Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Deputy Minister of Information, has denied a story published in the Daily Searchlight newspaper that quoted him as saying \u201cObama can go to hell\u201d, over the US Administration\u2019s decision to tie gay rights to aid.<\/p>\n
A rejoinder issued on Thursday in Accra, said: \u201cI was called yesterday the 7th of December, 2011 at 11.13 am by one Deborah Esi Acquah, who introduced herself as a reporter from The Daily Searchlight and wanted Government\u2019s reaction to news from Washington DC that the Obama Administration will tie gay rights as conditionality to aid.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy exact and only words in response to your reporter\u2019s enquiry was that \u201cPresident Mills has already stated the position of the Ghanaian Government and so it will be useful for The Daily Searchlight to refer to the statement made by President Mills.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cannot fathom how this response could be interpreted by the wildest stretch of imagination to mean that I have asked President Obama to go to Hell. To falsely attribute these words to me and put same in quotation marks as a screaming banner headline is most mischievous, unethical and unfair.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe agenda of The Daily Searchlight becomes even more apparent when you write in your opening paragraph that \u201cFresh from telling off UK Prime Minister David Cameron to take a hike, Deputy Minister of Information, Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa is at it again. This time his target is US President Barack Obama.<\/p>\n
\u201cAgain, factual records will show that I have never told Prime Minister Cameron to go take a hike neither have I \u201ctargeted\u201d President Barack Obama as but for your reporter\u2019s call to me I would not have been speaking to The Daily Searchlight.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would have ignored this dangerous publication as I have done on many occasions but since it has become obvious that your paper has been consistent on this path, I have decided to correct the false impression this publication and the previous ones have created considering that it has the tendency to create needless tensions between Ghana and other nations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have always been conscious of my diction and choice of expressions especially in the sensitive arena of international diplomacy and find this agenda by The Daily Searchlight as very distasteful to say the least.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis rejoinder is without prejudice to our Government\u2019s stance on the issue of gay rights and aid. It is possible and has always been possible for us to maintain a principled position on such issues in a decorous manner without asking other heads of states to \u2018go to hell\u2019 or \u2018take a hike.\u2019\u201d <\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, a Deputy Minister of Information, has denied a story published in the Daily Searchlight newspaper that quoted him as saying \u201cObama can go to hell\u201d, over the US Administration\u2019s decision to tie gay rights to aid. A rejoinder issued on Thursday in Accra, said: \u201cI was called yesterday the 7th of December, 2011 at 11.13 am by one Deborah Esi Acquah, who introduced herself as a reporter from The Daily Searchlight and wanted Government\u2019s reaction to news from Washington DC that the Obama Administration will tie gay rights as conditionality to aid<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n