“Many have today forgotten the circumstances that gave birth to June 4, 1979, and 31st December 1981 and some have deliberately spent huge resources sponsoring a distortion of history based on outright lies, half-truths and the rendition by cowards who run away during those heady days.
“Some may not want to speak openly about the truth. But there are millions alive who cannot forget the dire circumstances that this country found itself 40 years ago when the atmosphere was so fragile and volatile,” the former President said on the occasion of the 38th anniversary of the 31st December Coup at Winneba in the Central Region.
With some documentaries this year implicating him in the atrocities of both coups considered the bloodiest in the country’s history, he said he would next year peel the layers of the two coups.
On a day, he was reincarnating the principles of probity and accountability which underpinned the December 31 revolution, the former Military leader stepped onto the podium in a white smoke with patches of talisman akin to what traditional warriors wear.
He took on the host of Good Evening Ghana, Paul Adom-Otchere describing his work on the June 4 revolution as shoddy in Twi.
“An important lesson in history is going to be lost on this nation because a handful of warped minds, full of hate and bitterness are being paid to distort and cover up events in our history with callous stories and lies.
“Why do we sit and allow these perfidious characters to get away with these lies and deceitful machinations through the power of the media all to the detriment of the nation?” He asked, in a speech in which he tried to translate into Twi with cheers from the crowd.
Recounting the motivation for the June 4 coup, he said in 1979 Ghanaians had suffered years of abuse and corruption and sought natural justice to punish some of those who were responsible for the humiliating circumstances they suffered.
“It will shock you to know that during the Acheampong regime, the banking sector especially the Ghana Commercial Bank was plunged into unimaginable corruption.
“The bank served as an avenue for cronies and a particular ethnic group to feed fat on loans without collateral. Sadly, these loans were never paid,” he said,
Describing Mr Adom-Otchere’s narration in his documentary as misleading he said some private entrepreneurs allude to in the said documentary used to go for soft-loans, build fancy residences, rent them out to expatriates and ironically pay the proceeds into their foreign bank accounts.
“A two-man committee established then to look into the fraudulent activities of the bank had their activities come to an abrupt end when one of the members was killed and burnt under mysterious circumstances.
“How bad could the situation have been to warrant such a heinous and atrocious crime in an attempt to conceal their misconduct? These and many more wicked and morally disgusting actions were commonplace,” he said.
He said it is unfortunate that “some have chosen to siphon the negatives, leaving out the overwhelming gains made by these interventions of the people.
“The two interventions 1979 and 1981 were not about Rawlings. They were the effects of the mood of the country and the mood of the people. In telling the story, the context and the circumstances cannot be discounted or overlooked,” the National Democratic Congress leader said.
He said the two military interventions was an explosion of human rage in Ghana’s history meant to teach Ghanaians not to treat fellow human beings with disrespect arguing that it was s being distorted by persons who lack credibility.
31st December revolution
The December 31 coup led by the then Flt Lt J.J. Rawlings overthrew the Limann administration over allegations of corruption.
Although considered one of the bloodiest periods in the country’s history, its advocates say it ushered in a period of economic and political transformation that culminated in the re-establishment of lasting constitutional rule in 1992.
With pressure on the military administration to hand over power to a civilian administration, the revolution also gave birth to the National Democratic Congress which won elections in 1992 and 1996 under the leadership of Rawlings.
Rawlings led government as a military leader on two occasions. From June 4, 1979, to September 1979 as the Chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council and as Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council from December 31, 1981, to January 7, 1993. Read Full Story
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