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Ghana: Trade Minister Appologises for Burst-Up On Metro TV
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Public Agenda (Accra)
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Accra
Hon Joe Baidoe-Ansah, Minister for Trade, Industry, PSD & PSI says he regrets disrupting Metro TV's "Good Evening Ghana" programme of April 24, 2008, which aired at the Ghana International Conference Centre during the UNCTAD XII.
The minister attracted wide criticism for barging into the programme, which featured Dr. Nii Moi Thompson of the Convention People's Party (CPP) as one of the guests. The minister was of the view that Dr. Thompson's submissions were partisan and not warranted within the confines of a United Nation's activity.
Mr. Baidoe-Ansah says he acted solely in his "capacity as President of the UNCTAD XII Conference and nothing else; neither as a member of the Ghana Journalists Association nor a professional journalist nor a minister of state."
In a statement issue on Friday, the minister pointed out, "In any case, as an exponent of free expression I would be the last to stifle that value. I have contributed very significantly to the promotion of free expression."
However, "the issue was not that of free expression but rather of a violation of an international norm and UNCTAD conference organisation regulations."
He said Dr. Thompson was introduced not as a Policy Analyst but also as an activist of a political party - CPP. He added that this was what he sought to bring to the attention of the host.
"My intervention was based on the principles that the UNCTAD XII conference grounds were not to be used for partisan politicking of any kind nor as a platform for criticizing member states."
By holding a live programme of that nature on the premises of the conference and not in the studio of Metro TV, a cardinal principle of the conference had been violated, he said.
According to Mr. Baidoe-Ansah, they as officials of UNCTAD XII considered the act to be a dereliction of duty. But the issue came to his attention rather too late, thus the decision to take a gamble and intervene.
"I only went to intervene in the programme when I thought the host had clearly signaled that he was going for a commercial break and the programme was expected to be off air and as a result, had beckoned me to make my case."
Unfortunately, however, his intervention was live. He said he considers that to be unfortunate. "I am sorry that part was aired," he stated.
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He agreed however that in his frustration and anxiety to ensure sanity and integrity of the conference, he might have been seen by some as over-reacting. He said, "I am quite certain that had the programme been off as I anticipated and as announced by the host, all the uproar accompanying it now would not have arisen."
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