STATEMENT OF THE PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE READ BY A.A. AFRIFA AT A PRESS CONFERENCE HELD AT SEKONDI TAKORADI ON FEBRUARY 24TH 1978 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

This is about the fourth time that we of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice have appeared before you. We have had to resort to this mode of communication with the people of this country and the outside world too because we have been denied the only other effective modes of propagating our ideas, that is, at open public rallies and symposia. So far, we have put in three applications for permits to hold rallies at Accra, Cape Coast and Sekondi/Takoradi, and all of them have been summarily rejected by the Police. And this in spite of General Acheampong’s categorical statement to the nation that the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice is, to quote his own words, “Free to hold rallies”. 

We believe that in spite of all the efforts by the Government of the SMC and the government controlled papers, the Radio and Television, the good people of this country have heard of the inauguration of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice and the circumstances that led to that. To summarize briefly, the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice was inaugurated to make the forth- coming referendum more meaningful. A referendum implies a choice, and for any meaningful choice to be made, at least two sides of the issue should be canvassed. The SMC Government and its numerous statellites such as the Peace and Solidarity Council, the African Youth Command, the Friends, the Charter Committee, etc. have been canvassing the “yes” side of the issue at stake in the referendum. Our Movement was formed to give the people of this country who are opposed to Union Government – and we sincerely believe they are in the majority, the silent majority— a rallying point as well as a mouthpiece. 

Ever since our inauguration exactly only a month ago, it is the country despite all the efforts, some subtle others crude, to stifle or silence us has been highly phenomenal. That the SMC Government has realized our strength, popularity and the force of the challenge we have posed them since our inauguration is evident not only from the famous ‘shock and regret’ speech of Mr. Buckman, Commissioner for S.M.C. Affairs, but all the other members of the S.M.C. have now turned themselves into propaganda secretaries bombarding durbars and rallies in all nooks and corners of this country with their strident but phony message of Union Government. 

But the reaction of the S.M.C. Government, their sycophantic editors of the publicly owned newspapers and their numerous statellite associations and clubs has not only been one of shock and regret but one of heaping all sorts of abuses and levelling all sorts of accusations against us. It is to some of these accusations and villifications that we would like to address ourselves to today. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We have first and foremost been accused of indulging in character assassination and attacks on personalities rather than issues. In his famous interview with the G.B.C. reporter on 13th February 1978, General Acheampong emphasized this and pointed out that in our statements we say nothing about Union Government. It appears either the General has not read these statements or he has not understood them. Take our inaugural statement of the Movement. Of the ten pages of this statement, only one and a half were devoted to a general discussion of the politico-economic situation of the country. The rest was devoted precisely to the Union Government concept during which as many as ten good reasons were advanced against it. The Sunday Mirror of 3rd February 1978 was kind enough to print that statement in full, and you are welcome to read it.

If anybody has been indulging in character assassination and attacks on individuals, it is certainly not we of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice but rather the gallant General Acheampong and above all the fanatical editors of the Daily Graphic, the Ghanaian Times and the Echo. General Acheampong has even sunk as low as to release for publication a personal and confidential letter written by one of our leaders. And what about the nauseating statements, virtuperations and abuses that have been heaped on two of the leaders of the People’s Movement? Never in the history of Ghana has the journalistic profession been brought into such disrepute. 

We have also been accused of reintroducing violence into this country. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

It is indeed true that since our emergence, violence has escalated in the country. It is common knowledge that our attempt to hold a press conference in Kumasi ended with five people shot dead by the Police and a large number of people wounded by the combined action of Police and a hired thugs. It is a fact that hundreds of thugs and Police were brought to break up the rally that we planned to hold at the Liberation Circle at Accra, and even though we did not turn up there simply to prevent the massacre of innocent people that would have taken place, the police and thugs still pounced on the innocent people standing by. You are all aware of the Police brutalities on the various campuses of our Universities and schools, and only a few days ago, thugs and armoured card invaded the campus of the Opolu Ware Secondary School and beat up poor school children and priests for simply saying that they were opposed to Union Government. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

We of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice have no control whatsoever over the Police. Nor can we organise thugs to break up our own rallies and press conferences. The Gallant General victims of Apollo 568 or some chiefs deposed by some of the leaders of the People’s Movement when they were in power. This explanation is too ridiculous for words. Do these people control and give orders to the Police? If these people really want to wreak vengeance on their former enemies, why do they not do so until and only during rallies and press conferences? The General knows that he and his creations and associates such as the Friends, the Peace and Solidarity Council, the Kumasi Youngsters Club, the African Youth Command are the people who hire these thugs and bring them to break up anti-Union Government symposia, rallies and conferences. If this were not so why did he rush through a decree exonerating those thugs who went and broke up the meeting of the Professionals? The violence and thuggery that have escalated since the emergence of the People’s Movement should be attributed to General I.K. Acheampong, his S.M.C. Government and their allied clubs and societies and not to the People’s Movement. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

In our inaugural statement, we made it abundantly clear that we are opposed to violence. To quote our own words, “We seek no confrontation with anybody. We reject violence as a weapon of persuasion”. We have so far remained true to our word. We have never resorted to violence. We decided not to turn up at the Accra rally not because we could not have met force with force but because of our abhorrence of violence. We would like to continue to observe these principles if we are allowed to. And the only way of allowing us to do so and indeed of avoiding all the recent violence and thuggery, is for General Acheampong and his associated clubs and concocted associations, to accord us the same rights and the same facilities for campaigning as are accorded to all those movements and associations campaigning for Union Government and by extending Police protection to both sides and not just to one side.

