<<Print>>

ADDRESS BY FLT LT RAWLINGS, FORMER PRESIDENT AND CHAIRMAN OF THE ERSTWHILE ARMED FORCES REVOLUTIONARY COUNCIL AT THE 32ND ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION OF THE JUNE 4TH UPRISING � JUBILEE PARK, KUMASI June 4th 1979 was the day of very few words. It was a very liberating day. It was another moment of truth in the history of our nation. It was about the fourth moment of truth since our independence. Come July 8th we will have to face another moment of truth. June 4th was a day the human spirit decided enough was enough. It was a period the spirit of the nation came alive and decided enough was enough. No man was born to slave for another. Leadership did not give the right to rule with impunity. Corruption was taught a lesson. The misuse and abuses of the cohesive machinery of the state was turned against the abusers. As corrupt as the Kufuor administration was, so also has this leadership been unmatched in crass behaviour. June 4th is a day we take inspiration from. June 4th demonstrated to all of us the need to respect human values. We have strayed away from those cherished human values. Too many things are going wrong. Too many things that went wrong during the Kufuor regime have still not been rectified. The human rights violations and ethnic persecutions that should have been investigated and dealt with. The assassinations, plots and plans that should also have been investigated have all been left unattended to. This government�s refusal to undo the injustices of the past will only lead to perpetuation of socio-economic injustice in Ghana. Ladies and gentlemen: There are times when people find it easier and more comfortable living with a misconception than facing the uncomfortable truth. A good number of people in this government and the leadership of the party would rather lose the 2012 national election to the NPP than for the NDC to remain in power with a new leadership that will demand socio-economic justice, probity and accountability right to the letter. The timid and sometimes cowardly behaviour of some of the NDC leadership was evident throughout the NPP regime but we find it convenient to make ourselves believe that timid behaviour never existed. That pattern of behaviour has become even more visible since the NDC came back into office. And yet after almost two and half years some of us still cannot open our eyes to the reality of what is going on. Are we not drifting aimlessly free with the NPP still pretty much in control? Our nervousness about the future is still blinding us to the decay that may rather cost us the 2012 elections. Certain personalities in the leadership of this government who were spared from Kufuor�s persecution and have jumped into the driving seat of the government have also not only decided to leave all the injustices intact, but have gone beyond it to dip their hands and feet into resources that would make them financial builders and breakers of the political will and power of the people. And this is all happening at the expense of stable, noble, human values. Ladies and gentlemen: There are too many mean spirited things going on that I don�t want to waste time talking about now. The indecent distortions that have been sown into our party are alien to us. The PNDC/NDC believed and showed respect and trust for one another. Today it is not only appointees who are being held to ransom; our people are also being held to ransom; their economic and social insecurity is being taken advantage of. We are a party that used to believe in the rights and convictions of the individual. What has happened to our values? If we truly believe that my sincere and justified criticism of a man I have stood by through the most politically trying and turbulent times was simply because I wanted Nana Konadu Agyeman in power, then the principled political public service for the past twenty years or so has been lost on you. Then fellow countrymen and women and I suggest you tell your delegates to defy their conscience. That day those of us who truly love the NDC will step out hopefully free of our burdens and certainly with our God blessed principles and dignity intact. We are fighting first and foremost for the sanctity of principles without which a President is nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, Nana Konadu Agyeman will win. But assuming she were to lose the 76% rating as some elements in government are claiming, she would have stood up to be counted amongst those who accepted the call to stop the ship from sinking. Some are calling for our silence in order to preserve a legacy. Where is the value of preserving such a legacy, knowing very well you�re on a sinking ship? Arabs are today fighting in their countries for their June 4th whilst others are engaged in a 31st December. We have had the privilege of our own June 4th and 31st December a few decades ago. Let us not squander it. Freedom and justice can be very costly. We nearly lost it under Kufuor had the determined spirit of this country not rescued it in 2008. Ladies and gentlemen: Any form of socio-economic injustice that is not rectified ends up perpetuating itself. I assure you that a new leadership borne out of the conscience of the people will spread the spirit of reconciliation, cooperation and unity, as we have always attempted to do in order to bring the nation and government back on course. If the leadership however remains adamant and refuses to recognise the new will and spirit of the party and possibly even goes to further undermine the future leadership then the inevitable will surely happen. Ladies and gentlemen: The next opportunity I get I would want to demonstrate to you how persistently blind we have been to the perversion of justice and why this country will remain under the bondage of a parasitic group of people in this country. Have we had the opportunity to change this situation since we came into office? Yes we have, but we have almost squandered it and are on the verge of perpetuating the violation of justice by leaving its sanctity in the hands of conniving human beings instead of the constitution. Our lack of faith in the judicial consciousness of our people has made this government a clear failure in our fight to stop the manipulation of justice by a handful of self-seeking individuals. The sanctity of justice should be preserved and protected with all of us being subject to the practice of what is just. Hear me out when the time comes. Dangerous times are ahead of us because we failed to do what we needed to do when you gave us back the power in 2008. I cannot end this address without saying a big thank you to the armed forces and the security services and the great people of Ghana for the gift of June 4th. Thank you.