{"id":275122,"date":"2011-01-31T10:49:28","date_gmt":"2011-01-31T10:49:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/?p=50100"},"modified":"2011-01-31T10:49:28","modified_gmt":"2011-01-31T10:49:28","slug":"akufo-addo-to-spio-your-article-is-crude-propagandawill-fly-in-the-face-of-the-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/31\/akufo-addo-to-spio-your-article-is-crude-propagandawill-fly-in-the-face-of-the-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Akufo-Addo To Spio: Your Article Is Crude Propaganda\u2026Will Fly In The Face Of The Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Office of the Flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), say the attempt to portray Nana Akufo-Addo as a warmonger will simply not wash since it is a deliberate, crude caricature that flies in the face of the facts. His Office has therefore slammed Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah, a vice-Chair of the ruling National Democratic Congress for an article he penned down which praises President Mills\u2019 decision not to send troops into Cote d\u2019Ivoire but rather engage in \u201cAfrican democracy policy \u201c, describing it as a piece of pure propaganda.
\nThe said article, in the same light, sought to portray the NPP Flagbearer as a man exhibiting a lack of balanced judgment and equipoise in foreign affairs describing him as a \u201cconspicuously befuddled leader\u201d who needed lessons on diplomacy from ex-President Kufuor.
\nBut in a sharp rebuttal, his Office opined that the purpose of Dr. Spio-Garbrah\u2019s propaganda piece is quite obvious; \u201cto establish that on the Ivorian crisis, President Mills is a peace maker<\/strong>\u201d and warned that the \u201ceffort to reduce the Ghanaian discussion on the Ivorian crisis to a mere case of support for either of the Ivorian leaders- i.e Mills\/NDC for Gbagbo, Akufo-Addo\/NPP for Ouattara- is very unhelpful<\/strong>.\u201d
\n\u201cOrdinarily, crude propaganda should not be dignified with a response, but it is now obvious that it forms part of the general NDC strategy of wholesale misinformation and deliberate deception on the issues of the day. Hence this rejoinder for the record<\/strong>,\u201d Mustapha Hamid, Spokesperson for the NPP flagbearer said in a statement issued in Accra, on Sunday, January 30th.
\nThe statement added that the NPP\u2019s Flagbearer\u2019s Office is aware that \u201cattacks on Nana Akufo-Addo are the best way of attracting the attention of President Mills for those who are seeking to maintain their relevance in NDC affairs<\/strong>\u201d and also for ministerial appointment.
\n\u201cWe can only wish Dr. Spio-Garbrah the best of luck in his enterprise,\u201d the statement said. <\/strong>
\nBelow is the full statement from the Office of Nana Akufo-Addo.
\nRE: MILLS IS RIGHT ON COTE D\u2019IVOIRE<\/strong>
\nThe attention of the Office of Nana Akufo-Addo has been drawn to a publication in the Daily Graphic of 27th January, 2011 by Dr. Ekwow Spio-Garbrah, which purports to be an analysis of the current Ivorian crisis. After reading the article, it becomes clear that the use of the word \u2018analysis\u2019 is a misnomer. It is in fact a piece of pure propaganda. Its purpose is obvious. To establish that on the Ivorian crisis, President Mills is a peace maker, whilst Nana Akufo-Addo, the NPP presidential candidate, is a war monger.
\nOrdinarily, crude propaganda should not be dignified with a response, but it is now obvious that it forms part of the general NDC strategy of wholesale misinformation and deliberate deception on the issues of the day. Hence this rejoinder for the record.
\nAfter much flip-flopping on the crisis, including his declaration of the \u201cdzi wo fie asem\u201d foreign policy, President Mills recently told the diplomatic corps that he is, after all, in support of the ECOWAS position on the recent presidential election in Cote D\u2019Ivoire. The ECOWAS position is in two parts. The first is the endorsement of Alassane Ouattara\u2019s victory in the election. The second is the demand that Laurent Gbagbo hand over power peacefully to his victorious opponent, who was elected by a clear majority of the Ivorian people. Failure on his part to do so would leave ECOWAS with no option than to pursue all avenues, including the use of legitimate force, to ensure compliance. Not only does the President support the position of ECOWAS, he, actually, in Ghana\u2019s name, signed the communiqu\u00e9s of 7th and 28th December where the ECOWAS position, including the use of legitimate force, was spelt out.
