Arise Ghana To Police: You’re Acting In Bad Faith

The leading member of the Arise Ghana Movement, Mensah Thompson, has served notice that the pressure group will still go ahead with its planned night demonstration despite concerns raised by the police.

The police have dragged Arise Ghana to court to determine the fate of the exercise.

The police want the group to hit the streets during day time in order to provide adequate security. However, according to a statement from the police, Arise Ghana leadership remain adamant.

“Due to the lack of agreement between the police and the organisers on the time for the demonstration and location for their planned picketing, the police have had no option but to submit the process to the court for a determination,” the director of public affairs, Chief Superintendent Grace Ansah-Akrofi said in the statement released on Sunday (26 June).

However, in an interview with an Accra-based Asaase Radio, Mensah said the move is an attempt to frustrate the organisers.

“We had a meeting with the police and concluded three weeks ago. If the police had a problem with the timing and the processes, what stops them from going to court earlier so that we can battle it efficiently? Why should the police wait till a day before our demonstration before they go to court?
“We went out to print our flyers, banners to do our promotions, the public engagement, the duration and the time, venue and everything because we had reached a concrete agreement with the police,” Thompson said.

“So for the police to then wait for the last minute to come with this flimsy excuse is a clear demonstration of bad faith, and I say that if the police want to engender confidence, if the police want the public to have trust in them, these are the very things they must avoid,” he added.

The pressure group Arise Ghana wants the government to reverse the levy, halt the Agyapa deal and reduce fuel prices, as well as, stop the reclassification of the Achimota Forest.

Source: Asaase Radio