Nothing is ever a good justification for a coup - Ayorkor Botchwey

Coups experienced in West Africa

Corruption is no reason for a coup - Foreign Affairs Minister

The military have no place in governance - Ayorkor Botchwey

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, has stated that regardless of the economic conditions in a country, there is never a justification for the military to take over control of it.

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She explained that while there is no denying the fact that such issues as corruption and bad governance can push people to the brinks, it still should never be a reason for the constitution of a country to be toppled.

“There is no justification to stage a coup especially a coup by the military in any country because the military has a clear-cut role and there is no need for them to enter the space of governance. Nothing can justify a coup; whether it’s an economy that is failing, whether it’s bad governance, whether it’s corruption and so on and so forth.

“I think that that must be made clear to all. We have all, and I use the example of West Africa, signed on to democracy, and in our case, to a supplementary protocol on democracy and good governance – all signatories of the fifteen countries. So, we are committed to democracy which means we go every so often to the ballot to speak our minds,” she stated.

Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey was speaking during a panel discussion at a Democratic Governance Conference in Turkey known as the Antalya Diplomacy Forum.

The issue of coups have become topical lately following comments made by certain popular personalities in that regard.

The West African region has also been riddled with a number of coups particularly in Mali, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, with a failed attempt in Guinea Bissau.