THE second demonstration against the Representation of the Peoples’ Amendment Bill (ROPAB), planned to take place in Accra today, is certainly coming on this morning according the organisers.
The assurance follows an agreement reached between the organisers, Concerned Ghanaians and the Police on the provision of security for the march. The Assistant Commissioner of Police (Greater Accra), Mr. D. Akrofi Aseidu, had earlier in a letter, indicated the unpreparedness of the Police administration to provide security and ensure public safety during the march.
The letter had sought to advise the organisers to withhold their action, since Parliament is yet to take a decision on the Anit-ROPAB petition presented to it at the end of the first protest march, held last Tuesday.!
It further claimed that, apart from the cost of deploying police, outside Accra to assist in the operations, they are also “seriously preparing” for the March 6 Independence anniversary celeberation.
The Police therefore requested the postponement or relocation of the “special event”.
However, in a reply to the Police administration, the Concerned Ghanaians stood their ground. The letter maintained in part:-
“We have complied with all the requirement of the Public Order Act 1994 (Act 491), regarding the provision of notice to the police for the purposes of special event.
“The reasons that you have given as grounds for requesting a postponement or relocation of the demonstration are contrived.
“We are unable to postpone or relocate the demonstration as requested by you”. Last week, thousands of Ghanaians clad in red ! (on Valentine Day), took to the streets in an anti-ROPAB demonstration, which though tailored to the measure of the security appratus, nevertheless attracted a wide attention.
The massive demonstartion dubbed the March of Love proved the people’s opposition to the move by the New Patriotic Party (NPP) to render future elections virtually useless, since their credibility will be completely lost. The organisers have served notice to continue with the demonstartion until the “thief thief” move is scrapped.
Today’s show is expected to attract more attention, since many people have come to realise the NOO’s move as an attempt to undermine the whole democratic process, initiated during the PNDC era.
Source: GhanaWeb
