Government has rejected calls to negotiate with secessionist group, Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) in order to resolve the threats posed by their activities.
According to the Minister of Information, Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, the riotous and militant activities of the secessionist group are against the laws of the state and will therefore be dealt with as criminal conducts according to the laws.
This follows calls by section of the public particularly some security experts and historians for government to engage the separatist group in a dialogue in order to resolve the security threats posed by the group permanently.
Security expert, Col. Festus Aboagye while calling for engagement with the group in round table discussion argued that dialogue has proven effective in the resolution of such matters in other parts of the continent hence the need for Ghana to adopt dialogue alongside the deployment of security forces and intelligence to foil any impending attack.
Historian Kweku Darko Ankrah who also called for an engagement asserted that inviting them for discussion will help reach a position where they will realize most of their claims and basis for their actions are unfounded
But speaking in an interview on Joy FM, Mr. Oppong Nkrumah intimated that engaging the separatists group in a dialogue will amount to condoning criminal activities hence government does not have plans of engaging them in any dialogue.
“When you meet somebody on the Akosomba Dam who is purporting to take over the dam and is suspected to be in possession of instruments that can cause harm to the dam; that is not negotiation (issue). When you meet people who have conspired and attempted to do harm to public property or who have attacked a police officer that is not an engagement or discussion (matter). That is a criminal offence against the Republic of Ghana,” he said.
The minister, however, indicated government’s readiness to engage members of the group who are not involved in any criminal conduct against the state and pose no security threats to lives and properties so as to dispel any form of misinformation behind the demand for the creation of a new country out of Ghana.
“When you meet a young person from somewhere in the Volta Region who is being deceived that a Plebiscite has a 50 year tenure and has expired and therefore he can ask for independence, you can engage with him and educate him and then he understands. When you meet a young person who has been called from his village to come and join a group of people standing by a mounted roadblock who does not have a full understanding of what is going on and you give him education, and out of that engagement he understands the risk that he is posing to his life and to his community, he understands you. So it is a multifaceted approach that separates different parts,” he added.
The activities of the secessionist groups which are now said to be in their numbers and clamoring for independence of parts of Ghana, have become a public concern following recent attacks on state properties and officials by suspected members of the group.
