I disagree with Hon. Afotey-Agbo

on Military Brutality in Bawku

A tremendous amount of recent public attention has focused on the issue of military brutality in Bawku. Allegations of brutality frequently arise when the Military are required to use force against offenders. Whether or not the military are guilty of brutality depends upon a resolution of whether or not the force used by officers was excessive. While the answer to such a question would seem clear-cut, the fact is that law enforcement officers are presented with real-life situations, not text-book examples of criminal scenarios. Therefore, it is important to recall that many arrests and non-arrest situations require the use of force but not excessive force to the point of stripping naked suspects who have not been found guilty by law.

In reference to the publication in daily guide on Tuesday, 24 November 2009, when the newly sworn-in Minister of State at the Office of the President, Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo, who defended soldiers who stripped two men naked in Bawku following the revelation of the sordid incident by a video footage yesterday, saying that the victims should count themselves lucky they were not even killed.

As a young Ghanaian student, born and raised in Bawku and currently studying in the United States, i followed with care and great interest in the new report of the brutality, view the unfortunate violation and brutality on a video posted on youtube and ghanaweb.com and I wish to state my disappointment in the minister’s comments and reaction and will look forward to see what kind of leadership skill he will add to President Mill government in ruling Ghana.

Hon. Minister, as a conflict resolution specialist, I will expect you to know that there is now near-universal consensus that all individuals are entitled to certain basic rights under any circumstances. These include certain civil liberties and political rights, the most fundamental of which is the right to life and physical safety. Human rights are the articulation of the need for justice, tolerance, mutual respect, and human dignity in all of our activity. Speaking of rights allows us to express the idea that all individuals are part of the scope of morality and justice. To protect human rights is to ensure that people receive some degree of decent, human treatment. To violate the most basic human rights, on the other hand, is to deny individuals their fundamental moral entitlements. It is, in a sense, to treat them as if they are less than human and undeserving of respect and dignity. Examples are acts typically deemed "crimes against humanity," including, torture, slavery, rape, enforced sterilization or medical experimentation, and deliberate starvation. I don’t think that President Mill’s newly appointed Minister Joseph Nii Laryea Afotey-Agbo is supporting the killing of suspect who have not been proving guilty, or given room to the military to kill civilians? The two young men who were arrested are teachers and just suspect. They have not been made to face the full cause of the law and so the brutality against these two young teachers is a violation against their fundamental human rights. I hope the president knows what he is doing in regards to the appointment of his ministers and I also hope that some of these ministers are mindful of what they say or do. We are watching your actions from all parts of the world and will challenge you where you go wrong.

Moses Kanduri City University of New York Moskandi1@yahoo.com