Security analyst Dr. Ishmael Norman has taken a stance opposing Minority Leader in Parliament, Dr. Cassiel Ato Forson. Dr. Forson’s expressed disagreement with the police’s decision to prevent their #OccupyBoG protest from entering the Bank of Ghana headquarters.
He expected the police to permit the caucus’s leadership and MPs to access the central bank for the purpose of presenting a petition to the governor. However, Dr. Norman disagrees with Dr. Forson’s viewpoint.
Ghana Police Service at a press briefing on Monday announced that it would allow the OccupyBoG protesters to march as far as the National Lottery Authority and make a U-turn towards the Independence Square where they are to terminate their procession.
The Service justified this decision by insisting that the area beyond the National Lottery Authority, particularly the Bank of Ghana premises, is a security zone and so allowing such a large procession into the vicinity could potentially pose a risk to national security.
But according to security analyst, the minority is asking for too much and urged them to accept the police’s boundaries.
“I think going to the Central Bank is totally a no-no. Can you do this in America? Fort Knox? You can go to Fort Knox? You can go to New York Treasury and then demonstrate there? I mean, please let’s be real. You have the right to express your will as a citizen, you have the right to criticize the government, you have the right to demonstrate.
“But there are certain specific areas that you should not be permitted to go at all and one of them is the central bank. So for me, I support the demonstration as a right of every citizen, part of their inalienable rights. However, the central bank is out of place. I am surprised that I am speaking for the Ghana Police because normally I don’t do this, but I think they’re demanding a bit too much and I think that should not be allowed,” he said.
However, private legal practitioner Samson Lardy Anyenini stated that the police’s designation of a location as a security zone cannot be swallowed hook, line, and sinker.
According to him, just because an area is designated a security zone does not preclude a modest procession bringing a petition from passing through.
“We cannot be agreeing with the police and saying once they say a place is a security zone it means a security zone is out of access. I think that’s completely wrong. Nowhere in the world is it established that a place that is designated as a security zone means you cannot take a demonstration there.
“In this case, they are not saying from what we have heard, that they are taking the demonstration there. They’re saying give some of the leaders the opportunity to go there, what’s wrong with that? What’s the biggest security zone than the white house?
“So please let’s not take the police’s word and simply say once they say it’s a security zone it means a security zone means that you cannot access the place,” he said.
The NDC and its supporters are planning a protest to demand the immediate resignation of the Bank of Ghana’s governors for what they describe as gross mismanagement of Ghana’s fiscal space, which has significantly contributed to the Bank of Ghana’s bankruptcy and the country’s worsening economic conditions.
If the October 3 protest fails to yield the desired results, the Minority will take further steps to remove the central bank managers, according to Dr. Forson.
“This is the first of a series of actions that we are going to take. We may repeat the demonstration. We may begin processes in parliament that will remove the Governor and the deputies. So, let’s start from tomorrow [Tuesday] and let’s see what happens,” he said.