President John Mahama says Ghanaians should not fear the former Guantanamo Bay detainees that Ghana has accepted, because they are “low-risk” and would not harm the country.
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Yes! The two ex-detainees, Mahmud Umar Muhammad Bin Atef and Khalid Muhammad Salih Al-Dhuby are free to move around the country during their two years stay in Ghana.
While those who profess this view do so for the interest of Ghana and Ghanaians, the ACSC is appealing to Ghanaians to go beyond pandering to emotions and let us dispassionately examine the issues at stake.
The President indicated that, he stands to lose a lot if he jeopardises the security of the nation, and assured Ghanaians that a lot of work went into the decision to accept the two detainees when the Americans requested that Ghana does.
Meanwhile the detainees say they want to live peacefully in Ghana and that they do not belong to any terrorist group.
“As Commander-in-Chief of this country I will not take any decision that would jeopardize the safety of any Ghanaian…we must look at the side of compassion, I am a Christian and the Bible teaches us to be compassionate to prisoners and these people were not even convicted and so where is our Christian compassion for people”, President Mahama added.
Ghanaians have generally called for their relocation.
The opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) said that official USA documents showed the men had “violent and risky profiles”. Both men were captured by Afghanistan forces in 2001 and were turned over to the custody of the United States government due to their suspected ties to Al Qaeda.
Mr al-Dhuby and Mr Atef have denied belonging to militant groups.
Bin Atef told state radio that they are grateful to the people of Ghana.
“We have suffered but we are not looking for revenge”, he added.
Ghana’s president, John Mahama, on Tuesday urged residents to not be fearful almost a week after the government announced it would allow the two Guantanamo Bay detainees to resettle in Ghana.
“We were very excited to come here because we love people in Ghana – somebody like Asamoah Gyan”. We made some celebrations. “We also told the guards that we’ve won”, the ex-Guantanamo detainees told Accra based Uniq FM.
Ghana beat the United States 2-1, with Gyan scoring the winning goal in extra-time, which sent the Black Stars through to the quarter-finals.
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ACCRA, Ghana (CNS) – Ghana’s bishops have criticized the government for accepting two former prisoners from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, describing the situation as wrong and unsafe.
