The Fante are a sub-group of the Akan people, the single largest ethnic group in Ghana. [ Kaplan et. al., Area Handbook for Ghana, (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1971), pp. 88-89.] The Ewe are a separate ethnic community, accounting for perhaps 13% of Ghana's population. [ Ibid.] The mother of Flight-Lieutenant J.J. Rawlings, the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC), is an Ewe, and, therefore, Rawlings' regime has been occasionally accused of promoting Ewe interests to the detriment of other ethnic groups. [ Donald I. Ray, Ghana: Politics, Economics, and Society, (London: Frances Printer, 1986), p. 31. ] Rawlings' supporters counter these accusations by pointing out that his wife is an Asante, a sub-group of the Akan people, and is related to the Asante royal line. Ibid.]
The Akan have always questioned the Ewe's commitment to a united Ghana as prior to independence most of the Ewe occupied British Togoland, a United Nations Trusteeship which became a part of Ghana only in 1956, following a plebiscite. [ David Brown, "Who are the Tribalists? Social Pluralism and Political Ideology in Ghana," in African Affairs, 81, 22, (London: Oxford University Press, January 1982), p. 61.] The fact that a small number of Ewes have made secessionist demands has served to strengthen suspicions about their loyalty. [ Ibid.] The Akan have also persistently claimed that the Ewe dominate the military, giving them an unfair advantage in a country in which the military has played a decisive role in politics. The rank and file of the Ghanaian military, however, is dominated by northerners (non-Akan and non-Ewe groups), with the Fante (Akan) and the Ewe being almost equally represented as the dominant ethnic groups in the officers' corps. [ Brown, p. 45.]
When Rawlings came to power for the first time in June 1979, he prosecuted many members of the former government on grounds of corruption. As the majority of these officials were either Asante or Brong ( both sub-groups of the Akan), there appeared to be an ethnic bias in the proceedings, although many observers feel that this was unintentional. [ Ibid. p. 65.] Since coming to power for a second time on 31 December 1981, Rawlings has made efforts to accommodate a broad section of Ghanaian society. [ Ray, p.38.] The Fante and Ewe may be competing for jobs and positions in the military as they have always done, but Rawlings' regime does not appear to have purposely instigated ethnic conflict.
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