The New Patriotic Party (NPP), perhaps aware of the magnitude of the task ahead of them in the battle to return the verdict in their favour in 2008, has warned foot soldiers in the party not to take the current atmosphere of stability, freedom, peace and tranquility prevailing in the country for granted; or forget the trials and tribulations through which the Party passed to get to where it is today.

"It is easy to forget that there was a period, only a few short years ago when, to publicly acknowledge your membership or support of the NPP was to court physical assault or, in many tragic cases, death," the party said on Wednesday.

Addressing journalists on the programme line up for the party's 15th anniversary in Accra, the National Chairman of the party, Mr. Peter Mac Manu, described the era of PNDC rule as "the dark days of Ghana politics when physical beating, disappearances and murders of opponents of the regime were common."

Encouraging the foot soldiers to soldier on for victory to come the NPP's way in 2008, he lauded the efforts of "those who were willing and ready to risk these in support of the NPP," describing them as "men and women who possessed special attributes. "

The NPP, he recalled, won in 2000 and 2004 because the Party learnt how to police the electoral process and protect the ballot boxes. This, he said, is a lesson the NPP learnt well.

He therefore assured members and supporters that the party will continue to be vigilant in all future elections.

Further, he reminded the rank and file that because of that love for party and nation, "it is not only members who are reaping the benefits of democracy, good governance and economic advancement. .. "

That is why it is important that on the 15th Anniversary of the founding of the Party, the National Executive Committee of the NPP, he said, deems it proper to pay tribute to the founding fathers and the intrepid members and supporters for successfully winning two elections on the trot through those difficult times.

"We also want to take stock of the past in order to better our lot and to re-dedicate ourselves to the struggle ahead," he admonished supporters and party leadership, saying it is only "when we all know where we are coming from that we can rekindle the spirit that has carried us this far."

The theme chosen by the NPP for the occasion: "NPP: Our Roots, Our Strength," he said, is quite appropriate, especially as the party prepares for the 2008 elections.

Imploring the foot soldiers to rally round the NPP leadership for the task ahead, he further reminded them to pluck up "those strengths for the crucial elections scheduled for next year."

"It is our conviction that what sustained the Party then, and continues to be the bedrock on which the NPP edifice rests, are these special personal qualities of our members and supporters," he stated, with a passionate appeal to all to continue to work for the continuity of this new era of "liberal democratic platform of fundamental human rights, private property rights and the rule of law in the context of an open economy in which the energies of the private sector would be the decisive force for the economy's growth."

He also recalled the struggles of the NPP from the days of the PNDC, citing the cases of Peter Amoah from the Juabeso-Bia Constituency, who died at the Koforidua hospital after lying in a hospital bed for about five years, alleging that "in 1996, a driver ran his truck into jubilating NPP supporters who were on the way to meet then Mr. J.A. Kufuor." He stated that four people died on the spot in that accident and many of the injured today are permanently maimed."

"There were bombings at the Ringway Hotel where meetings of the Party members sometimes took place ... At Bawku, our late Nationalist Vice Chairman Madam Hawa Yakubu, narrowly escaped death from gunshots when she was fired at, and her house and vehicles were burnt to ashes ... ," he rambled on.

Continuing his litany of accusations against the then NDC administration, he alleged that in the 2000 elections, some members of the party's youth wing, TESCON, sent to be polling agents in the Volta and Northern regions were severely beaten, and many had to walk through the bush to escape to Accra and Kumasi respectively," calling on the party to unite to avert further acts of brutality from the NDC should they be allowed to return to power in 2008.


Source: Culled from The Ghanaian Observer