About 2,500 local textile manufacturing workers will hit the streets of Accra on Tuesday, September 13, 2011 in a demonstration to protest against the smuggling of and trading in fake local textiles. The workers, whose jobs have been endangered by what appears to be a booming business in fake local textiles that is imposing huge financial losses on their employers, say they will not spare any effort to stop the practice and safe-guard their daily bread. Joining forces with the enraged workers in that endeavour, the Anti-Textile Piracy Task Force has also declared war on traders who do business in fake local textiles, cautioning that beyond burning the seized fake textiles, culprits would also be arrested and prosecuted. "We will chase them, I'm telling you, a member of the task force,” Mr. Abraham Koomson, declared when he announced the pending demonstration and presented evidence of fake local textiles in Accra Thursday. The material evidence adduced clearly indicated that the names, logos, seals and brands of local textile manufacturers had been faked. Next Tuesday's demonstration is scheduled weeks after some textile traders at the central business district of Accra had taken to the streets to protest against the seizure and burning of their products by the Anti-Textile Piracy Task Force. The stage is, therefore, set for a possible confrontation between the task force and the traders, considering the resolve by the latter to face the former squarely in any subsequent operation to seize their products. Claiming ignorance of the fake textiles, the traders asked the task force to channel their energies to the entry points to stop the importation of fake textiles, instead of allowing them to reach the markets, adding that the seizure of their (traders’) products was making them lose huge investments. Responding, Mr Koomson dismissed the concerns of the traders, saying trading in illicit textiles was criminal and that ignorance of the law was no excuse. He said it was not possible for security operatives at the borders to check the smuggling or importation of fake textiles in view of the porous nature of the borders. He said the task force was not against the importation of fabrics in so far as they were not faked in terms of design, brand name and other characteristics. He wondered how, after someone's property had been stolen and the person later found the lost property being sold on the market and demanded ownership of it, he could be told that he could not make such a claim because he did not close his door to prevent thieves from entering his room to steal. Supporting that submission, the Assistant Manager (Brand Protection) of ATL, Mr John Kwesi Amoah, said, "It's only in Ghana that a thief can justify his activities." Local textile manufacturing industries have been bleeding from the importation of cheap foreign textiles, smuggling and fake local textiles, causing the collapse of many of the industries.