Survivors and households of victims of the June 3 catastrophe are renewing their requires justice and accountability on the eleventh anniversary of the tragedy, urging the federal government to make sure these affected lastly obtain the reduction they’ve searched for greater than a decade.
Within the assertion ‘Reset for Justice’ launched on Wednesday 3 June, campaigners, survivors and relations of victims mirrored on the devastating occasions of three June 2015, when extreme flooding and a gas station explosion mixed to say greater than 150 lives and injure over 200, in one among Ghana’s worst disasters.
The assertion stated the anniversary was not solely a second of remembrance, but additionally a possibility to attract consideration to what they are saying is the continued denial of justice to survivors and households.
“We collect right here as a result of the questions which have plagued this nation for greater than a decade nonetheless dangle within the air: June third – The place is justice?” the assertion declared.
Eleven years after the catastrophe, survivors say they proceed to bear the bodily, emotional and monetary scars left by the tragedy.
A number of the victims misplaced their listening to, others misplaced their livelihoods, houses and households, the assertion stated.
Many proceed to endure extended trauma and monetary hardship as they await the result of authorized proceedings geared toward securing accountability and compensation.
Activists argued that regardless of the passage of time, the struggling of the victims had not diminished and remained an on a regular basis actuality for a lot of households affected by the catastrophe.
The principle focus of the commemorative occasion was the continuing class motion lawsuit filed in 2018 by 69 victims searching for justice in court docket.
The case was filed towards the Ghana Oil Firm (GOIL), the Nationwide Petroleum Authority (NPA), the Accra Metropolitan Meeting (AMA) and the administration of the gas station on the heart of the tragedy.
Victims say the lawsuit was launched to make sure accountability, compensation and dignity for these whose lives had been eternally modified by the catastrophe.
Activists famous that the proof offered throughout the proceedings strengthened accountability.
They pointed to the testimony of GOIL’s personal witness, who reportedly admitted in cross-examination that the catastrophe might have been prevented.
Equally, a Nationwide Police Company witness reportedly acknowledged that the tragedy might have been prevented with stronger regulatory oversight.
The assertion additionally criticized the Accra Metropolitan Meeting, saying it had proven inconsistent participation in authorized proceedings, together with cases through which it was sanctioned for failing to seem in court docket.
“These usually are not opinions; they’re details of report,” the assertion pressured.
Regardless of this progress, survivors say justice stays elusive.
“But 11 years later, the victims are nonetheless ready. The trial continues. The struggling continues. The silence continues,” the assertion stated.
Activists argued that the size of the case highlighted broader considerations about entry to justice and the velocity with which strange residents obtain authorized redress.
They known as on the nation, particularly the President, to intervene within the spirit of the federal government’s Reset Ghana Agenda.
The group says a real nationwide reset should embody justice for victims, accountability for public establishments and help for individuals affected by long-term hardship.
The assertion additional expressed confidence in President John Dramani Mahama’s imaginative and prescient to “construct prosperity and restore hope” and asserted that survivors and households affected by the June 3 catastrophe shouldn’t be excluded from that nationwide aspiration.
The occasion additionally honored survivors who remained dedicated to pursuing justice regardless of years of authorized delays.
People together with Alex Mensah, Kassim Suraj, Francis Appiah and Silas Oduro had been specifically acknowledged, with organizers saying they continued the battle on behalf of all of the victims.
“We stand with them. We stand with all households,” the assertion stated.
Activists stated the anniversary must be a catalyst for significant motion, reasonably than an event for innocent mourning.
“Do not let this anniversary grow to be a ritual of mourning with out accountability. Let or not it’s a turning level,” they urged.
The organizers additionally acknowledged the efforts of lawyer Samson Lardy Anyenyi and his colleagues at A Companions @ Regulation, who supplied free authorized illustration to the victims.
The protection crew, together with Darko and Kelly DeLater, was praised for persevering with to struggle for justice over the previous eight years and guaranteeing survivors continued entry to authorized illustration.
Activists known as on journalists and media retailers to take care of continued protection of this case, describing it as a landmark authorized battle with important implications for public accountability, regulatory enforcement, and victims’ rights.
They argued that continued public surveillance will assist be sure that the general public shouldn’t be misplaced within the points raised by this tragedy and the pursuit of justice.
As Ghana marks one other anniversary of the June 3 catastrophe, survivors and households say their calls for for accountability, compensation and justice stay unchanged.
For a lot of, this anniversary is a reminder not solely of the lives misplaced, but additionally of the years of ache spent ready for closure.
They hope that the nation’s continued efforts in direction of nationwide renewal will lastly handle their considerations and convey an finish to one among Ghana’s longest-running quests for justice.
Organizers expressed hope that Ghana would show via motion, not phrases, that the lives misplaced on June 3 had not been forgotten, and known as for justice, delayed for greater than a decade, to lastly be achieved.
“Let this be the yr that Ghana proves that reset means motion, not phrases, and at last solutions the query, ‘June third – the place is the justice?’”
