Spio Hits Akufo-Addo

Mr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, a vice-chairman of the National Democratic Congress, has taken the New Patriotic Party (NPP) flag bearer, Nana Akufo-Addo, to the cleaners over his criticisms of the Mills-led administration’s decision not to involve Ghanaian troops in a supposedly considered option of ECOWAS-led invasion of Cote d’Ivoire.

According to him, the constitutional burden on President Atta Mills is firstly “to promote and protect the interests of Ghana” before seeking “to promote respect for international law, treaty obligations and the settlement of international disputes by peaceful means” as stated in Section 40 of the Ghanaian Constitution’s Principles of State Policy.

That is why for him, the President’s position and decision on the Ivorian crisis, which he made public in his New Year’s press conference, is a very wise one.

“So if anyone has to go back and re-read their constitution, it’s the NPP and its conspicuously befuddled leader, Nana Akufo-Addo”, he declared.

Mr. Spio-Garbrah made the point in an article titled: ‘President Mills is right on Cote d’Ivoire’ and published in yesterday’s (Thursday) edition of the Daily Graphic.

Following the President’s declaration of his opposition to a military invasion of Cote d’Ivoire, the NPP went to town, condemning the President for reneging and backtracking on the measures adopted by ECOWAS leaders to deal with the crisis, which arose from the refusal of incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo to cede power to the internationally recognized winner of the November elections, Alhassan Ouatarra.

But the NDC vice-chairman says the Akufo-Addo-led NPP has shown that it lacks the balanced judgment and seasoned equipoise in foreign affairs, adding that one would have expected that since the NPP is now led by a former foreign minister of Ghana, the party would have played a more constructive role in Ghana’s foreign policy formulation and practice at such a critical time.

A simple textual analysis of the ECOWAS communiqué, he emphasizes, shows that the body did not say it will invade Cote d’Ivoire to impose democracy as the NPP claims, but it simply aggregated and reconciled the views of all the presidents present at the summit.

Furthermore, he adds that it was clear from the ECOWAS resolution that while legitimate force was contemplated, it was also seen as a very last resort. “Nor did the ECOWAS resolution imply that unless Ghana specifically sent additional troops under an ECOWAS/ECOMOG command, ECOWAS could not act”, he states.

Mr. Spio-Garbrah, therefore, wonders why the NPP is making so much fuss about the issue, stating that ‘to say that President Atta Mills contradicted himself in his New Year news conference is to misunderstand the modern practice of foreign policy as opposed to some archaic textbook theories of foreign policy which clearly the NPP wants Ghana to endure, even if it will lead to the deaths of thousands of Ghanaians in Cote d’Ivoire, weaken our borders and threaten our oil fields’.

According to him, the same NPP, which in the 1960s called for a “constructive engagement” policy with Apartheid South Africa, today calls for war on our neighbor to resolve a simple internal electoral dispute, adding that such a reckless gun-toting policy of the NPP will not be faithful to the Ghanaian Constitution or be keeping with either the theory or practice of international relations.

He says the oath Prof. Atta Mills took when he was sworn in as President in January 2009 was not to defend the territorial integrity of Cote d’Ivoire or the foreign policy aims of Nigeria, Benin, Sierra Leone or other West African states, but to defend Ghana and Ghanaians no matter where they reside.

“The Presidential Oath of Allegiance enjoins President Mills to ‘bear true faith and allegiance to the Republic of Ghana as by law established; uphold the sovereignty and integrity of Ghana; and preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the Republic of Ghana”, he stressed.

He is at a loss as to whether the NPP wants the President to disregard his oath and ignore the prospect of a potential reprisal attack on the nearly one million Ghanaians who live in that Cote d’Ivoire.

Mr. Spio-Garbrah says in his view, the President and the NDC government are absolutely right on this matter, adding that Ghanaians should be grateful for this wise decision. “Mr. President, please ignore the ‘barrel-of-a-gun’ policy of the NPP.

He had a piece of advice for former President Kufuor, saying: “Please,