Military seeks to strengthen engagement with media

Accra, May 9, GNA - The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at the weekend revealed strategic measures adopted to strengthen healthy interactions with the media. "The measures seek to make the media and the nation see the military as an important friend in nation building and develop new focus for civilians to embrace the challenges of working with the military," Major Jones Sarfo of the GAF Legal Department said. "It's also to encourage the media that the enormous power that the Armed Forces have been given under the 1992 Constitution has been exercised to protect the people and not to oppress them," he said at the 11th Annual Constitution Week commemoration lecture for security personnel. It was on the theme, 93The Role of the Ghana Armed Forces in Advancing Democracy in Ghana: Prospects and Deficits." Major Sarfo said there was the need to educate the public to understand the role and extent to which the military operated. "There is therefore the need to expand the exchange of ideas among different stakeholders with the view to improving public understanding not only of our operations but also the structure and mechanisms of security governance," he said.

"It is absolutely important to understand that democratization implies a change in how leaders define and approach threats=85the political leadership changes from military to civilian (administration), implying that civilians could replace military leaders in setting the parameters for defence and security policy," he said. He urged the military to embrace any structural changes and allow for greater collaboration between all stakeholders saying the restructuring exercise may come with intricate complexities, which will provide some important lessons for the future. On GAF's role in Ghana's democratic dispensation, Major Sarfo said the military had so far been successful in upholding its responsibilities towards its sustenance. "It is on this score that I suggest that the Armed Forces develop a concept of understanding of classic strategic thought and to prepare the membership to think strategically in a fundamentally changed security environment.

"This process would examine the role military power has historically played in shaping cooperation, competition and conflict among nation-states, examine the interrelationship between military and non-military instruments of power." The lecture was chaired by Brigadier-General Daniel Kweku Mishio, Director General (Joint Operation) of the Ghana Armed Forces. Mr Farhan Laary Bimi, NCCE Chairman, commended the military for their continuous support and participation in efforts aimed at consolidating democracy. 9 May 11