We won’t allow US to disrespect our ex-presidents – Ablakwa

Ghana will not allow the United States of America (USA) to disrespect its former presidents with its new visa regulations, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, Member of Parliament for North Tongu and Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, has said.

According to him, disrespecting these ex-presidents will be a blot on the image of Ghana, therefore no one should be allowed to do so.

His comments come on the heels of a new foreign policy from the United States that any person, including former presidents of Ghana and Members of Parliament, visiting the US for private business must show up at the embassy to be interviewed.

Speaking to the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament on Thursday 22 June, 2017, US Ambassador to Ghana Robert Jackson said: “Now if you are travelling for tourism or business that is not related to government business, you will need to make a personal appearance. I want to reiterate, for official travel, protocol officers pass the passports for visa applications through the foreign ministry and the foreign ministry’s protocol officers bring it to us. But for personal travel, every person is required to make a personal appearance, even former presidents of Ghana have to come in for personal appearance. There are no exceptions.”

But reacting to this development on Asempa FM’s Ekosii Sen on Friday, June 23, Mr Ablakwa said: “We have current cooperation and very strategic relations between the US and Ghana, some of which we cannot even disclose on air. And so there is no need for us to, as it were, get to a point where there will be a diplomatic [rift] between Ghana and the United States.

“The Foreign Affairs Minister said she is not aware of this new directive and so they will pursue the matter, and so I want to believe that in the spirit of existing relations and the friendly bonds and the mutual respect that must exist between both countries, I don’t expect the US ambassador to implement this policy, even if it is some kind of directive which is from above.”

He added: “We will not allow ex-Presidents Rawlings, Kufuor, and Mahama to be embarrassed and to be subjected to any kind of treatment, because at the end of the day it is not about them, it is about the image of our country and the respect that we must command in the comity of nations as a people.

“We cannot accept that because of visa they will treat our former presidents anyway and anyhow they like; that will not be allowed to happen.

“I can assure that the necessary support will be extended to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.”