Anloga curfew still on

Page 14, November 21, 2007

Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
THE Minister of the Interior, Mr Kwamena Bartels, has stated that even though the situation in the Anlo Traditional Area is calm, the government believes that it should err on the side of caution by monitoring the situation before lifting the curfew imposed in the area.
The curfew, which is in its third week, was imposed as a result of a chieftaincy dispute in the area which resulted in the death of four civilians and one policeman.
Mr Bartels said this in a statement to Parliament on the extension of the curfew.
He explained that since the curfew was restricted to the Anloga area, there had not been any incident involving the factions in the dispute.
The Interior Minister added that attempts by Regent Torgbui Sri III to hold a traditional council meeting on November 13 were stopped by the police.
Mr Bartels said the curfew was re-imposed on Friday, November 16 because “the government believes that it should err on the side of caution by monitoring the situation for some time to ensure that it is safe to lift the curfew”.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Anlo, Mr Clement Humado, called for the curfew to be lifted by Thursday to enable the people to go about their normal businesses.
He explained that schools, markets, banks and other businesses had come back to life and there was, therefore, the need to lift the curfew to give the people ample time to do their business.
The curfew, which has currently been restricted to the Anloga area, runs between 8. 00 p.m. to 5. 00 a.m. each day.