The Deputy Upper East Regional Communication Director for the NPP, Andrew Atariwini, has expressed strong reservations over the attack on residents in Garu by the military. It is unclear the reason for the attack by the military.
In a post made on his official Facebook page, Mr. Atariwini called on the Ministry of Defense to take strong and urgent steps to address the issue.
Read the full statement below:
MILITARY BRUTALITY IN GARU: THE UNWARRANTED IMPUNITY OF THE GHANAIAN SOLDIER.
It is with a heavy heart of disappointment, rage and disgust that I add my voice in an outright condemnation of the unprofessional, cruel, callous and indeed criminal acts of the military in the Garu and Tempane Districts respectively in the wee hours of 29th October, 2023.
The Military stormed the Garu and Tempane Districts without any provocation and attacked dozens of young people in their respective homes leaving all their victims maimed and some ‘abducted’ to an undisclosed location.
There is thus far no reason(s) assigned to this barbaric act from the high command of the military who have really lost their lustre of discipline and focus of their presence in the Bawku enclave.
The physical torture and brutalities leaves one in wonder if this was Hamaz, Hezbollah or Boko Haram terrorist: any sensible military with the professional training befitting the Ghana Armed forces would rather protect its own even at the peril of their lives not to harm and displace the citizenry they are created to protect. This is a shame to the Ghana military if not cowardice on their part.
I beseech the Ministers for Defence, National Security, and indeed the President of the Republic to act now in providing us answers to the following:
Who sanctioned the order?
What are the causative reasons for the order if there was any order at all?
Were the untrained and unarmed civilian victims posing any threat to the professional and heavily armed military?
4.Were the victims resisting arrest?
If there is no evidence to justify this stupid act of the military, I call for the immediate investigation by the Commission for Human Rights and Administrative Justice into the matter and the officers responsible brought to justice.
If in the era of ‘see something, say something’ the civilian public cannot coexist with the military, then the future looks gloomy indeed.
In conclusion, the wise words of Douglas MacArthur provides the elucidation that is long lost on the kind of military we have in Ghana today: “The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war”.
Unfortunately, we see a trend that is scary: we remember the acid brutality of the military in Ejura, oh yes! the inhumane and unconventional attacks on the residence of Ashaiman is ever fresh in our minds, if nothing is done to correct the wrongs and unprofessional trend of the military, Ghana is not safe yet.
