BEREKUM NDC SURRENDERS 9 SUPPORTERS AFTER CLASH (PAGE 15)

THE executive of the Berekum Constituency of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has surrendered nine supporters of the party to the Berekum Municipal Police Command for their alleged involvement in the clash between the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and NDC last Sunday during which six people were injured.
The police have consequently taken the statements of the nine suspects after which they were granted police enquiry bail.
Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Charles A. Koosono in charge of the command who disclosed this to the Daily Graphic, said the names of the nine came up during police investigations that they actively took part in the violence.
He, however, declined to mention the names of the nine suspects for security reasons.
According to him, some members of the NPP whose names had also been mentioned as having participated in the clash, were yet to be invited for questioning. He said the police had a long list, including two key persons, who were mentioned by a victim of the clash.
He added that the police were relying on independent witnesses to the clash, since both the NDC and NPP were mentioning various people who took part in the violence, and that as soon as the police concluded their investigations those found culpable would be put before court.
So far, ASP Koosono said the situation in the municipality was calm with people going about their normal business.
The Berekum Municipal Security Council (MISEC) directed the security agencies to arrest anybody whose name had been mentioned in connection with the violent clash that erupted between the NPP and NDC supporters at Berekum in the Brong Ahafo Region on Sunday.
The council also directed that all those who would be found guilty should be made to face the full rigours of the law, no matter their political, religious, social and ethnic backgrounds, to serve as a deterrent to others.
Mr Kwabena Kyere-Yeboah, Chairman of MISEC and Berekum Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), who reported this in an interview with the Daily Graphic, said the decision was taken following an emergency meeting held by MISEC as measures to forestall any future occurrence of such violent clashes in the municipality before, during or after the December 7 general election.
He said further that the police were directed to deal with all related political cases that happened before the Sunday clash with dispatch, adding that the Municipal Election Task Force had also been directed to meet all political parties to take copies of their programmes and also to ensure that political activities involving opposing parties in the municipality would not take place at the same time to prevent such incidents.
Mr Kyere-Yeboah said MISEC also decided that the Election Task Force should monitor all radio phone-in programmes to ensure that callers would not make any inflammatory statements that could incite the people to violence and that anybody who called into radio programmes to make any allegations that could inflame passion should be called in to substantiate them or be made to face the full rigours of the law for creating unnecessary tension that could lead to violence in the municipality.
He appealed to all religious groupings in the municipality to fast and pray for a violence- free electioneering in the municipality.