Reconciliation Must Cover 1957-1993

Debate on national reconciliation is on in Ghana as to which era in the history of the country, the proposed Commission should start its work.

Government has recommended that the Commission should mainly focus on two military regimes led by Flt. Lt Jerry John Rawlings - the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council in 1979 and the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) from 1982-93.


Researchers say their findings indicate that these times recorded the worst human abuses in the history of the nation and most of their respondents favour the government stand.


However, participants at the two-day international conference on reconciliation have recommended that the timeframe for the work of the proposed National Reconciliation Commission should cover the period between March 6, 1957 when Ghana attained Independence and January 6 1993.


This recommendation was an amendment to a proposal in the government's draft bill.


"The time frame for examining cases of abuses and injustice should not be too restrictive to be construed as overly selective and targeting people," the conference said in a 12-point declaration at the end of deliberations.


It said the government should involve the Ghanaian public in the debate with the aim of arriving at a practical timeframe for the Commission's work. The two-day conference was organised by the Ghana Centre for Democratic Development (CDD) to work out a framework for Ghana's National Reconciliation as proposed by the Government.

It was under the theme: "National Reconciliation: International Perspectives" and sought to share experiences of some 40 countries, which have had to set up similar reconciliation institutions to heal wounds of the past.


The Deputy Chairman of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission Dr Alex Boraine and other experts from the International Human Rights Centre in the United States were among resource persons drawn from abroad.


It was the view of the conference that members of the Commission should be persons who command respect across the board in the country to guarantee its credibility and public confidence. The notion of justice, rehabilitation and reparation must be considered carefully in order to unify the nation rather than divide it.


The issue of amnesty for truth is also to be carefully considered to arrive at a consensus acceptable to Ghanaians and in conformity with the prevailing international norms. To achieve transparency, proceedings of the Commission should be open to the public, the declaration said, adding that there should be the political will and a mechanism to implement the Commission's recommendations.


The workshop called for ardent public education on every aspect of the reconciliation process and urged full public involvement in defining its mandate and powers. The Commission's mandate, the workshop said, should be framed to guarantee and ensure its independence.