Rawlings� Fans Were Irresponsible�Plan To Raid Again � Kwesi Pratt

The Managing Editor of the Insight newspaper, Kwesi Pratt Jnr, has said that the behavior of the irate NDC youth at the Cocoa Affairs Court in Accra on Wednesday was irresponsible and must be condemned with all the vehemence that could be found. According to Kwesi Pratt, it was absolutely unnecessary for the supporters of the ex-President, Jerry Rawlings to have stormed the court to beat up the NPP activist, Nana Darkwah. "It is wrong for anybody to go to the court or his house to attempt to beat him up. That is a clear violation of the law and they should not be tolerated, encouraged or allowed,� he stated. He said he could not imagine what will happen next if Kwabena Agyei and Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the NDC National Chairman and General Secretary respectively, were attacked by NPP fanatics, as a result of unpleasant comments they might pass about the NPP. "This level of impunity is unacceptable in any decent society and would only destroy the gains of the country�s democratic experiment...We are getting too many of these recklessness and irresponsibility,� he stated. The member of the Socialist Forum of Ghana said, there was no way supporters of a political party should beat up, threaten or heckle suspects who are appearing before the courts of law. "The Political leadership of the NPP, NDC and the others must stand up and ensure that their supporters behave properly and within the umbrage of the law,� he said. Speaking on Vibe FM, an Accra-based radio station, he recalled circumstances where party supporters had involved themselves in various forms of mayhem during the appearance of their members before state authorities. He recounted a similar instance when the former Chief of Staff, Kwadwo Mpiani, was invited by the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to answer questions about his stewardship. He also cited the case of former Information Minister, Stephen Asamoah Boateng, when NPP members mobilized supporters to cause mayhem simply because the former Minister's passport had been seized by the BNI. "About two weeks ago, supporters of ex-President Rawlings again stormed Asempa FM, an Accra-based radio station in an attempt, to beat up Alhaji Bature but unfortunately for them, he was not found in the studio," he added. Mr. Pratt also stated that some highly placed sources have hinted to him that these same Rawlings supporters are planning to cause mayhem at Radio Gold, also an Accra-based radio station on Saturday, when �Alhaji and Alhaji, a political talk programme will be in session. Some supporters and fanatics of the NDC and especially ex-President Rawlings, stormed the Cocoa Affairs court on Wednesday ostensibly to assault NPP activist, Nana Darkwah, who appeared in court for the first time since alleging that ex-President Rawlings deliberately set fire to his Ridge residence on 14th February this year. Nana Darkwa was arrested and bailed a day after making that infamous statement. He is billed to re-appear in court on 15th March 2010.