News:
June 15, 2011
The Member of Parliament for Subin, Isaac Osei has condemned the Ghana Police Service for using excessive force to disperse harmless demonstrating fishermen in Accra yesterday.
According to him, a measured and more calculated response from the police would have been apprioprate to deal with the demonstrators.
His comments the incident in which some members of the Ghana National Canoe Fishermen Council received various degrees of injuries after Police fired tear gas and shots to disperse them, as they attempted to enter the Castle to present a petition to the President.
This occurred moments after the rampaging fishermen numbering about 5,000 demonstrated from James Town to the Independence Square.
Upon reaching the Castle, some of the fishermen attempted to go straight into the castle although their leaders had agreed that the Castle junction was going to be their last point.
This resulted in a scuffle with the Police as they tried to control the rioting fishermen.
Four of them were quickly rushed to the Police Hospital after sustaining injuries.
However contributing to a panel discussion on e.tv’s BREAKFAST TV show on Wednesday, Hon Isaac Osei bemoaned the increasing use of brute force by the police on demonstrators in recent times.
Citing the recent Madina Zongo incident in which lives were lost, he urged the police to adopt and apply morden technics of dealing with riots and other similar activities to avoid casualties.
He was equally concerned about the indiscpline by demonstrators who always want to go out of the agreed program with the police to do their own thing, which invariably results in skermishes.
Source: Kwadwo Anim/ghanamps.gov.gh