organisations at the El Wak Stadium after a route march through some principal streets of Accra.

The route march marked the 21st anniversary of the June Four Uprising, which falls tomorrow. On June Four 1979, Flt Ft Rawlings led a group of junior officers and other ranks to topple the then Supreme Military Council and formed the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council(AFRC) which ruled for three months. President Rawlings said the lawlessness on the roads, general indiscipline, disrespect for authority and disregard for social values are consequences of what some people have set out to do, which is to undermine the authority of the government by encouraging civil disorder.

He said during the upheavals it was soldiers who paid with their lives and that if there should be another upheaval the civilian front would pay too heavy a price. ''That is why a review of some aspects of our laws and constitution is necessary to address the injustice and indiscipline which are weakening our social fabric''.

''But I still have faith in the common decency of the average Ghanaian and will therefore not draw the conclusion that we are incapable of learning from our past mistakes'', the President said. President Rawlings said the government has demonstrated its commitment to fight corruption and crime.

It has not hesitated to apply legal and administrative measures against government functionaries and other public officials against whom allegations of corruption have been made and established. However, when the same laws are applied against private persons who have stolen billions of cedis or have violently abused the rights of others, the private media and political opponents of the government ''are the very one that come to the aid of the criminals''. "Indeed, any time that the saboteurs of our economy and other criminals have been found out, their defence strategy has been to lobby the private and pay the private press to publish articles and run editorial comments that whitewash the criminals as saints''. President Rawlings said the Police Service is handicapped in the fight against crime and that it was for this reason that the military are sometimes detailed to assist the police whenever the situation demands such assistance.

However, he went on, political opponents of the government have sought to turn this into a propaganda platform, first to poison the minds of the public against the military and second to make the country ungovernable hoping they could come to power through the confusion they hope to create. "Under no circumstances should they entertain the notion that we will turn the clock of progress back there is no way we are going to stand idle while they create civil strife or exploit criminal activities and anarchy as their only means of coming to power''. ''If they will not join us in fighting the social evils and would not stand aside for those willing to fight, then they must be prepared for the fallout'', President Rawlings said.

President Rawlings said the government had worked hard to achieve peace and stability for 20 years and would not do anything that would create political uncertainty and undermine the confidence the international community has in the country. "For this reason, we have remained tolerant in the face of downright provocation from the opposition. I will entreat our noble elders, chiefs, queenmothers and religious leaders to advise those involved on the need for sobriety for the sake of our common future''. He said during the June Four era, some innocent lives were lost. ''I have personally expressed regret for those incidents involving innocent lives. There were others however who got what they deserved and to whom we owe no apology''.

President Rawlings said it was unfortunate that some people who claim to have been injured have allowed themselves to be used as tools in the partisan politics of attrition. Yet, these people who want to carry the cudgels of revenge to the point of political instability and social disunity have been found out to be indulging in bribery,corruption. ''In as much as these people condemn us, they must realise that posterity will absolve us through evidence of their own crimes against our nation'', he said. President Rawlings had earlier pinned medals on the chests of some members of the security services including top military officers.