The Ghana Police Service has reacted to a comment by the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, in relation to the arrest of the convener of the FixTheCountry Movement, Oliver Barker Vormawor.
According to George Akuffo Dampare, the diplomat “should learn to keep within the limits of what concerns” her rather than peddle in the internal issues of her host country.
On Tuesday May 17, Harriet Thompson tweeted that she has interest in how the case between the police versus Oliver Vormawor-Barker would go after he was charged of treason
“Oliver Barker Vormawor, the convener of #FixTheCountry Movement, arrested again, I understand, for a motoring offense on his way to court. I’ll be interested to see where this goes…,” the tweet said.
Responding to this in a letter by the police to the diplomat, the police said her tweet was made from a “biased or uninformed position.”
“Ordinarily, the Ghana Police Service would not have responded to comments such as yours, obviously made from either a biased or uninformed position. However, we have learnt from previous, painful experience that it has not been helpful to ignore such misguided, unwarranted, and biased comments intended to tarnish the reputation of the Ghana Police Service and that of our Country,” the police stated.
The police added that her tweet is considered a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relation, 1961 which enjoins diplomat missions not to interfere in the internal affairs of their host country.
They also in the 4-paged letter stated the background which led to the arrest of Barker-Vormawor.
“Since you may be unaware of the charges against the person of interest in your tweet, we are happy to give you some background. Among other things, in February this year, Mr. Barker-Vormawor threatened the security of the State by categorically stating his intention to stage a coup d’etat and cause instability in the country if the Army, which he referred to as useless’, was unable to do so. These same threats have subsequently been repeated by Mr.Barker-Vromawor on his social media handle.
“In line with the laws of the Republic of Ghana, he was arrested and taken through due process and was granted bail by a court of competent jurisdiction. That matter is still pending before the law courts,” the IGP added
The police however advised the diplomat to learn to keep to the issues that concern her rather than peddle in the internal affairs of the host country.
“For the moment, we would recommend a Ghanaian saying that might guide you in your diplomatic engagements. The saying goes: – “di wo fie asem”- it means learn to keep within the limits of what concerns you,” the IGP added in the statement.
Police Administration’s Response to the British High Commissioner’s Tweet on the Arrest of Oliver Baker-Vormawor, on 17th May, 2022 pic.twitter.com/ZIlFYHWKdx— Ghana Police Service (@GhPoliceService) May 31, 2022
Source: ghanaweb
