A ranking Member of Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa says President Akufo-Addo is caught in a dilemma as far as the GITMO 2 case is concerned.
He claims Nana Addo is torn between ‘fulfilling his campaign promise of returning the two’ detainees, maintaining the relationship between Ghana and the United States of America (USA) and at the same time follow the Supreme Court ruling.
“President Akufo-Addo’s government finds itself between the rock and the hard place. During the campaign, they made an issue of this matter (Gitmo 2) and promised Ghanaians to return the two; it is surprising that almost six months in office nothing was heard until this Supreme Court decision and so I do not know if their campaign position has changed because we saw no action of returning them. They could have returned the two the first day they were sworn in if they really wanted to keep their promise . . . we need to be conscious of our relationship with the United States of America. You don’t want to annoy such super power and you also want to make sure you do not attract any negative attention . . . so my advice now is put the politics aside and think cautiously and strategically in the national interest," he indicated.
Mr Ablakwa who is also the Member of Parliament for North Tongu constituency was speaking to a Supreme Court ruling on Thursday asking government to send the agreement that brought the two ex-detainees from Guantanamo Bay (GITMO) to Parliament for ratification.
In an interview with Citi Eyewitness news, Thursday, the MP further stated: “we welcome the decision of the Apex court . . . moving forward; we need to be cautious on how we navigate. The NPP made this an issue and promised to return Gitmo 2 when given the nod. If they come to parliament it will be at variant with their campaign promise of returning them."
He again added that: “at this point we want to be more nationalistic and we want to say that let us proceed cautiously. We want to make sure that at the end of the day we guarantee the security of the state; not attracting any negative attention that will cause terrorist to make us a target. That must be all of us our collective objective at this point. Then we must also be concerned about our relationship with the United States of America. We also must walk the narrow path to ensure that we do not slight the Supreme Court. It’s a very delicate path that the new government has to thread; at this point it is important to respect the decision of the court.”
If you may recall, in January 2016, the two detainees: Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, who had been in detention in the USA for 14 years, after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda were brought into the country by the Mahama administration.
This act was met with massive public uproar, sparking unending and heated debate in the country, with many describing it as a threat to national security.
Subsequently, Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye, sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, together with the Minister of Interior, accusing then-President John Mahama of illegally bringing in the two former Gitmo detainees, without recourse to the laws of the land.
The plaintiffs were seeking among other reliefs, a “declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.”
According to Peace FM's Agya Kwabena, who was in court Thursday, 22nd June, 2017, the Supreme Court presided over by newly sworn in Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, declared that it is unconstitutional for the two ex-detainees to be allowed into the country without Parliament's prior approval.
The court also directed that the issue of the two ex-detainees' admittance into Ghana, be brought before Parliament within the next three (3) months.
Source: Rebecca Addo Tetteh/Peacefmonline.com
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Issues like this tell us how far we have come as country. Mahama broke the Law by admitting the 2 prisoners and justified it in full view of his party. Now after he has been put aside this same party members are coming to blame Prez Akuffo Addo for what John Mahama did I CANT THINK THAT FAR
Its only the gulli_ble ndc u can deceive. Ese nngaw produce evidence for this ***barred word*** lie that His Excellency promised to send the 2 back to base.
There is no need to go parliament. Just deport them. If parliament approved their stay, what then is this long suit for?
I HAVE FOLLOWED WITH KEEN INTEREST DEVELOPMENTS IN GHANA AFTER THE 2016 ELECTION AND IT MAKES NE BELIEVE THAT GOD IS SO CLOSE TO GHANA THAN ANY OTHER COUNTRY. THE NPP FINDS IT SELF IN POWER AND SUDDENLY THEY ARE BEING PUT TO TEXT ABOUT ALL THE THINGS THE ACCUSED THE FORMAL PRESIDENT ABOUT. THE NPP SEEMS TO EITHER HAVE THE SAME SOLUTIONS USED BY THE NDC OR DONT HAVE ANY SOLUTION AT ALL ABOUT THE SAME THINGS THEY CRITICIZE FORMAL PRESIDENT MAHAMAH ON. THIS COURT DECISION IS A TEST CASE FOR ALL OF US ESPECIALLY THOSE LECTURES, SENIOR JOURNALIST AND PASTORS WHO NEARLY LYNCH FORMAL PRESIDENT MAHAMAH ON THIS VERY ISSUE.THE COURT HAS OPEN THE CHOICE EITHER TO ACCEPT THEM OR LET THEM GO SPEAK OUT MOW.
Now I believe God is at work in Ghana. Akufo Addo must liick every vommit he brought out. God you're greater than the greatest.
Don't expose your ignorance like NDC. Americans send them back to Guantanamo Bay to continue their sentence. If it were America, would they accept them?
The greediness and corruption of incompetent John Ford Mahama and his NDC cr!m!nal gang has put Akuffo Addo and the whole country into this mess. He collected bribe and brought the 2 guys here using illegal means. We must deport them.....
WHEN THE MILLIPEDE IS YOUR RELATIVE, EVEN WHEN IT DIES IT LEAVES YOU RINGS. IT IS YOUR DEMONIC, NATION-WRECKING NDC WHICH BROUGHT INTO GHANA THESE PEOPLE AND TRUE TO YOUR DEMONIC CHARACTER YOU ARE NOW TEASING NANA THE PRESIDENT. SHAMWLESS SWI/NE!!!!
Another reason why former Prez Mahama must sit his somewhere and enjoy his looty booty... The whole nation question the grounds with which the Gitmo 2 were accepted into Ghana. Even some of NDC stakeholders had no clue to the deal. Whether they are sent back or not, Mahama and his NDC must bow their head in another big shame.
Dilemma? He cant do foko. If he is a man he should return them and he will see what the Americans will do to him. They should go ratify it in Parliament and stop the much ado about nothing. Should this thing have gone to the SC in the first place?