Bishop Osei-Bonsu Clarifies Statement on Gitmo Demonstration

When news broke nearly two weeks ago that two prisoners from Guantanamo Bay had been brought to Ghana, the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference issued a Press Statement on 11 January 2016 expressing its position on the matter. Following this, more than 30 FM stations called me to interview me on the subject. At some point last week, I decided that I had said a lot on the matter and was no longer going to comment further on the matter.

I left Ghana on Monday, 18 January 2016 to attend a conference of bishops in Lisbon, Portugal, and while here, my attention has been drawn to a caption in the media that states: “Catholic Bishops to lead demo over two Guantanamo Bay prisoners”. I would like to point out that the Ghana Bishops’ Conference has not taken any such decision. If it had, it would have issued a statement about it.

I would also like to add that sometime last week, I was interviewed by one FM station on the issue of the two Guantanamo Bay prisoners, and I said that if some Ghanaians felt strongly about this issue and wanted to express their view on the matter through a demonstration, I personally would not mind joining them. I did not say that I was going to organize such a demonstration; neither did I say or imply that the Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference had said anything to that effect.

Let me conclude by saying that a demonstration is a democratic way of expressing one’s view on certain matters. It is something guaranteed in our constitution and it is not bad in itself. If it was something bad, I would not consider taking part in it. We should recall, for example, that Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr and Archbishop Desmond Tutu took part in various demonstrations for a good cause. For me, the security of our dear nation Ghana is an example of such a good cause.

Issued by

Most Rev. Joseph Osei-Bonsu
Bishop of Konongo-Mampong and
President, Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference
January 20, 2015