Greetings from Independence Township, New Jersey:
Padmore Agbemebiese, the Chief of the Abor village in the Volta region of Ghana, sent out an email 5 days ago, it reads:
If you only have the music from the video playing in another window while you are reading this, I imagine the effect could be quite positive.
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Dear Friends:
I was up late last night copying this out of a book I bought at the Kwame Nkmah Memorial Tomb in Accra, Ghana in 1995 because I could not find it anywhere online. It is very, very important.
Kwame Nkrumah was the first African president of any independent nation, and now Barack Obama will be the first descendant of Africa to be elected President of the United States tomorrow.
Please read on:
What I Mean by Positive Action
Preamble: Party Members, Friends and Supporters
In our present vigorous struggle for Self-Government, nothing strikes so much terror into the hearts of the imperialistic and their agents than the term Positive Action. This is especially so because of their fear of the masses responding to the call to apply this final form of resistance in case the British Government failed to grant us our freedom consequent on the publication of the Coussey Committee Report.
The term Positive Action has been erroneously and maliciously publicised no doubt, by the imperialists and their concealed agent-provocateurs and stooges. These political renegades, enemies of the Convention People's Party for that matter of Ghana's freedom, have diabolically publicised that the C.P.P.'s programme of positive action means riot, looting and disturbances, in a word violence. Accordingly, some citizens of Accra, including myself, were invited to a meeting of the Ga Native Authority and the Ga State Council on Thursday, October 20, at 1 p.m. "to discuss", as the invitation stated, "the unfortunate lawless elements in the country and any possible solution".
At that meeting, I had the unique opportunity of explaining what Positive Action means to the satisfaction of the Ga Native Authority and the Ga State Council, and the meeting concluded with a recommendation by them that I should call a meeting to explain to the members of the Convention People's Party as I did to them, waht I mean by _Positive Action_ in order to disabuse the minds of those who are going about misinterpreting the Positive Action Programme of the Convention People's Party.
Before I proceed to my proper topic, I must take this opportunity to dispel the wild rumour, that the Ga Manche said at the meeting that the Convention People's Party should be suppressed and that I should be deported from Accra. Nothing of the sort was ever suggested by teh Ga Manche even though some of the speakers tried to convey such idea but the Ga Manche promptly overruled that.
And at this point allow me to protest vehemently against the diabolically false Reuters' news which no doubt must have been sent by their correspondent in this country. I read to you the text of the Reuters' news:
"Local African Chiefs have sent ultimatum to Extremist Home-Rule Leader Kwame Nkrumah demanding undertaking by next Wednesday not to cause trouble when Coussey Report on Constitutional Advancement is published next week. He has also been told to promise Loyal co-operation of his Convention People's Party. If he refuses African Authority with 'Forcibly Eject' him from Accra to his native village of Nzima about 250 miles inland. All Political Leaders Promised co-operation in keeping peace except Dr. Nkrumah who said he had 'No Guns to Fight' but would resort to Boycott, Strikes and Spiritual Force to carry on struggle. Coussey Commission was set up last January to examine Proposals for Constitutional and Political Reforms in Gold Coast."
Why Positive Action?
It is a comforting fact to observe that we have cleared the major obstacle to the realisation of our national goal in that ideologically the people of this country and their Chiefs have accepted the idea of Self-government even now. With that major ideological victory achieved, what is left now is chiefly a question of strategy and the intensity and earnestness of our demand. The British Government and the people of Britain, with the exception of die-hard imperialists, acknowledge the legitimacy of our demand for Self-government. However, it is and must be by our own exertion and hand over the control of affairs, that is, the Government to the people this country and their chiefs.
There are two Ways to Achieve Self-government
There are two ways to achieve Self-government: either by armed revolution and violent overthrow of the existing regime, or by constitutional and legitimate non-violent methods. In other words, either by armed might or by moral pressure. For instance, Britain prevented the two German attempts to enslave her by armed might, while India piquidated British Imperialism there by moral pressure. We believe that we can achieve Self-government even now by constitutional means without resort to any violence.
