The Minister for the interior, Mark Woyongo, has condemned\u00a0calls for his resignation, vowing to remain in office.<\/p>\n
Mr Woyongo is facing a backlash after he made comments that appeared to justify the activities of youth groups affiliated to the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP), which have been accused of instigating violence during the recently-concluded Talensi by-election.<\/p>\n
Commenting on alleged violent behaviour of the NDC-affiliated Azorka Boys and the NPP-affiliated Bolga Bulldogs, the Minister said, \u201cViolence begets violence. Azorka boys will not behave violently if they were not provoked.”<\/p>\n
His comments have triggered\u00a0widespread public outrage, with some politicians and civil society players calling for his immediate resignation.<\/p>\n
Speaking on Accra-based radio station, Kasapa FM Thursday morning, Mr Woyongo described calls for his resignation as baseless.<\/p>\n
\u201cResign for what? When people said \u2018all die be die\u2019 \u2013 \u2018we have Atiwa\u2019 and all sorts of nasty incidents in the past \u2026 how many people resigned, \u201c the Minister queried.<\/p>\n
When the interviewer drew his attention to the fact that the politician who made reference to \u201call die be die\u201d was not an elected official at the time, Mr Wonyongo said, \u201cyou mean when we had the Atiwa by-election we had no minister in charge of the Interior?\u201d<\/p>\n
Stressing that his \u201cviolence begets violence\u201d remark had been misunderstood, the Minister said: \u201cViolence begets violence is a truism. If you don\u2019t perpetrate violence, there won\u2019t be a reaction. I made that point very clear but that doesn\u2019t mean I am justifying violence and that I am supporting it and endorsing it, no.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said he meant that he would look into the background of the groupings that perpetrated violence during the Talensi by-election and take a decision on them.<\/p>\n