Economic Fighters League to hold vigil in solidarity with US protesters

Ghana’s left-wing political movement, Economic Fighters League, has announced it will hold a vigil in solidarity with protesters battling racism in America.

The EFL said the vigil has been set for Saturday evening at the Black Stars Square in Accra.

The Nkrumahist political movement has said it had notified the police in compliance with the public order act.

The vigil follows a protest at the US Embassy last Tuesday by some Ghanaians and African-Americans in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in the US.

The BLM has been mobilising African-Americans onto the streets in several states across the US following the police killing of an unarmed 46-year old black man, George Floyd on May 25.

He was choked to death by a police officer, Derek Chauvin, in Minneapolis who locked his neck with his knee in full glare of the public.

The death has since sparked angry protests across the US believed to be unseen since the era of civil rights activist, Martin Luther King Jnr.

But the angry reactions have not been limited to the US alone. Long protest march has been held in several countries including the UK.

Photo: A protester in the US

In Ghana, disaporian community were the first to publicly protest while the president, Nana Akufo-Addo has also condemned the killing.

The Economic Fighters League, in an earlier statement, condemned the killing and lamented that the “oppression” of the black race is because “we are disunited and weak.”

Fighter-General, Hardi Yakubu, who signed the statement pointed to racism against blacks in China and also the oppression of fellow blacks by African leaders.

The Economic Fighters League have urged Ghanaians to turn up for the vigil with thier nose mask in compliance with coronavirus safety protocols.

Solidarity with African Americans was critical because “Black Lives Matter in America, Ghana, and everywhere in between”, the group has said.