Leader of the Democracy Hub demonstration Oliver Barker-Vormawor who has been granted bail in the sum of ¢20,000 on Wednesday, October 16, after three unsuccessful attempts, has accused the police of deliberately churning out isolated cases of what they describe as violent during their protest, repeated to create an impression that several acts of violence took place.
He says the Police deliberately churned out sensational videos as quickly as possible to feed into their own narrative of what was happening on the grounds.
Speaking in an interview with TV3’s Kemini Amanor on Wednesday, October 23, he said “The first day the protest happened without incident the Police kept issuing statements upon statements that we were being violent. When they did that we showed them pictures and videos of people playing football, they were trying to condition the atmosphere to use the violent video. One of the things that happens in many protests and it happened in the ‘kumepreko’ is when violence is used in a manner they use it, it detracts from the conversation of what the issue is. Protesters do not go out and say we want to be violent towards you we are very set on the conversation we want to have. Even when they [Police] have been brutal against protesters when the press covers it they don’t say Police beat protesters they say police clash with protesters. So the language creates a sense of whether we are meeting them with violence and that becomes the scope of the conversation.
“There are two videos on loop, the video of me taking the key , not attacking anybody, yes we had demobilized the vehicle, we owned that to our chest, and then when they had individuals lined up pushing back at one person they had those videos on loop consistently, you will not see 54 isolated incident of people assaulting police. The Police had their own camera people and their action was that let us churn out sensational videos as quickly as possible and get people rounded up but we were setting that cooler heads would eventually prevail and it did prevail.”
Mr Barker-Vormawor was arrested during a demonstration against illegal mining, locally known as galamsey, which has caused severe environmental damage in Ghana.
Several activists, voicing concerns about destroying natural resources, participated in the protest, which aimed to raise awareness and opposition to the practice.
According to police reports, Mr Barker-Vormawor was apprehended for engaging in unlawful activities during the protest, although specific details of his alleged misconduct are still under investigation.
One of the incidents that led to his arrest was his removal of the keys from a police van parked at the protest site.
Despite these challenges, the activist has remained determined in his stance against galamsey, continuing to advocate for environmental reforms and greater accountability in the fight against illegal mining.
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