We live by experience and by intelligent adaptation to our environment. From our knowledge of the history of man, from our knowledge of colonial liberation movements, Freedom or Self-government has never been handed over to any colonial country on a silver platter. The United States, India, Burma, Ceylon and other erstwhile Colonial territories have had to wage a bitter and vigorous struggle to attain their freedom. Hence the non-violent Positive Action to attain Self-government for the people of this country and their chiefs.
We have talked too much and pined too long over our disabilities - political, social and economic; and it is now time that we embarked on constitutional positive steps to achieve positive results. We must remember that because of the educational backwardness of the Colonial countries, the majority of the people of this country cannot read. There is only one thing they can understand and that is action.
What is Positive Action?
By Positive Action we mean the adoption of all legitimate and constitutional means by which we can cripple the forces of imperialism in this country. The Weapons of Positive Action are:
(1) Legitimate political agitation
(2) Newspaper and educational campaigns and
(3) as a last resort, the constitutional application of strikes, boycotts and non-co-operation based on the principle of absolute non-violence.
How is Positive Action to be Applied?
We have been unduly criticized by our political opponents, that it is wrong for us to tell the imperialists that we shall resort to non-violent strikes and boycotts as a last resort, if need be, to attain our freedom. Their contention is that we should have kept this secret and spring a surprise on the Gvernment. As for us, our faith in justice and fair play forbids us to adopt such sneaky methods.
In the first place, we like to use open methods and to be fair and above board in our dealings. We have nothing to hide fromthe British Government. Secondly, and what is more important if the C.P.P. is a democratic organisation, then the members must be taken into confidence and their approval secured for such an important policy, and they must be given the opportunity to prepare for any eventuality. Even, inthe case of declaration of war, notice is first given.
Mr. C. V. H. Rao in his book entitled Civil Disobedience Movement in India has this to say:
"Constitutional agitation without effective sanction behind it of organised national determination to win freedom is generally lost on a country like Britain, which can appreciate only force or its moral equivalent .. An important contributory factor to the satisfactory settlement of a dispute is the extent and the nature fo the moral force and public sympathy generated by the righteousness of the cause for which the suffering is undergone and the extent of the moral reaction it has produced on the party against which it is directed."
The passive sympathy of the masses must be converted into active participation in the struggle for freedom; there must also be created a widespread political consciousness and a sense of national self-respect. These can only be achieved when the mass of the people understand the issue. These are not the days when people follow leaders blindly.
When To Call Positive Action into Play
As already explained, Positive Action has already begun by our political education, by our newspapers agitation and platform speeches and also by the establishment of the Ghana Schools and Colleges as well as the fearless adn legitimate activities of the C.P.P.
But as regards the final stage of Positive Action, namely Nation-wide Non-violent Sit-down-at-home Strikes, Boycotts and Non-co-operation, we shall not call them into play unitl all the avenues of our political endeavors of attaining Self-government have been closed.
They will constitute the last resort. Accordingly, we shall first carefully study the Report of the Coussey Committee. If we find it favorable, we shall accept and sing alleluya. But if we find it otherwise, we shall first put forward our own suggestions and proposals and upon refusal to comply with them, we shall invoke Positive Action straight away on the lines indicated above.
What we all want is Self-government so that we can govern ourselves in our own country. We have the natural, legitimate and inalienable right to decide for ourselves the sort of government we want and we cannot be forced against our will in accepting or perpetuating anything that will be detrimental to the true interests of the people of this country and their chiefs.
Therefore, whilst we are anxiously awaiting the Report of the Coussey Constitution Committee, I implore you all in the name of the Party to be calm but resolute. Let us advance fearlessly and courageously warmed with the Party's programme of Positive Action based on the principlel of absolute non-violence.
Long live the Convention People's Pary. Long live the forward march of the people of this country. Long live the new Ghana that is to be.For a way longer post than this that nobody seems to have time to read yet, go here:
http://journals.democraticunderground.com/Kire/120It's messy, yes, but like I tried to explain I was up for hours and hours and I needed some sleep, but it was important that I get it out on this very important morning. Not that there will ever be another time to get this out, but the time for action is now.
Warm Regards,
Erik B. Anderson
The King of Funny Faces
Independence Township, New Jersey
Founded, 1782
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