An aspiring parliamentary candidate of the NPP for the Obuasi constituency, Kweku Kwarteng, has described the arrests of some 150 illegal miners in that constituency as an act of “state terrorism”.
Some national security operatives last Friday organised a swoop at a galamsey site and arrested 150 small scale miners believed to be indulging in an illegal activity referred to as galamsey.
Some of the other miners picketed at the premises of Anglogold Ashanti in Obuasi, demanding the release of their colleagues who had been arrested. The confrontation between the miners and security operatives led to the police firing tear gas to disperse the crowd.
In an interview with Citi News, Mr. Kwarteng said “my immediate responds is that what happened in Obuasi last Friday was nothing but state terrorism. ”
"Galamsey activities that are not legitimate we condemn, but our position is that if any galamsey operator offends the law, let the law do its work.
“To bring armed security personnel to Obuasi, and roundup young men you see around because you have an issue against galamsey is state terrorism. We have seen this in Obuasi before,” he stated.
Kwarteng added: "In 1979 under Mr. [JJ] Rawlings, soldiers invaded this community and rounded up anybody who was considered to be a rich man and said these were gold dealers, strip them naked and asked some of them to lie on the floor and pretend as though they were sleeping with their wives.
“President Mills was in the Eastern region after the floods and what he said was that this is time to wage war on galamsey. That is what happened here and we are cautioning the President that if he continues to do this what we’d witness is what we witnessed last Friday. ”
"People rising up to confront the security agencies, is that what we really want? ” he queried."We want peace and common sense approach towards solutions not actions which may inflame tempers to create this type of scenario"
Calm is said to have returned to Obuasi after 62 of the 150 illegal miners were released on Sunday.
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