Speaking on Eyewitness News, Dr. Antwi-Danso stated that “the government must be firm, not rude and we can get what we want also,” as he advised it not to be intimidated by the United States of America, who shipped the two former detainees to Ghana in January 2016.

[contextly_sidebar id=”4A6KorR5KNV232EZwIL97fcvI3siXt17″]The continued stay of the two, who are Yemen nationals, has been thrown into question following the Supreme Court’s declaration that they were accepted into Ghana without recourse to the laws of the land.

The court, therefore, ordered that the government must within the next three months send the agreement to Parliament for ratification or have the two detainees sent back to the United States.

Whatever the outcome, Dr. Antwi-Danso stressed that the decisions government make must be in the interest of Ghana and not because of pressure from elsewhere.

“What we have to do is make sure that foreign policy is not dictated to us, and they will still continue to talk because these things are always done… diplomacy is such that you try to veer your opponent to your bidding and that is what they are doing.”

The Supreme Court judgment on the detainees, comes at a time when the US Embassy clarified laws on protocol visa allocations to government officials, including MPs and former Presidents visiting the US unofficially.

Some Members of Ghana’s Parliament are against this by the US and called for a reversal from them or retaliation from the Akufo-Addo administration.

Dr. Antwi-Danso was of the view that this development protocol visa for Ghanaian officials is part of the intimidation by the US because “I think they may have heard about the Supreme Court decision and they may want to sort of intimidate us, and they have been doing that.”

“Obviously they want bases in Africa. They want whatever else is in Africa and therefore they coerce the government with the denial of aid and so on, and we have been threatened before on the Gitmo 2, and I strongly believe that is not the way to go.”

In the government’s comments on the two former detainees, it has said it is taking “prompt” steps to deal with the Supreme Court’s orders concerning the continued stay of the two.

The two detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby were under detention in US custody for 14 years after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Don’t bow to US pressure on Gitmo 2 – Antwi-Danso appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.

The court, therefore, ordered that the government must within the next three months send the agreement to Parliament for ratification or have the two detainees sent back to the United States.

[contextly_sidebar id=”v5Tcw3orH52nEnQBYVbfktQ5BWjZ7kWM”]According to the majority judgment read by Chief Justice Sophia Akuffo, the then President, John Mahama, needed the approval of the Parliament before entering into any international agreement, just as in the case of the two detainees.

The decision had six justices approving it, with Justice Wiliam Atuguba dissenting.

The two detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, who were in detention for 14 years after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda, were brought to Ghana in 2016, for a period, after which they were expected to be reintegrated in their home countries.

Background

Two Ghanaian citizens, Margaret Bamful and Henry Nana Boakye, sued the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, together with the Minister of Interior, accusing then-President John Mahama of illegally bringing in the two former Gitmo detainees, without recourse to the laws of the land.

The plaintiffs were seeking, among other reliefs, a “declaration that on a true and proper interpretation of Article 75 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana, the President of the Republic of Ghana acted unconstitutionally by agreeing to the transfer of Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby.”

Ex-Guantanamo detainees pose no security threat – US Embassy

Ghanaians said government’s decision to host the two was a threat to national security, but Government insisted the two men posed no threat.

In January 2016, the United States Embassy in Ghana, assured Ghanaians that the presence of the two former detainees, posed no threat to the security of the country.

“The two detainees that were transferred to Ghana have already arrived…we don’t have access to the specifics of their whereabouts, you have to go to the government of Ghana for that,” Public Affairs Counselor at the US Embassy in Ghana, Daniel Fennell said. The two Guantanamo bay detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby, had been in detention for 14 years, after being linked with terrorist group Al-Qaeda.

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By: Fred Djabanor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post Hosting of Gitmo 2 illegal – Supreme Court declares appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.