\nNana Akufo-Addo, NPP presidential candidate, has in his two public utterances indicated consistently his whole-hearted support of the ECOWAS position. He has further called on the President to ensure that Ghana behaves, just as she has always done, as a good citizen of the ECOWAS Community by not doing anything to undermine ECOWAS\u2019 common position. In the circumstances, the question is this: how does President Mills\u2019 support of the ECOWAS\u2019 position make him a peacemaker, but Nana Akufo-Addo\u2019s similar support make him a warmonger? The answer lies in the warped logic of the NDC propaganda machine. Office of
\nNo amount of blatant distortions can change the hard fact- \u201cthe Akufo-Addo led NPP\u2019s\u201d position on Cote d\u2019Ivoire is a responsible one. It is the position of virtually the entire International community. Indeed, rarely has there been such global consensus on a matter of international concern- the Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), the European Union (EU) and the UN Security Council are all speaking with one voice. Laurent Gbagbo lost the election and he should yield peacefully the presidency of Cote d\u2019Ivoire to the winner of the 28th presidential election, Allasane Ouattara.
\nIndeed, this is the crucial issue in the Ivorian drama. As the outgoing President of the ECOWAS Commission, Victor Gbeho, one-time diplomatic advisor to President Mills, put it in one of his comments on the Ivorian crisis: \u201cthe situation represents a bad scenario: a leader loses an election, then calls on the military to support him…\u201d (AU SITUATION ROOM, Daily News Highlights, December 12, 2010). This is the heart of the matter. The implications of the Gbagbo defiance are extremely dangerous and unhealthy for the growth of democracy on the African continent. It is that spectre that should be the focus of public discussion, not artificial, diversionary issues about troop commitments. No requisition has been made for any troop commitment. If the international community\u2019s stance on the issue remains robust, as it is now, we may never get there. That has to be the wish of all responsible people.
\nThe attempt to portray Nana Akufo-Addo as a warmonger will simply not wash. It is a deliberate, crude caricature that flies in the face of the facts. Nana Akufo-Addo, as Foreign Minister under President Kufuor, was one of the key figures brokering peace in Cote d\u2019Ivoire after the 2002 attempted coup. The Accra III Peace Talks in particular in 2004, where Nana Akufo-Addo was prominent, saw the first gathering of the leading Ivorian actors- Laurent Gbagbo, Henri Konan Bedie and Alassane Ouattara- in one place, here in Accra, to plot the way forward. Many of the subsequent steps that were taken towards the resolution of the Ivorian crisis, including the holding of internationally sanctioned elections, were initiated at the Accra III Peace Talks. It would truly be strange that a man, who devoted so much of his time and energy helping broker peace and reconciliation in Cote d\u2019Ivoire, should turn around to become a so-called warmonger over Cote d\u2019Ivoire. The allegation is untrue. It is baseless. Nana Akufo-Addo was prominent during his tenure as Foreign Minister in attempts to broker peace in Serra Leone, Liberia, Cote d\u2019Ivoire and Guinea Bissau. If there is a Ghanaian public figure who has developed a deserved reputation in the West Africa region as a peacemaker, Nana Akufo-Addo is one such figure.
\nThe effort to reduce the Ghanaian discussion on the Ivorian crisis to a mere case of support for either of the Ivorian leaders- i.e Mills\/NDC for Gbagbo, Akufo-Addo\/NPP for Ouattara- is very unhelpful. It is a complete red herring. President Kufuor and Foreign Minister Akufo-Addo did not hesitate to work for peace and the consolidation of Laurent Gbagbo\u2019s hold on power after the attempted coup because, in the words of President Kufuor on 21st September 2002, i.e. two days after the attempted coup of 19th September, Laurent Gbagbo represented the \u201clegitimate government\u201d of Cote d\u2019Ivoire, having won the controversial election of 2000. He went on to say that his government would do whatever it could to support that legitimate government. It is the same sense of principle that drives NPP policy in the latest crisis. The peace, unity and democracy of Cote d\u2019Ivoire and the peace and stability of the West African region of ECOWAS are the guiding considerations for NPP, not the partisan support of a given leader, no matter how friendly. That is what is called statesmanship, not crude propagandist posturing.
\nThis Office is aware that attacks on Nana Akufo-Addo are the best way of attracting the attention of President Mills for those who are seeking to maintain their relevance in NDC affairs and those who are seeking preferment and jobs in the Mills government. We can only wish Dr. Spio-Garbrah the best of luck in his enterprise.
\nSigned
\nMustapha Hamid
\nSpokesperson<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Office of the Flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), say the attempt to portray Nana Akufo-Addo as a warmonger will simply not wash since it is a deliberate, crude caricature that flies in the face of the facts. His Office has therefore slammed Dr. Ekow Spio Garbrah, a vice-Chair of the ruling National […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nAkufo-Addo To Spio: Your Article Is Crude Propaganda\u2026Will Fly In The Face Of The Facts - Ghanamma.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/01\/31\/akufo-addo-to-spio-your-article-is-crude-propagandawill-fly-in-the-face-of-the-facts\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Akufo-Addo To Spio: Your Article Is Crude Propaganda\u2026Will Fly In The Face Of The Facts - Ghanamma.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Office of the Flagbearer of the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), say the attempt to portray Nana Akufo-Addo as a warmonger will simply not wash since it is a deliberate, crude caricature that flies in the face of the facts. 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