Vice President launches book on Ghana’s peacekeeping experiences
A book on Ghana’s contribution to peacekeeping operations in Lebanon and Liberia has been launched at the Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) at Teshie.
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The 240-page book, titled Ghana Armed Forces in Lebanon and Liberia Peace Operations, offers an in-depth narrative and comprehensive study on Ghana’s experiences in peacekeeping operations in Lebanon and Liberia and provides a broad range of insights in peacekeeping.
Authored by Colonel Dr Emmanuel Wekem Kotia, the Chief Instructor and Academic Coordinator at the KAIPTC, the publication analyses the actual roles played by Ghanaian troops in the different conflict situations.
It also attempts to fill the gap by comparing the tasks, experiences and challenges of Ghanaian troops in peace operations in the two countries.
The launch brought together retired and serving officers from the Ghana Armed Forces, service chiefs and other dignitaries.
Launch
Launching the book, the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, underscored the need for Ghanaians to cultivate the culture of authoring books to add to the existing wealth of knowledge in the country.
He particularly urged people in public administration to endeavour to write books to help correct the numerous pitfalls in the system and stressed that natural legacy meant expressing thoughts in text rather than oral narration that was transient.
Mr Amissah-Arthur observed that it was incumbent “on us to tell the story ourselves and not outsiders” and lauded Colonel Kotia for exposing the inconsistencies that came with issues of handling conflicts from other parts of the world.
Contribution to peace
In terms of Ghana’s contribution to peacekeeping in Africa, the Vice-President said Ghana had consistently demonstrated commitment to peace in the world with its involvement in peacekeeping missions since the deployment of the United Nations operations in Congo in the 1960s.
He remarked that the book would further expose the various security organisations to the complexities in peace and security issues which in the final analysis would place Ghana on a pedestal of a champion of peace building in Africa in particular and the world in general.
He called on the various military institutions and other institutions of learning to adopt the book to further enrich their knowledge in the subject area.
Author
Colonel Kotia, in his remarks, explained that the rationale for writing the book was to identify and analyse Ghana’s peacekeeping participation in conflict areas and also subject the contribution of the country in that effort to empirical study.
He stated that his motive was also to highlight Ghana’s experience in peace operations for academic purposes, noting that the idea was born out of the need for further research on what led to the war in Liberia.
Colonel Kotia, who holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Ghana, expressed appreciation to persons who contributed in diverse ways to make his publication possible.
Review
A Fellow at the KAIPTC, Dr Festus Aubyn, in his review, said the book was divided into three parts with each section providing a detailed analysis of different subject areas.
The sections, he pointed out, constituted a background to the contribution of African states in peacekeeping campaigns and examining the philosophical background on the United Nations peacekeeping operations.