The government is assuring Ghanaians
that it has taken all the necessary security measures to ensure the safety of
citizens and security of the nation despite accommodating two former terror
suspects.
Deputy Communications Minister,
Felix Ofosu Kwakye gave the assurance after concerns raised by Ghanaians
about the propriety of the country’s decision to accept two former
Guantanamo Bay detainees of Yemeni origins.
On Wednesday, the Ministry for
Foreign Affairs & Regional Integration in a statement signed by the sector
minister, Hanna Tetteh said Ghana has accepted a request by the US government
to accommodate the former detainees.
The statement said: “At the request
of the US Government we have also agreed to accept two detainees of Yemeni
origin who were detained in Guantanamo but who have been cleared of any
involvement in any terrorist activities and are being released. They are unable
to return to Yemen at the moment and we have indicated our readiness to accept
them for a period of two years after which they may leave the country.”
Speaking on the issue in an
interview on the Super Morning Show with Kojo Yankson Thursday, Mr Ofosu Kwakye
said, “I can assure you, enough has been done to ensure that they don’t pose a
threat.”
According to him, no harm will come
to Ghanaians by the decision and, “We are confident that the number arrangement
we have put in place; we will be able to handle the situation.”
He said the detainees should be in
Ghana by now.
United States government, he noted,
will bear the cost of the upkeep of the two former Guantanamo detainees.
The Deputy Communications Minister
noted that, although the US itself has refused to accommodate the detainees,
Ghana took the decision to welcome them on humanitarian grounds.
“We are [only] helping the United
States,” he said.
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