Security Policy Expert at the Centre for Security Dialogue and Peace Advocacy, Anthony Acquaye, has underscored the importance of educating participants and stakeholders in the upcoming #OccupyBoGprotest scheduled for tomorrow to mitigate the risk of violence during the demonstration.

This call comes in the wake of the recent #OccupyJulorBiHouse protest, organized by a group called Democratic Hub on September 21, 2023, which witnessed clashes between protesters and the police, resulting in violence.

The expert's statement highlights that even peaceful demonstrations have, on several occasions, spiraled into violence, making it crucial to educate protesters to prevent a repeat of such incidents.

These instances have been linked to various factors, including police misconduct, deviations from planned protest routes, abrupt route changes enforced by security forces, and more.

To ensure that a peaceful demonstration remains nonviolent, Mr. Acquaye encourages all stakeholders, including the police, protest organizers, individual demonstrators, and journalists, to collaborate in defining and understanding the nature of the demonstration being conducted.

“As a Security Policy Expert, it is equally crucial to draw the attention of all stakeholders; the Police, organizers of demonstrations, individual protesters and journalists that, if the right type of demonstration is not collaboratively established and agreed by all major stakeholders, a peaceful demonstration can result in a violent demonstration.

“For a demonstration to be peaceful, it is cardinal to establish and understand the type of demonstration and how it is done among all stakeholders for the purpose of effective security operational command and control to ensure law and order,” part of the statement read.

The security policy expert emphasized the significance of informing protesters on the nature of the rally and its path in order to prevent potential violence.

He emphasized that the protest will include a Matching Demonstration as well as a Rally Demonstration, and that protesters will not be permitted to occupy the Bank of Ghana.

“So, in actual sense, if clearly, the statements from the Minority leader and Ghana Police Service all agreed in principle then the title given to tomorrow's demonstration as ‘Occupy BOG Domo’ does not fit into the matching type of demonstration as have been agreed by both stakeholders but instead the picketing type of demonstration, this can create some kind of misunderstanding among protesters since they will not be allowed by the Police to occupy Bank of Ghana.

“To avoid crop up of violence, proper education must go down to the protesters for them to understand that, they are not going to occupy BOG but rather they will be having a route Match demonstration combined with Rally demonstration in order to prevent rise of anger on Police officers who may be seen as standing block to stop them from occupying BOG,” he stressed.

“Moreover, it is paramount to use this opportunity to advise the Ghana Police Service to be more professional in exercising their powers to ensure command and control to avoid the outbreak of violence, and to the organizers of the demonstration, who must also ensure they caution their members to avoid coming along with any offensive material such as stones, pepper spray catapults etc, that may trigger violence,” the statement added.

The planned demonstration by the minority and some civil social organizations on October 3, 2023, is expected to begin at the Obra Spot, Kwame Nkrumah Circle - Adabraka - Ridge Roundabout - National Theatre Traffic Light - High Court Complex Traffic Light - Atta Mills Highway - U-turn to the Independence Square as the final destination.

The organizers' goal is to have the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addisson, and his deputies resign from their positions for their responsibilities in driving the country into the current economic crisis.