Mr Adams
The New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) have clashed over the use of political vigilantism.
While the NPP has stated that the increasing calls for its pro-party groups must be disbanded are misplaced, the NDC is silent on whether to have such groups banned or not.
Yaw Buabeng Asamoah, NPP Communications Director and Kofi Adams, NDC National Organiser clashed over the issue.
According to Mr Asamoah, who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Adentan, noted that the party did not form such groups and cannot disband them, however, Mr Adams alluded that the NPP must be held liable for actions of such groups.
Defending freedom of association, Mr Asamoah indicated that pro-NPP is an association just like the Association of Freight Forwarders explaining that the groups came about to help with crowd control at the party’s congresses and rallies.
“The demand to disband vigilante groups of the party cannot be implemented. Because the focus must not be to criminalise them but criminalise those within the groups found to have flouted the law”.
“When the party puts something together, the party can disband. The arrest and prosecution of some of their members is evidence of the government’s commitment to punishing crimes irrespective of party affiliation”.
“While demands and needs which the groups look to the government to fulfill may be legitimate, their methods are criminal but resort to show of force because they do not have the power like other pro-NPP groups whose approach is intellectual”.
“But using violence leads to blackmailing the government which is unacceptable, the groups must clean up their actions and adopt proper ways to have their needs addressed”.
However, Mr Adams asked the citizenry not to take seriously, the government’s promise to stamp out thuggery displayed by pro-government groups since “the violence meted out by the groups escalates, whenever the government vows to deal with the menace.
“The President must be held particularly responsible for the thuggery because under NDC, some party supporters were sentenced to four months in prison for verbally assaulting Supreme Court judges but under NPP, 13 party supporters were only fined for attacking a judge,” he stressed. –myjoyonline.com
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