Ghana Confuses O.A.U. Members

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30998, 2 March 1966, Page 17

Ghana Confuses O.A.U. Members

(N.Z.P.A. Reuter —Copyright)

ADDIS ABABA, March 1. The Organisation of African Unity could not decide in Addis Ababa last night whether to recognise Dr. Kwame Nkrumah or the new regime as the rightful head of Ghana.

The heads of delegations from 35 O.A.U. member-states spent two hours and 45 minutes in secret session but failed to make up their minds.

Yesterday’s opening meeting of the sixth O.A.U. Council of Ministers had been adjourned to allow the delegates to go into a committee

room and discuss Ghana's position. Next door in the main conference hall, a Ghanaian delegation sent by the organisers of last Thursday's Accra coup sat alone at the great horseshoe table, waiting for the verdict.

An O.A.U. spokesman said the Council of Ministers would meet again tomorrow’ morning to adopt the agenda and elect conference officers—and the delegation leaders meanwhile would carry on their private consultations over Ghana.

The spokesman said the new Ghana regime’s delegation would be allowed to attend the session but it had not yet been decided whether it could vote in an election of officers. Nkrumah has cabled the O.A.U. Secretary-General, Diallo Telli, that he is still President of Ghana. His message said he would be represented by Mr QuaisonSackey, who was his Foreign Minister and was with him when he visited Peking. Mr Quaison-Sackey is expected to arrive in Addis Ababa tomorrow, reportedly to plead Dr. Nkrumah’s case. The whole attention of the other 35 delegations was on the men from the New Ghana Liberation Committee today Many delegates went up and shook their hands.