The NPP Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa, Mr. Kwabena Amankwah Asiamah, believes the AU appointment given to ex-president Jerry John Rawlings is suitable for a man of his caliber. He said Somali is a ‘dangerous place’ and deserves an equally ‘dangerous person’ like ex-president Rawlings who can bring about consummate peace in that country. According to him, ex-president Rawlings, having successfully staged two coup d’états and becoming president in the process through the ballot box for eight years, has a lot of experience to share on his new appointment to bring peace in Somali. “Ex-president Rawlings [has] played major roles in all the two coups in Ghana, so if we want consummate peace in Somalia, then ex-president Rawlings is the best person to bring that peace in Somali where anybody does whatever he likes and there's no rule of law,” he said. The Chairperson of the AU Commission, Mr. Jean Ping in a statement on Friday, October 8, announced the appointment of President Rawlings as the Commission's High Representative in Somalia. The statement said the appointment is a follow-up to decisions taken on the report of the Peace and Security Council of the AU. It is also a follow-up to the decision on the state of Peace and Security in Africa adopted by the Assembly of the Union at its 15th ordinary session in Kampala. As the AU Representative, Ex-president Rawlings would undertake advocacy to further mobilise the continent and the rest of the international community to the quest for peace, security and reconciliation in Somalia. "He will work in close co-ordination with the countries of the region, the UN, including the Security Council and its members, the EU, the league of Arab States, the OIC and other bilateral and multilateral partners", it stated. The AU chairperson, therefore, urged the Somali parties and other AU partners to extend their full co-operation to Flt. Lt. Rawlings to enable him accomplish his mission. Contributing to a panel discussion on Peace FM, the Fanteakwa NPP MP light-heartenedly explained that Mr. Rawlings has a lot of experience as far as coup-d’états and its usefulness are concerned, and believes that he can do a good job because when the Somalis realize Ghana’s former President is a no-sense individual, they will have no choice but to allow peace to prevail. “Iron sharpeneth iron, he came from fire (coup-d’état); so if there is a fire outbreak and he is going to quench it, he will do a good job,” he said. He however, prevailed on Mr. Rawlings to exercise restraint in his dealings with the Somalis and not try to impose ideas or suggestions on them, since the situation could get out of hand. “Mr. Rawlings has a conviction that his decision is the best so when he tells you something and you don’t listen, he will want to force it down your throat, but he has to be careful with his insults and the kind of examples he gives,” he warned. “Africa needs peace, Somalia needs peace so we are happy that after a thorough assessment, the AU appointed ex-president Rawlings. He has been given a job to do on the international front and we know that he is mostly successful in whatever he does, so we know that he will fix things there and make Ghana proud,” he surmised. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana