Demonstrators lives matter, treat them with respect and dignity – IGP tells cops

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akuffo Dampare, has urged officers attached to the Arise Ghana demonstrators to treat them with respect and dignity.

For him, it is important to remember that demonstrators are equally human beings, most especially Ghanaians, and possibly brothers and sisters to the same officers.

He was addressing officers gathered at the National Police Headquarters for the planned protest today (28 June 2022).

“We should treat them with all the respect, the civility, and dignity that each and every human being deserves. In effect, we should treat them the way we would have loved to be treated if we were on the other side.

“If it is you or your effort that is going to take for somebody to continue to live to accomplish his or her God-given destiny, please do that and do that joyously; do that with love; do that with a sense of humility and humanity, and at the end of the day, we win the hearts and minds of the demonstrators,” he urged.

As part of the preparations, the IGP announced that for the first time, two mobile police hospital units had been deployed to assist demonstrators or officers who might need medical attention during the protest.

“We want to show the world that our country, our democracy, is growing from strength to strength, and this is the finest opportunity to demonstrate that, and we cannot miss this opportunity. At the end of the day, we want to see that the demonstrators themselves and leadership will be so happy with the police that they will say thank you to the police.

“Two, the rest of the people of Ghana will also be so glad in terms of how the police conducts itself, and in terms of the way the demonstrators have behaved such that we can be proud of ourselves as a country, and three, the rest of the world will continue to see us as a beacon of hope in the sub-region and beyond when it comes to democracy,” Dr Dampare added.

Motivation for the demonstration?

I) Protest against persistent and astronomical hikes in fuel prices by the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government that has imposed excruciating economic hardships on Ghanaians.

II) Protest against the imposition of the obnoxious E-Levy on the already-burdened Ghanaian people by the insensitive Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government.

III) Demand a full-scale and bi-partisan parliamentary probe into COVID-19 expenditures.

IV) Protest against the grabbing of State lands by officials of the Akufo-Addo/Bawumia government, particularly the de-classification of huge portions of the Achimota Forest Reserve.

V) Protest against the increased rate of police brutalities and state-sponsored killing of innocent Ghanaians, as well as the growing culture of human rights abuses under the watch of President Akufo-Addo and Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia.

The outline the court gave about the demonstration?

On Monday, 27 June 2022, the Accra High Court presided over by Comfort Tasiame said the group should only demonstrate between the hours of 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

The court additionally directed that the protest should commence at the Obra Spot here in Accra and end at the Independence Square.

Initially, the group wanted to demonstrate till 10 pm and picket at the Jubile House afterward, but the court said disagreed.

Arise Ghana, has since filed an appeal and a stay of execution against the court’s ruling, which is expected to be heard on 12 July 2022.