President John Evans Atta Mills has directed the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye to provide the necessary logistics and protection to individuals and groups in the country who want to embark on any form of demonstration to express their views.

The President's directive come in the wake of complaints by a pressure group, Alliance for Accountable Governance (AFAG) that the police had denied them the right to demonstrate against the government.

According to AFAG, the economic situation in the country had deteriorated and that there was justification for them to demonstrate, to draw government's attention to the plight of Ghanaians.

The police have, however, failed to give them the green light to demonstrate, citing that they would be hard-pressed for personnel, due to their deployment for the fight against armed robbery and preparations towards the visit of the US President, Barrack Obama, to the country.

President John Evans Atta Mills, himself a lawyer, and actively participated in various demonstrations organized by the then oppositional National Democratic Congress (NDC) against former President John Agyekum Kufuor's government, believes the opportunity must be given to every Ghanaian who wants to exercise his democratic right to demonstrate. To him, any attempt to deprive them of such a right to demonstrate would amount to a breach.

In a statement issued by the Deputy Minister of Information, Mr. Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, in Accra yesterday, it stated that "President John Evans Atta Mills has instructed the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Paul Tawiah Quaye, to provide all groups wishing to embark on any demonstration or protest march with all the necessary security and logistical support to do so."

According to the statement, the instruction follows media reports that a grouping of pro-opposition NPP supporters have been asked by the police to abandon their plans to embark on a demonstration against the government.

Mr. Okudzeto Ablakwa noted that the President's instruction was in line with his belief in the right of every individual to freely express him/herself, either through demonstrations or other forms of protest, as enshrined in the Constitution.

He emphasized the Mills administration's commitment to enhance the practice of democracy in the country and to ensure that governance is always open, transparent and accountable.

"Indeed, openness, transparency and accountability have been the bedrock of our administration so far, and the President maintains that it must be the basis on which all our actions and decisions aimed at a Better Ghana agenda is pivoted," he said.

Mr. Ofori-Atta, spokesperson for AFAG, has meanwhile, condemned the action of the President, saying it amounts to reviewing the decision of the court. According to him, the police had gone to court and succeeded in getting a restraining order against them, therefore he did not understand why the President should order the IGP to offer protection to the demonstrators.