Mr. Mornah said the police had violated his human rights with the way they had treated him.

[contextly_sidebar id=”7PlkZ1suezwySrvlIL6pQU4s9LaR6Ceh”]About 19 persons including Mr. Mornah were arrested by the Nima Police on Saturday morning when they gathered as members of the Ghana-Togo Solidarity movement to hold a peaceful march to draw the attention of local and international authorities to the political crisis in Togo.

According to the Police, they had earlier permitted Bernard Mornah and his group to undertake the peace march, however, they informed him later to cancel it due to operational challenges and intelligence that another group was trying to interrupt their activity.

But Mr. Mornah denied the claim, saying that he assured the police the peaceful march required very little police presence.

He said he had also told the police that the march could not be postponed because of the resources invested into its preparation.

Bernard Mornah and those arrested were kept behind the police counter for hours without clarification about their exact offence.

This prompted his counsel, Dr. Raymond Atuguba to write to the police, Chief Justice, Attorney General and the President over the matter, demanding details about the arrest.

Bernard Mornah was however granted bail later.

He has since told Citi News that his lawyers will serve the police notice of a legal action for the ‘unlawful’ arrest.

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By: Jonas Nyabor/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the President, his government is in talks with Togolese officials to address the crisis in that country.

[contextly_sidebar id=”9Po1xqcZsLT4gdI7xcU44sUqr9AAauXy”]Togo in recent times has witnessed series of protests by opposition parties, with a call for the country to return to the use of the 1992 constitution which imposes limits on presidential terms.

The agitation has led to a public outcry, with some persons including the MP for North-Tongu and former Deputy Minister of Education, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, calling on the President of Ghana to intervene.

Already, twenty-six Togolese nationals are in the grips of the Police in Ghana, for attempting to stage an unlawful demonstration in Accra over the political situation in their country.

Speaking at a meeting with the chiefs and elders of Aflao in the Volta Region, President Akufo-Addo described the situation as worrying, adding that, he will play his part to ensure that the crisis is resolved.

“The events that have taken place next door in Togo, are disturbing for all of us and especially for you, I know what it means. I remember vividly in 2005 when the former President Eyadema died, there were problems over the succession. Over 100,000 refugees stringed across the border. Many of them I think are still there. They have not gone back to Togo, so I know that anything that happens in Togo is  a matter of very great concern and it is a concern to me and the people of Ghana.

“The Togolese President came to see me in Tamale ten days ago, and we are talking to see how we can bring this crisis to a closure and bring stability back to Togo. It is in our interest to do so. The appeal we are making are falling on very sympathetic ears. I am not staying idle on this matter . We are acting.  Let us pray for the blessing of the Almighty, and we can find a solution that will be in the interest of the people of Togo and by implication the people of Ghana.”

Political crisis

Togo’s opposition parties have been demanding a return to constitutional term limits for the Presidency, and also for President Faure Gnassingbe to step down.

Gnassingbe has been in power since 2005 after the death of his father, General Gnassingbe Eyadema, who ruled Togo for nearly 50 years.

The anti-Gnassingbe protests, that have seen hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets across the country, have resulted in over 15 people killed and scores injured.

Three new street marches have been announced for November 7, 8 and 9, despite the Togolese government’s ban on weekday protests.

ECOWAS leaders bashed over seeming silence

ECOWAS leaders have been criticized for their seeming silence over the matter.

But Ghana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs , Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey has indicated that “The other ECOWAS countries are all engaged to ensure that everything is okay in our sister country in terms of their politics and adhering to their constitution.”

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By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Maria Putin lived just 20 miles from the airport where the doomed jet dpoarted from.

News that the Russian president’s daughter was living among a nation of people still fuming over Russia’s role in the downing of Flight MH17 was only going to spark more outrage.

And once it became known the 29-year-old had a £2million apartment not far from the Dutch airport where the doomed jet left on its final, tragic journey, the angry protests quickly started.

There were demands for Maria to be deported and one Twitter user posted: “Its time you leave B*TCH.”

Another wrote: “Very convenient that Maria Putina lives so close to The Hague. Won’t have to go far to see her father’s trial.”

Maria and boyfriend Jorrit Faasen, 34, who lived in a riverside flat in Voorschoten on the outskirts of the Dutch capital, fled amid the mounting fury.

One resident said tonight: “We have not seen her here since the plane went down.

“She moved in last year and it was all kept quiet for a while. But once it became known who she was, there was certainly some disquiet. And now this has happened. She is obviously not responsible for her father’s actions but we don’t want ­demonstrations around here.”

