Replicate march for free expression across 16 regions – Mornah

National Chairman of the People's National Convention (PNC), Bernard Mornah, has entreated organisers of the march for free expression to extend their protests to cover all regions in the country.

Hundreds of people are demonstrating today, Tuesday, 21 May 2019 against what they describe as moves by the government to attack press freedom.

The protesters, clad in red and black attire, are wielding placards with inscriptions such as: “Enough is enough”, “Akufo-Addo, you are a threat to free speech”, “Stop adding tyranny to hardship”, “Leave Adeti alone”, and so forth.

The protest, dubbed: “March for Free Expression” and organised by the Free Media Vanguard, aims to safeguard the fundamental human rights of free expression, and the work of journalists, which the organisers say have come under threat.

The protest follows the closure of Accra-based Radio XYZ, Radio Gold and several media houses across the country, for failing to renew their operating licences.

Mr Mornah, who participated in the event told ClassFM’s Ibrahim Obeng-Mensah that: “I will advise them that this thing should not just be an Accra event, it should be organised across the 16 regions of Ghana. Indeed, if it can get to the districts of Ghana, it should.”

He said this will make the entire nation go agog with activities to express “frustrations to the extent [that] Nana Akufo-Addo can go to ensure that we stifle media activities in this country”.

The Minority in Parliament has given its full backing to the march.

But Information Minister, Mr Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, maintains that the shutdown of the radio stations by the National Communications Authority (NCA) is not an attack on press freedom.

The group presented a petition to the NCA.