In his recent press conference General Acheampong stated

“We have details of all the plans they have and the destruction and things like that”.

This is a figment of the General’s own fertile imagination. We challenge the General to publish them if he has them. We have no plans for violence or destruction and to repeat we have never resorted to violence and we will continue to do so as far as we can. But if General Acheampong and his Police continue to refuse us permits and if their thugs continue to attack and break up our meetings and press conferences, we will have no other alternative but to defend ourselves and the lives of our supporters. 

We have further been accused of inciting and manipulating students of our universities to boycott lectures and involving them in national affairs. We would like to state that we of the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice have never done any such thing. Surely, the People’s Movement has been in existence only for a month and student involvement in national issues have been a particularly strong feature of the N.R.C. and S.M.C. administrations. The trouble with this our General is that he seems to have a very short memory. He seems to have forgotten that it was he who shortly after his absolutely unjustifiable and highly unnecessary coup invited students of our Universities to the Parliament House and exhorted them to get involved in national affairs. And they did pay heed to his word, and did get seriously involved as is evidenced by their work at Dahwenya. What has changed is that the students are now involved not on his side but against the General, and for this he has himself to blame and nobody else. And in any case, the accusation that students are being manipulated by others is based on the assumption that they are robots or Zombies who have no mind of their own but can be used by others. This assumption is as baseless as it is insulting to students. They are mature people and are as sensitive as we are to the problems of the country and are as concerned as any one for finding solutions to them in their own way. We sincerely hope the General will stop insulting students and thereby adding insult to injury by constantly harping on the theme of the manipulation of students by other people. 

We have also been accused of mixing the Union Government debate with economic issues and shortages of soap and sardines. But this accusation is the result of either sheer illiteracy or lack of logic. Was it mainly economic reasons that General Acheampong advanced for his coup of January 1972? Nobody can separate economic from political issues. Politics is essentially a matter of means to achieve certain ends, and one of these ends is surely the economic well-being of the people being governed. One of the criteria that has to be applied in the examination of any new type of Government therefore is how that style can or cannot provide the economic well-being of the people. Moreover, one of the main arguments that has been often advanced by the Unigov supporters is that Unigov will bring about economic prosperity and it is in the debunting of this argument that economic issues are dragged in, and we owe nobody any apologies for this. Our counter argument is simply this. The present S.M.C. is indeed a typical A.P.C. type of Union Government. It does consist of Army, Police and Civilians, and yet what is its economic record after six years in office? Is it not shortages of soap, matches, kerosene, engine oil, spare parts, drugs, toilet rolls etc etc? This is a fact, and General Acheampong and his henchmen cannot run away from it. 

Ladies and Gentlemen: 

May we end by referring to a few other issues. First, we have information to the effect that the Government is planning to flood the market with essential commodities such as soap, sardines, matches etc. just a week or two to the referendum day. Please do enjoy them when they do come bot do not be deceived or won over by them. They will be referendum soap, sardines and matches and will disappear with the referendum. Secondly, the Government issue as part of their revolutionary programme and more recently a member of the S.M.C. Government has declared that a “Yes” vote would give them the mandate to crush their opponents. In our maiden statement, we declared that we consider the referendum a matter of confidence or no confidence in the administration of the S.M.C. and the two statements quoted above have further confirmed our stand. If therefore the referendum is hold in a fair and orderly atmosphere and the ‘No’ side wins, we would expect the S.M.C. Government to resign forthwith and hand over power to an interim administration to return the country to democratic civilian, repeat, civilian rule. 

Finally we would like to appeal through you and all the good people of the country to General Acheampong and his S.M.C. to abandon the path of violence, thuggery, discrimination and rough play for one of peace, fairness and legitimacy by according the People’s Movement for Freedom and Justice the same opportunities and facilities as are being given to bodies such as the Peace and Solidarity Council, African Youth Command, Charter Committees, the Friends, the Kumasi Youngsters Club, the League of Patriots, etc. etc. It is only this that will ensure peace and a favourable atmosphere in which a fair and meaningful referendum can be held. 

For our stand on the Union Government and why we are advocating a “No Vote” I will call on my colleague to present our case. Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen. 

LONG LIVE THE PEOPLE’S MOVEMENT FOR FREEDOM AND JUSTICE 

LONG LIVE GHANA.