The neighbour spoke as 51 more of the 193 bodies recovered from the crash site in Ukraine were returned to Holland to join the 40 who arrived on Wednesday.

Many blame president Putin for the disaster, insisting Kremlin chiefs supplied the missile that blasted the Malaysia Airlines jet out of the sky at 30,000ft – killing 298 passengers and crew, including 10 Brits and 193 Dutch.

Pro-Russian Ukrainian separatists control the region where it crashed. Although they deny being ­responsible and claim the Ukrainian shot it down in a blame game that last night was showing no sign of ending.

The bodies will be identified in the town of Hilversum, near Amsterdam.

Mayor Pieter Broertjes also spoke of his anger at the presence of Putin’s daughter in Holland.

He said: “We could also deport Putin’s daughter, she lives in The Netherlands. Then you’ve got a whole different signal you could give.”

He later apologised for the comments and admitted they were “not wise”. But he added: “They stemmed from a feeling of helplessness that many would recognise.”

Maria’s position in Holland was made more perilous after Ukrainian activists published her address on websites.

Her whereabouts were last night unknown. But her father is reported to have a personal wealth of more than £40billion, with properties around the world including a £200million palace on the Black Sea.

Jorrit is also understood to be wealthy in his own right. He worked as an executive for Russian energy giant Gazprom.

There were reports the pair could be back in Moscow where they can be better protected by Putin.

A photograph of Maria, published today, will come as a revelation to many young Russians who have never seen her face.

The only existing pictures are from when Putin first came to power in 1999, when he was pictured with Maria, her sister ­Ekaterina, and his ex-wife Lyudmila.

Known as Masha to friends, she was born in Petersburg and was named after her dad’s mother. Maria is thought to have studied biology at St Petersburg State University – where Putin attended.

He is extremely protective of his ­daughters’ privacy. Ekaterina, 27, is believed to have married the son of a South Korean admiral, though her life is also shrouded in mystery.

As the furore grew over news Maria lived among those mourning the dead of an avoidable tragedy many believe her father’s regime played a key role in, Russia angrily denied it supplied the missile that blew up the jet.

Alexander Yakovenko, the Kremlin’s ambassador to Britain, said Western claims that pro-Russian separatists were responsible did “not hold water”. And he accused the Ukrainian and American governments of trying to engineer a “cover up” over the real cause of the disaster.

Mr Yakovenko added: “Russia doesn’t supply weapons to de facto authorities in Ukraine. No evidence whatsoever has been presented that the Russian government has been doing this.

He also condemned plans by the EU and US to slap tougher sanctions on Moscow.

Britain is pushing for the European Union to impose restrictions on Russia’s defence, energy and ­financial sectors because of Putin’s refusal to help with ­investigations into the Flight MH17 tragedy.

The ambassador said: “First of all, we believe they are illegal, unreasonable and counter-productive. They have nothing to do with the national interests of the countries concerned, including America.

“In my view, the sectoral sanctions against Russia will trigger the long-anticipated endgame of the present global crisis.

“Needless to say, we will consider any further sanctions against us and the measures of political pressure as the clear evidence that our Western partners cannot substantiate their allegations and are eager to engage in a cover-up of the true causes of the MH17 tragedy.”

Mr Yakovenko claimed the case against Russia and the separatists had been largely built on photographs and messages from social media sites which had since “proved to be forgeries”.

But the White House last night accused Russia of firing artillery across the border into Ukraine and said it has evidence that it was planning on giving “heavier and more powerful multiple rocket launchers” to the separatists.

That came as Boris Johnson claimed the Foreign Office had been charged with checking the validity of donations to the Tories from Russian oligarchs with links to Putin.

David Cameron was embarrassed this week when it emerged the party has taken nearly £1million from Russians – including a £160,000 bid for a tennis match with him and Mr Johnson by Lubov ­Chernukhin, the wife of a former Moscow trade minister.

The London mayor said: “Obviously we are relying heavily on the Foreign Office because they are leading on this and I’ve had absolutely categorical assurances and I think I’ve met this gentleman’s wife and she seemed very nice but they’ve checked him-her out as far as they possibly can.”

But Labour MP Chris Bryant said: “Boris has let the cat out of the bag about the hundreds of thousands of pounds the Tories have taken.”

A Tory source said claims the Foreign Office had carried out the checks were “nonsense”.

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Source: Mirror

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