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Re-open probe into 44 Ghanaians killed in The Gambia – Ablakwa

By
Benjamin Mensah, GNA

Accra, Dec. 12, GNA
– Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, the Ranking Member of the Parliamentary Committee
on Foreign Affairs, has made an urgent appeal to Government to open fresh probe
into the killing of 44 Ghanaians in Gambia in 2005.

“Parliament must
urge the Government of Ghana to re-open an investigation into the killings with
the ultimate aim of bringing those who bear the greatest responsibility for the
murder, enforced disappearance and torture of our constituents, to justice,” Mr
Ablakwa said.

He said this in a
statement on the floor of Parliament in Accra, to mark this year’s
International Human Rights Day, observed every year on 10th December.

It is the day the
United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights (UDHR) in 1948, a milestone document proclaiming the inalienable rights.

Everyone is
inherently entitled to the inalienable rights as a human being, regardless of
race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status.

The 2019 global
theme is; “Youth Standing Up for Human Rights.”

After a year marked
by the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Convention on the Rights
of the Child, which culminated on 20th November, 2019, the UN says
it plans to capitalise on the current momentum and spotlight the leadership
role of youth in collective movements as a source of inspiration for a better
future.

Mr Ablakwa’s
statement triggered contributions from members, who pushed for a fresh probe
into the execution.

The call for the
probe, which has been on the quiet for some time now, has been necessitated by
confessions by two Gambian soldiers of their participation in the execution of
the Ghanaian nationals on the orders of then Gambian President Yahya Jammeh.

At The Gambia’s
Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations sitting sometime this year, two military
persons – Lieutenant Malick Jatta and Corporal Omar Jallow, admitted that the
migrants were executed by the “Junglers Squad,” a junta group that took orders
from former President Jammeh.

Reading the
statement, Mr Ablakwa said: “I will like to use this day to urge our Government
and all stakeholders to work to actualise the provisions of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights by seeking justice and compensation for the 44 Ghanaian
migrants who were massacred in The Gambia in July 2005.”

He recalled that the
House had “played a leading role in demanding information about the
circumstances that led to the unlawful killing of 44 of our citizens, brothers,
family members, and constituents, when we heard they had been killed in The
Gambia on July 23, 2005.

Mr Ablakwa also
recalled the role of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, who promptly sent a
High Powered Delegation, led by then Foreign Affairs Minister, but now
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, to The Gambia within a week of hearing
about the unlawful killing; with further discussion by the House in ensuring
that the matter was kept on the front burner of national discussion.

“I would be remiss
if I did not recognise the untiring efforts of His Excellency, former President
John Dramani Mahama, on this matter from when he was the Member of Parliament
for Bole Bamboi and Ranking Member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Vice-President, and President of Ghana,” he said.

In the aftermath of
the unlawful killing, Ghana and The Gambia agreed to establish a joint
investigative team to investigate the matter, however, following the lack of cooperation
by the Government of The Gambia for the establishment of a Ghana-Gambia
investigation, ECOWAS and the UN established a joint Fact-Finding Team on
August 14, 2008 to investigate the 2005 killings.

Mr Ablakwa
recognised that Civil Society Organisations, led by the Commonwealth Human
Rights Initiative, Media Foundation for West Africa and Africa Legal Aid as
well as prominent individuals including Nana Oye Lithur, Mr Akoto Ampaw, and
Professor Kwame Karikari played key roles in the matter.

He noted that the
Ghanaian citizens have been instructively and commendably united in seeking
justice and compensation for the victims and their families.

The Fact-Finding
Team, which was led by Mr Curtis Ward, an advisor to the UN, submitted its
report on or about April 3, 2009 to ECOWAS and the UN.

The report, a copy
of which was made available to Ghana, has since not been made public.

However, snippets of
the report published by the media and the UN DPA stated, among other things,
that the Fact-Finding Team absolved the State of The Gambia of blame for the
unlawful killing, noting that rogue elements acting on their own were
responsible for the murder of Ghanaian citizens.

Based on the
findings of the Fact-Finding Team, Ghana and the Gambia signed a Memorandum of
Understanding on 2nd July, 2009 in Sirte, Libya, under the auspices
of ECOWAS and the UN.

The two countries
pledged, among other things, to bring the actual perpetrators of the massacre
to justice if new evidence emerges providing a prima facie case against the
alleged perpetrators.

Following the
signing of the MOU, the Gambia provided $500,000 towards the burial expenses,
not compensation, of those who were killed and eight bodies were flown to Ghana
for burial at the Osu Cemetery.

Meanwhile, the
Speaker of Parliament, Professor Aaron Mike Oquaye, has referred the statement
to the Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee for perusal.

The committee is
expected to submit a report to the House before resumption of Parliament.

Also, through the
work of the Jammeh2Justice Ghana CSO Coalition led by CDD-Ghana, with members
comprising Africa Center for International Law and Accountability, Commonwealth
Human Rights Initiative, Amnesty International Ghana, among others, and
international partners such as Human Rights Watch, TRIAL International, Mr
Ablakwa said, “it is now known that Ghanaian were actually killed by uniformed
Gambian soldiers on the orders of former President Jammeh.”

He recalled that
when the Gambia and Ghana signed the MOU, they pledged, among other things, to
bring actual perpetrators of the massacre to justice if new evidence emerged
providing a prima facie case against the alleged perpetrators.

“Since Ghana and
Gambia pledged to bring the actual perpetrators to justice and the soldiers
have confessed to murdering our constituents on the orders of Yahya Jammeh,
this august House should take keen interest in this matter.

“Parliament must
urge the Government of Ghana to re-open an investigation into the killings with
the ultimate aim of bringing those who bear the greatest responsibility for the
murder, enforced disappearance and torture of our constituents, to justice.

“The unlawful
killing violates the provisions in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on
the Right to Life (Article 3); prohibition against torture, cruel, inhuman or
degrading treatment (Article 5); prohibition against arbitrary arrest or
detention (Article 9), and the right to be given an effective remedy (Article
8) when such rights have been violated.

“In addition, this
august House should urge the ECOWAS Commission and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Regional Integration to release the ECOWAS/UN Fact-Finding Report into the
massacre of our brothers, fathers and breadwinners especially in the light of
the confessions by the soldiers.

“The victims and
their families also have a right to be provided a copy of the report.”

Recognising the
human rights credentials of the Speaker, Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, Mr Ablakwa
appealed to him to issue any further consequential directives that would assist
in securing justice for the 44 Ghanaian compatriots.

Mr Ablakwa urged the
House to summon the ECOWAS Commission and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
Regional Integration, to release to the House and the families of the victims,
the ECOWAS/UN Fact-Founding Report in the light of the confessions by the
soldiers.

Mr Samuel
Atta-Akyea, the Minister for Works and Housing and MP for Abuakwa South,
remarked that rights distinguish humans from animals and called on Parliament
to work hard to investigate the perpetrators since respect for the fundamental
human rights and freedom enshrined in Constitution was not negotiable.

Speaker Mike Oquaye
referred the matter to the Committee on Constitutional, Legal and Parliamentary
Affairs and directed it to make a report to the House when the Parliament
resumes from the impending Christmas break.

GNA

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