President Jerry John Rawlings yesterday cautioned that it would be dangerous to forget the events of June 4,1979 since that could lead to the re-emergence of the ills which led to the upheaval. He noted that if Ghanaians remember and understand the conditions which created the uprising, they would be able to ensure that it does not happen again.
President Rawlings sounded the caution when he addressed officers and men of the security forces at the El Wak Stadium after a route march to commemorate the 18th anniversary of the June 4 Uprising. “Forgetting is far dangerous than remembering. It is when we forget ,when we attempt to obliterate the memory of difficult and critical times, that we repeat the same errors and fall into the same traps which bring about upheaval,” he stressed.
President Rawlings explained that failure to remain true to the June 4 vision of social justice, truth and respect for the people is a betrayal of those who laid down their lives 18 years ago. The President entreated Ghanaians to conduct personal renewal programmes and to make honest assessment of their performances, sense of urgency, level of commitments, attitudes and lifestyles.
“If we find that too wide a gap has developed between what we were then and what we are now, and between the spirit of voluntarism and service which was our spur to action then and any present tapes of complacency, lethargy or self-interest, then we must endeavor to close the gap”, he added.
President Railings said with a constitutional democracy with all its institutions and clearly defined functions in place, there is the tendency to sit back and leave the necessary tasks of national development to those who are paid to do them.
“It is not enough to sit back and criticize ,even where some criticism may be justified”, he stressed, urging the people tap be guided by the spirit of June 4. “We need to infuse it into all aspects of public life if we are to accelerate our rate of development and to achieve our vision of .
