Develop resilient international relations policies – Antwi-Danso
Dr Vladimir Antwi-Danso, the Director, Academic Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College, has called on government to formulate a resilient international relations policy to minimise the influence of foreign powers on the nation.
This, he said, would ensure that the country has a firm stance on international policies without compromising diplomacy.
Dr Antwi-Danso made the call at a national dialogue series held in Accra.
He said “there are all manner of ways in which bigger nations bully smaller nations but having a resilient foreign policy is very important. And there is a polite way of telling a foreign power that this is not good for my country.
“This Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex (LGBTQI) issue is not new. The late President Atta Mills was asked to put it into law or else we were not going to get some aid but he rejected it in a polite and diplomatic way,” he said.
The dialogue, organised by the National Coalition for Proper Human Sexual Rights and Family Values and the Family Renaissance International, was aimed at soliciting experts’ opinions for the development of a holistic national policy response to the LGBTQI agenda.
Held under the theme: “Eliciting a Comprehensive National and International Africanist Response to the LGBTQI Phenomenon-The Ghanaian Case Study,” the dialogue would provide the policy and legal framework to guide the public and private institutions as they relate to the issue.
Dr Antwi-Danso also urged the media to be circumspect in their reportage on the matter and be guided by the responsibility they owe to the society.
Professor Bill Muehlenberg, an American-Australian Cultural Commentator, urged Ghanaians to tackle the LGBTQI phenomenon from a cultural perspective rather than a political and law aspect.
This, he said, would influence the kind of decisions politicians and for that matter government takes on the issue.
“Politics tends to flow downstream from culture, that is, what is already there in culture is probably going to determine what you do with law and politics, so as culture gets weakened and start pushing all kinds of these agendas, it is going to be much easier for lawmakers to do the same,” he said.
He commended Ghanaians for holding onto their cultural norms and beliefs amidst pressure from international organisations and countries.
Mr Godfred Yeboah Dame, the Deputy Attorney General, said government is ready to uphold every aspect of the constitution and maintain the cultural heritage of its people.
“The President and the state have made very categorical pronouncements to the matter. I don’t think the President has wavered at all in his pronouncement on the matter. He has unequivocally stated that we are against it”, he said.
Source: GNA