IRIN Focus on national reconciliation process

Crowds of people throng the refurbished chambers of the old parliament building in Ghana's capital, Accra, every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday to witness the proceedings of the National Reconciliation Commission (NRC). Hundreds of thousands of other Ghanaians watch the hearings live on national television. Others make do with a late-evening retransmission on TV. "The NRC was set up to reconcile the people of Ghana," Annie Anipa, NRC public relations director, told IRIN. "It conducts its business transparently and so far so good. As at 14 February, we had heard 70 cases including 61 aggrieved parties, four respondents and five witnesses." The commission, inaugurated by virtue of an act signed by President John Kufuor on 9 January 2002, began its public hearings on 14 January 2003. Its mandate is "finding out the truth about past human rights abuses and helping those who were hurt by the abuses to deal with their pain and to move on with their lives". It is also meant to "help those who participated in the abuses to come to terms with the experiences and obtain forgiveness". Focussing on abuses committed under military rule The commission is focusing on "periods of unconstitutional rule in Ghana's history since independence in 1957", i.e. 24 February 1966 to 21 August 1969, 13 January 1972 to 23 September 1979 and 31 December 1981 to 6 January 1993. It may also look into alleged human rights violations committed under any period of civilian rule between 6 March 1957 and 6 January 1993, on request. Ghana witnessed a series of military coups during the abovementioned periods. Gen Joseph Ankara and Gen Akwasi Afrifa ruled during the first, and Gen Kufu Acheampong and Gen Frederick Akuffo during the second. Flt-Lt Jerry Rawlings ruled in June-September 1979 and then again in 1981-1993. Human rights abuses committed under military rule, included the executions of Afrifa, Acheampong, Akuffo and several prominent Ghanaians on allegations ranging from corruption to sabotage in 1979. More deaths occurred in the following years. "It is the best thing that happened in this country," Kwasi Gyan-Apenteng, a media consultant and communications advisor, told IRIN. "Ghanaians expect that there will be sufficient grounds to pursue justice without splintering society along lines of those who are for or against past events. It should serve as a platform for looking into the future. Critics say, however, that the commission was set up to witch-hunt former leaders and officials. In a memorandum to the NRC in February, the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) party said the commission "must not do anything that creates the impression that it is being used by the government, wittingly or unwittingly, to achieve its political objective of tarnishing members of the [past] eras who are now in the party". Recent developments arising from the hearings seemed "to confirm the fears and suspicions with which the commission's establishment was viewed from the beginning", the NDC said. Anipa said the commission was aware of suspicions about its work. "Some politicians claim the NRC is only helping the image of the current New Patriotic Party government. That is not true. The commission is impartial. If there is any perceived bias on our part then it is unintended," she told IRIN. Ex-presidents can be asked to testify Apart from victims who request to appear before the NRC, Anipa said, persons whose names repeatedly came up as alleged abusers were invited by the commission to testify. Former presidents may also be invited if they are specifically mentioned as abusers, Anipa said. Rawling's name has been mentioned during the hearings, but no specific allegation has been made against him, she added. The public testimonies range from moving pleas from widows who were unable to bury their husbands because their bodies were lost to victims of torture and traders whose property was stolen by armed men. Several alleged abusers have also appeared and denied allegations against them. Many of the victims urged the commission to investigate and prosecute those responsible. Some are also seeking compensation. Jemimah Acquah said in a tearful testimony on 25 February that she believed the government sponsored the murder of her husband, a retired major killed in 1982. "I want to know who ordered the abduction and murder. There was a curfew ... who gave them the pass to operate in the curfew? They did not even allow him to take his supper or put on slippers. I pleaded that they allow him to wear a pair of slippers, one of them pulled a pistol." Henrietta Amponsah, wife of Flt-Lt Asiedu Larbi told the commission on 26 February: "I have not seen my husband for 20 years. In May 1983, I performed his funeral rites based on accounts from relatives and friends. They saw his body around the beaches of Osu with a stone [tied] on the back." She asked for an investigation and the prosecution of the killers. Jack Bebli, a former head of a security commando unit in the 1980s and an alleged abuser, denied the allegations against him, then asked for forgiveness for any other abuses he may have committed. Holding a bible, he said he was now a born-again Christian with a new name, Paul Bebli. "Let bygones be bygones," he said. Not torture, just exercises Col Frank Bernasko appeared before the commission on 27 February to defend himself against allegations that he ordered the torture of one Joseph Amankwah. Insisting that he used to order soldiers to give officers who came late to work "some exercises", Bernasko later apologized - to applause from the gallery. "Those were critical periods ... I am so sorry for what my men did," he said. To help the victims "to come to terms with their pain and move on with their lives and also help those who participated in abuses", the commission organises counseling sessions, in which a substantial number of plaintiffs have already participated. Kenneth Agyemang Attafuah, executive secretary of the commission, said that at least 2,737 complaints had been received by December 2002, covering abductions, killings, disappearances, torture, ill treatment, and seizure of property between 5 March 1957 and 6 January 1993. The commission has set up six thematic committees to establish the social context and the role of state and civil society institutions in human rights abuses. The areas they cover are: media; student and labour movements; legal affairs, including the judiciary, and other professional bodies; security services; religious bodies and chieftaincy institutions. Five zonal offices handle complaints in the regions. For many Ghanaians, the choice of the venue of the hearings symbolises the NRC's historical significance. Speaking at the launch of the hearings at the old parliament building, Justice Kweku Amua-Sekyi, its chairman, said: "It was here that on 6 March, 1957, Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah moved for the adoption of the motion for independence from Britain, an event that was greeted with high hopes for the future. No one anticipated then any of the turbulent events which were to mar our efforts to create a free and prosperous nation devoid of rancour and ill will." "The task before this Commission is the promotion of national reconciliation. Several countries, notably, South Africa, have trodden this path before us. We are happy that we have the support of Bishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and of Alex Boraine, who was his deputy." Other commissioners are: retired UN military commander Lt- Gen Emmanuel Erskine; Florence Dolphyne, a former University vice chancellor; Ahmadiyya Muslim missionary Maulvi Bin Adam; former academic Sylvia Mansah Boye; Catholic Bishop Charles Palmer-Buckle; Uborr Dalafu Labal II, a paramount chief; law professor Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu; and a former trade union leader, Christian Appiah Agyei. No penalties According to Nana Danquah Akufo Addo, Attorney General and Minister of Justice, "the commission is not a court and is not mandated to impose penalties or sanctions on any person. Grounded in a victim-centred approach, the work of the commission is expected to result in recommendations, in appropriate cases, for redress to victims of egregious human rights violations." "The hearings should provide the opportunity for victims of the past human rights violations to tell their stories and for the public to acknowledge and empathize with their pain, suffering and hurt [and] provide a forum for us to reflect on the past and resolve with one voice that never again shall this be allowed to happen," he told reporters in January. The commission's work has the blessing of Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Refugees. In a message in January, Robinson said the reconciliation process in Ghana sent signals to the country and the international community that past mistakes should not be repeated. [The commission has a website at: www.nrcghana.org]