Involving Secessionists Won’t Mean You Plan To Grant Your Request: Col (rtd) Aboagye Tells Government

General news for Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Source: www.ghanaweb.com

2020-09-30

Renowned expert on security and conflict resolution, Colonel Festus Aboagye (rtd), has said that people who reject suggestions for a dialogue between the government and members of a group calling for independence and self-government for a small area in the Volta region they are not understanding.

Aboagye said in an exclusive interview with GhanaWeb on Tuesday, September 29, 2020, that the threat to national security posed by members of the Homeland Study Group Foundation (HSGF) is real, hence the need to eliminate the threat at all costs.

“One of the purposes of mediation negotiation is communication. We [government of Ghana] You need to talk to them and find out exactly what they are looking for, beyond what they have stated on their website, etc.

“And we don’t need to speak to them directly. We can get a third party … an individual, a prominent person, who has influence and connection in Togo and Ghana, talk to them, ”he said.

HSGF members are calling for the secession of parts of the Volta and Oti regions, an area they say is part of western Togo, which was forced to join Ghana during a plebiscite in 1956.

In the early morning of Friday, September 25, 2020, the group took over Juapong, a town in the North Tongu district of the Volta region. They blocked roads and arrested a police commander.

The group had posted huge “Welcome to West Togoland” signs at different points of entry, as it was difficult for motorists to leave the city.

Calm has been restored in the area after national security agents stormed the hotspots.

Commenting on fears that secessionists’ activities could escalate, Col Aboagye (rtd) said Ghana must adopt a well-communicated strategy that eliminates the security threat posed by the agitators.

“You can use diplomacy, you can use the economy, you can use the military, and you can use any number of things. Which of these tools does Ghana have?

“If we find out that we can’t defeat them on the battlefield, we talk to them. Talking with them does not mean that you are going to agree to their request ”, he emphasized.