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WHAT HAPPENED IN GHANA?     DU BOIS

Fourteen- and fifteen-year old youth suspected of being "Young Pioneers" have been clubbed with rifle butts.

Typical treatment was meted out to Ghana's Ambassador to Guinea, D.K. Kulevome, when (in response to orders from the new Government-S.G.) he returned last week from Conakry.

His briefcase was snatched from him and its contents scattered on the tarmac. He was made to run in one spot in barefeet until his feet bled. He was finally forced to roll along the runway before being led off for interrogation.

No figures have been made public, but the number of men and women in prison at this writing must amount to several thousands. To those who were taken during the first week have been added university professors, teachers, recalled ambassadors, officers of various African bureaus and anyone who by word or deed has done anything to promote the continental union of Africa or socialism.

how the "coup" was instigated

The British Empire had every reason to be proud of its colonial armies. They were a credit to the discipline, efficiency and stern measures which engendered the proper respect for and submission to the superior wisdom and power of Great Britain. The pomp, ceremonies and trappings of the army appealed mightily to the natives--the flying flags and standards, colorful parades and martial music and above all, the smart uniform! A native so fortunate as to don the uniform of that army was immediately elevated above his fellows and endowed with a measure of the power and majesty of the colonial masters.

As Great Britain granted independence to one colony after another the colonial army became the army of the new nation. But these armies are still largely under British officers, who continue to train, drill and discipline in the traditional fashion and who still impress soldiers in the ranks and junior officers with the superior wisdom and invincible power of their former colonial masters. Elevation to the officer's rank only increased the soldier's sense of identification with that power. The few notable exceptions to this only prove the rule.

Obedience is the first law of the army. "Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die" expresses the absolute for soldiers. The army is a tight, self-contained body whose rules and regulations may

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Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-09 08:24:32 - don't mark italics, underlining, etc.