{"id":198382,"date":"2016-03-13T06:10:07","date_gmt":"2016-03-13T06:10:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=198382"},"modified":"2016-03-13T06:10:07","modified_gmt":"2016-03-13T06:10:07","slug":"journalists-werent-dragged-by-rope-into-tipper-truck-adu-asare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=198382","title":{"rendered":"Journalists weren\u2019t dragged by rope into tipper truck \u2013 Adu Asare"},"content":{"rendered":"

A member of the incumbent National Democratic Congress (NDC), Kojo Adu Asare, says\u00a0authorities who were in charge of media relations at Ghana\u2019s 59th Independence Day anniversary parade cannot be criticized for packing journalists into a tipper truck.<\/p>\n

The authorities have come under intense criticism after journalists who covered the event were \u00a0packed in a tipper truck<\/strong> <\/a>\u00a0to<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>enable them take photos and video shots of President Mahama as\u00a0he inspected\u00a0the parade and later lit\u00a0the perpetual flame at the Black Star Square.<\/p>\n

[contextly_sidebar id=”PFnYUHMYDv3KG6OzTgLtx66eC5cltpaJ”]But the former Adentan MP\u00a0argued that it is unfair to blame authorities since the reporters entered the truck voluntarily.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not sure there was any journalist that was dragged with a rope tied to their waist or their neck to climb onto a tipper truck. No one pulled them onto that tipper truck. They climbed it with their free will and nobody should make it look like it was somebody\u2019s fault.\u00a0If they gave you a tipper and you don\u2019t want to get on board; don\u2019t use it\u2026You go and do your work and now you come back to blame someone\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\"journalists<\/p>\n

He remarked that authorities were compelled to use that particular truck for journalists that day because what they had planned to use was unavailable.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe truck thing didn\u2019t start from today\u2026I learnt usually the military has a certain truck which they use but this time around, that truck was not available…”<\/p>\n

GJA condemns move<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has condemned the treatment meted out to journalists who covered the event.\u00a0The GJA in a statement described the move as \u201cdemeaning and crude.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) wishes to register strong reservations with the authorities who were in charge of media relations at the parade, held at the Black Star Square to commemorate Ghana\u2019s 59 Independence anniversary. We unequivocally condemn the way photojournalists were made to climb into the bucket of a tipper truck with a monkey ladder, in order to cover the event and consider this not only most demeaning but crude,\u201d a statement signed by General Secretary of GJA, Dave Agbenu added.<\/p>\n

It stated that \u201cthe rough arrangement was carried out in the full glare of our foreign guests, smacking a lack of respect for local media personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

By: Marian Ansah\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana
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