<<Print>>

Director of Communications at the presidency, Koku Anyidoho has stated empathetically that the dzi wo fie asem tactics adopted for the Ivorian people contributed in ending the post-election impasse in the neighbouring country. According to him, the Ivorians were allowed to solve the matter internally which led to military force within the borders of Cote d�Ivoire ousting Laurent Gbagbo from holding himself illegitimately as President. President J.E.A Mills came under intense criticism especially from the opposition when he made the infamous Dzi wo fie asem (�mind your own business�) comment. President Mills on Monday, January 24, 2011 while answering a question on the Ivorian crisis made the controversial Dzi wo fie asem comment during an interaction with the media. The President, who endorsed ECOWAS' decision to deploy troops to settle the election stalemate and appended his signature to a communiqu� to that effect, later asserted that military intervention solution to the crisis and that he was not going to contribute troops to forcefully oust then Laurent Gbagbo if all other peaceful means failed to get him to relinquish power. However, opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) argued that the decision by President Mills showed indifference to happenings in Cote d�Ivoire which also undermined the integrity of ECOWAS. The NPP said the president gave the impression that he (Mills) was only concerned with his own internal matters and not that of the sub region. Speaking on Asempa FM on Monday, Koku Anyidoho noted that diplomacy adopted by President Mills is the most potent weapon for peace and negotiation in the sub-region but not military intervention. He said even though the regional body (ECOWAS) opted for military intervention to oust Laurent Gbagbo should he continue to hold himself as president, it was diplomacy that brought peace to Cote d'Ivoire. �Quiet diplomacy is the most potent tool in any negotiation and peace building process but it is difficult to achieve� he added. Koku Anyidoho stated that ECOWAS failure to push through its decision of using military intervention indicates that they supported the position taken by President Mills. �Why didn't they (ECOWAS) isolate him (Mills) for the rest of the ECOWAS countries to go? At the end of the day, no ECOWAS country went which means that quietly they also took the position of Ghana�. The presidential aide reiterated that President Mills opted for negotiation and dialogue because he believed it was the right approach in ending the Ivorian crisis. He opined that the commendations President Mills has received from the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, President Alassane Ouattara and President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria should not be underestimated because it is a plus for Ghana.