By Edzorna Francis Mensah
The Minority in Parliament led by MP for North Tongu and Ranking Member on Foreign Affairs Committee, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has called for a full-scale enquiry into the demolition of the Bulgarian Embassy in Accra.
According to him, “without a scintilla of doubt, Ghana’s conduct amounts to a grotesque violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961”, as he submitted that, “documents he has reviewed revealed “how helpless the Foreign Ministry and the Lands Commission appear to be in this matter even after they have confirmed with incontrovertible evidence that the Bulgarians have a valid lease for a term of 50 years since 1983. The document is renewable beginning August 1983, so from now to 2033, the Bulgarian”.
He said, “look we are not going to accept this, we are demanding a full-scale enquiry and be reassured that we will get to the bottom of all these and we will identify all perpetrators”.
The MP who paid a working visit to the premises on 16th March 2020 together with his colleagues on the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament maintained the fact, credible and verified information point to the fact that “all these grave violations have been possible because of a “powerful man” behind the invasion, demolishing, construction and purported takeover. I shall have him exposed in due course, save to add that those who consider themselves strategic allies of the Akufo-Addo presidency must reflect deeply on how their conduct will impact on the long term legacy of their most-favoured government”.
The alarming culture of impunity which has become unrivalled in its audaciousness must not be allowed to fester, he added.
Giving some historical antecedents, Mr. Ablakwa mentioned that, “it was a brazen demolition of a Nigerian diplomatic property which predictably strained our bilateral relations with our West African neighbour, triggering a war of words and bringing us to the brink of conflict. Following a de-escalation, the Ghanaian taxpayer, unbeknownst to many, is now spending millions of Cedis to restore the Nigerian diplomatic facility as adequate compensation.
Now, in an even more shocking, exceedingly lawless, provocative and mafia-style operation — the Bulgarian Embassy in Accra at Kakramadu Road, Plot No. 10, East Cantonments has been completely razed to the ground”, he said.