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Tag: Coast Guard

  • NPP PC for Cape Coast North allegedly wears party colors to voting center

    NPP PC for Cape Coast North allegedly wears party colors to voting center

    The New Patriotic Party (NPP) Parliamentary Candidate, Ekow Ewusi, has been reportedly spotted wearing party colors at a polling station during the ongoing Special Voting exercise.

    This allegation was made by the Member of Parliament for Cape Coast, Dr. Kwamena Minta Nyarku, representing the National Democratic Congress (NDC).

    According to Dr. Nyarku he has he has also lodged a formal complaint with the EC regarding the matter. He expressed strong disapproval of Ekow Ewusi’s actions, describing them as a clear violation of electoral regulations that prohibit the display of party colors or symbols at polling stations. He emphasized the importance of maintaining neutrality in the voting process.

    “I have reported him to the returning officer, indicating that his act is inappropriate and for that matter should act accordingly. The electoral process does not allow us to wear our party colours when voting so why will a parliamentary candidate decide to wear one when indeed he knows unless otherwise, he is ignorant and a novice on what he is supposed to do but I know he deliberately did that but for what reason I don’t know. I have cautioned him,” he told the media present at the polling station.

    Dr. Nyarku further alleged that his opponent intentionally donned party colors to provoke unrest, claiming that Ekow Ewusi has a reputation for engaging in such disruptive behavior.

    “Everybody knows his act and the kind of person we are dealing with and for that matter, either he wants some chaos or he just wants to be mischievous. I don’t see a need for somebody who is contesting for the parliamentary seat to bring party colours to the voting center,” he added.

    In November, the Electoral Commission (EC) issued a warning against wearing any political paraphernalia at polling stations, stating that such actions constitute a constitutional violation and are punishable by law.

    “Be vigilant and do not engage in any political activity or action that can disrupt the election. Do not wear your party colours at the polling stations,” the Commission said.

    The Special Voting for security personnel and media representatives is taking place in 14 regions nationwide.

    Special Voting in the Eastern and Western Regions is set for Thursday, December 5, 2024.

  • Two Chinese fishermen killed after Coast Guard pursues them at sea

    Two Chinese fishermen killed after Coast Guard pursues them at sea

    Two Chinese men who were fishing in the water near Taiwan’s Kinmen islands died after the Taiwanese coastguard tried to catch them.

    Taipei said the fishing boat went into Taiwanese waters on Wednesday without permission.

    Four fishermen on a boat refused to be checked by the authorities, and the boat overturned when the authorities tried to follow them.

    Beijing was very upset about the incident and said it really hurt the feelings of people in Taiwan and China.

    Kinmen is very close to China, just 3km away, and is on the front line of the conflict between China and Taiwan.

    China thinks of Taiwan as a part of its own country and may use force to make it part of China someday.

    Recently, people who live in Kinmen have said they are seeing more Chinese boats that dig up sand and mud near the island. The group of islands has around 180,000 people and is 187km away from Taiwan’s main island.

    The coastguard said two out of the four people on the Chinese boat were declared dead at the hospital after attempts to revive them didn’t work.

    “The other two people are okay and have been taken to Kinmen for more investigation by the prosecutors,” the statement said.

    Wednesday’s incident happened when things were already getting tense between the two groups. In January, Taiwan chose a new leader that China sees as wanting to split from China.

    China’s office that deals with Taiwan has asked the Taiwanese government to look into the situation and help the families of the victims.

    Zhu Fenglian, a person who speaks for the government, said that the ruling party in Taiwan is taking Chinese fishing boats without permission and hurting the fishermen in a violent way.

    She said that Beijing thinks that the communities on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are like one big family.

    She said they have worked hard to make things easier for fishermen on both sides.

    The Taiwan government supported the coastguard’s actions on Thursday and asked China to stop doing the same things in their waters.

    “Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said that many Chinese fishing boats have been coming into our off-limits waters and catching valuable fish, especially during the Lunar New Year. ”

    “We feel very sorry that the Chinese crew did not work with our law enforcement and this bad thing happened,” it said.

  • “Libyan Coast Guard threatens to shoot our plane by missiles”, Sea-Watch says

    The German non-governmental organization Sea-Watch on Wednesday accused the Libyan coast guard of threatening to shoot down their monitoring plane that helps the group document the interception of migrants in the Mediterranean Sea.

    According to an audio recording of the threats, the Libyan coast guard vessel allegedly ordered the NGO plane to “get out of Libyan territorial” waters despite being in international waters where Malta is responsible for coordinating search and rescue operations.

    The incident occurred Tuesday.

    “Please be informed that you are within European Search And Rescue Area, this is not Libyan territorial waters. This is not Libyan territorial waters, over,” a member of the Sea-Watch crew flying overhead responded to the Libyan authorities via radio.

    “Get away from Libyan territorial otherwise we’ll shoot you by SAM (surface-to-air) missiles,” the Libyan Coast Guard vessel allegedly responds back.

    The Libyans ultimately pulled dozens of migrants onto their vessel and proceeded to shoot the rubber boat with what appeared to be incendiary ammunition, setting it on fire, according to footage of the interception released by Sea-Watch.

    A spokesman for the Libyan coast guard did not immediately answer phone calls and messages seeking comment.

    Maltese authorities have also not yet responded to questions sent by AP via phone and email.

    It is not the first time European NGOs operating in the Mediterranean reported threats or violent behavior by the Libyan Coast Guard.

    Last year, the European Union-funded and trained Libyan coast guard was caught on camera chasing and shooting in the direction of a migrant boat.

    The Central Mediterranean is known as the deadliest migration route in the world with nearly 3,000 deaths since January 2021 according to the International Organization for Migration.

    The EU, Italy and Malta have for years been criticized for outsourcing migrant interceptions and rescues to the war-torn country.

    Upon their return to Libya, migrants and refugees are held in government-run detention centers.

     

     

    Source: Africa News