Ghana must respond to Ivorian mercenary allegations by UN - Col. Aboagye

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Created on Friday, 12 October 2012 00:00

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Ghana must respond to Ivorian mercenary allegations by UN - Col. Aboagye

11 October 2012

A senior research fellow at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in South Africa, Col. (Retd) Festus Boahen Aboagye, has criticized a UN expert panel for releasing findings on an Ivorian mercenary structure in Ghana and preparing to present them to the UN Security Council before consulting Ghana’s government.

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He called the failure to communicate the findings to the Government of Ghana a flaw in the panel’s investigative methodology, insisting that Ghana be afforded a chance to respond before the Security Council hears the report and adding that the panel’s conduct amounts to an indictment of Ghana and its government.

Speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show Thursday to a United Nations report claiming an expert panel had uncovered a strategic military base in Ghana operated by mercenaries plotting to overthrow the Ivorian government, Col. Aboagye said that it was not too late for dialogue between the Ghanaian and Ivorian governments.

He fears that like other West African states who have harbored Ghanaian dissidents in the past, Ghana could suffer if the governments does not achieve reconciliation.

The security expert expressed suspicion that the panel lacks a full understanding of the regional dynamics, pointing out that the Ghana-Cote d’Ivoire border is porous and that instability spills over easily.

On the international stage, the panel’s report is something of an embarrassment to Ghana, coming just weeks after President Mahama pledged to the UN that his country would not be a haven for those promoting instability abroad, he stated.

From: Adam Reese/Myjoyonline.com