Gitmo 2 ruling reminder of role of Parliament - Minority Leader

The Minority Leader, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, says the ruling of the Supreme Court on the two former Guantanamo Bay detainees, popularly known at Gitmo 2, is a reminder to any sitting government to avoid constitutional breaches in pursuit of the country’s foreign policy.

He said in running the country, the dictates of the 1992 Constitution needed to be respected.

By a 6-1 majority decision, the Apex Court last Thursday ruled that it was unconstitutional for the then President, John Dramani Mahama, to accept the two former detainees.

The court said the action of the former President was in breach of Article 75 of the Constitution which required that all international agreements be brought before Parliament for ratification.

In its consequential orders, the Supreme Court gave the government three months to send the agreement that accepted the Gitmo 2 to Parliament for ratification or send them back to where they came from.

Parliament’s role

Commenting on the court’s ruling in an interview with the Daily Graphic yesterday, Mr Iddrisu said the role of Parliament in the whole matter could not be taken lightly.

“We should not take the independence of Parliament for granted,” he stated.

He said Parliament could handle the acceptance or otherwise of the former detainees without any hitches.

Mr Iddrisu was of the conviction that the country’s Parliament would bring the issue to finality once it was brought before it.

Minority support

The Minority Leader, however, would not give a definite answer to whether the Minority would support the ratification of the agreement if the executive sent it to Parliament.

“For the NDC, we will do and support anything that is in the interest of the nation,” he stated.

He submitted that for the government to go before Parliament with the ratification, it must be able to justify it.

Background

The two detainees, Muhammed Al-Dhuby and Muhammed Bin-Atef, were held in the Guantanamo Bay Prison by the United States (US) for more than 14 years for alleged acts of terrorism.

In January 2016, the then President admitted them in Ghana, following an agreement with the Obama administration after closing the notorious Guantanamo Bay Prison in Cuba

Their presence of the former terror suspects in Ghana generated huge public outcry with the then opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) launching a blistering attack on then President Mahama for jeopardising the security of Ghanaians by admitting the two.

However, Mr Mahama insisted that the two men did not pose any security threat to the country.