October 12, 2000
President Jerry Rawlings
The Castle
PO Box 1627, Accra
Republic of Ghana
VIA FAX: (233) 21 664 089
Your Excellency:
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is appalled at the October
2 attack on the Accra offices of The Crusading Guide, a private
bi-weekly newspaper which has taken a critical stand toward your government.
Kweku Baako, the editor of The Crusading Guide, arrived at the
newspaper's office on October 2 to find the floors, windows, and verandah
of the office smeared with human excrement. While the police are investigating
the act, the perpetrators have yet to be identified.
This is the third time in recent years that the editorial offices of an
independent newspaper have been smeared with human excreta. The thrice-weekly
Ghanaian Chronicle and the bi-weekly Free Press were similarly
vandalized in 1994 and 1996, respectively. Like The Crusading Guide,
both newspapers published articles critical of the government.
This incident is particularly troubling because it took place less than
two weeks after the September 19 arrest of The Crusading Guide's
news editor Sedi Bansah by Deputy Minister of Defense, Dr. Tony Aidoo.
The arrest was prompted by a phone call Bansah placed to Aidoo on September
29. Bansah was seeking comment on allegations that Aidoo had gotten into
an altercation with a security guard at a gas station. According to The
Ghanaian Chronicle, Bansah was able to contact the security guard
to confirm the story. Bansah later said that he also spoke to witnesses
to the incident who corroborated the security guard's version of events.
When Bansah called Aidoo to get his side of the story, the deputy minister
insisted on coming to The Crusading Guide office. He arrived with
four military officers. CPJ's sources in Ghana say Bansah was taken into
custody and then transported to police headquarters where he was asked
to identify the security guard who had made the allegations against the
deputy minister.
Bansah was held for eight hours before being released; he was asked to
return to police headquarters the following day. According to CPJ's sources
in Ghana, the deputy minister dropped the case after several press freedom
organizations protested the journalist's detention.
As a nonpartisan organization dedicated to defending the rights of journalists
worldwide, CPJ is deeply troubled by Aidoo's behavior. The right of journalists
to protect the confidentiality of their sources is essential to their
work. Moreover, in soliciting Aidoo's comments on the allegations made
against him, before publishing a story about the incident, Bansah was
acting in accordance with the ethical requirements of his profession.
We believe that the deputy minister overstepped the bounds of the law,
and abused the power of his office by arbitrarily arresting this journalist.
While we are pleased that Your Excellency has publicly condemned the vandalism
of The Crusading Guide's office, we feel that the impressive progress
Ghana has made toward the establishment of a vital independent press and
the free exchange of ideas could be undermined if newspapers that criticize
your government continue to be harassed.
We believe that deputy minister Aidoo flagrantly abused the power of his
office and should be investigated by the legal authorities. Freedom of
the press is enshrined in Ghana's constitution but only exists in practice
when those who disagree with critical press coverage express their concerns
in the public forum rather than responding with brute force.
We respectfully await your comments on this matter.
Sincerely,
Ann K. Cooper
Executive Director
Send a letter to:
President Jerry Rawlings
The Castle
PO Box 1627, Accra
Republic of Ghana
VIA FAX: (233) 21 664 089