Pro-Government Militias
Association of Committees for the Defence of the Revolution (Ghana)
Basic Group Information
| Name assigned by coder: | no |
| PGM ID Number: | 20 |
| Country: | Ghana |
| Date formed: | May 15, 1995 |
| Accuracy of date formed: | year |
| Details of Formation: | The Committees for the Defence of the Revolution were integrated into the ACDR and the different CDR seized to be active. |
| Date dissolved: | Jan. 7, 2001 |
| Accuracy of date dissolved: | day |
| Details of Termination: | The ACDR were associated with the military. When John Agyekum Kufuor took over from Rawlings on 7 January 2001, he ruled that the ACDR would not be tolerated in the Ghana Armed Forces. |
| Termination Type(s): | change in government |
Former and Successor Group Information
| Predecessor group(s): | Committee for the Defence of the Revolution |
| Successor group(s): | none |
| Private Military Company? | no |
| Former Group? | yes |
| Former Armed Group? | yes |
| Former Rebel Group? | no |
| Former Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
| PGM Becomes Rebel Group? | no |
| Successor Rebel Group UCDP ID: | none |
Government Relation, Support, and Training
| Government Relation: | semi-official (type 2) |
| Created by the Government?: | yes | Main Creating Government Institution: | person/minister |
| Government Link(s): | person/minister |
| If link to party, name of party: | None |
| Training and Equipment: | yes |
| Shared Information and Joint Operations: | no information |
| Shared Personnel: | no information |
| Type(s) of Material Support: | domestic government |
| State Sponsor(s): | none |
| Other Connection(s): |
Group Characteristics
| Membership: | ideology |
| Primary Membership: | ideological |
| Alternative Primary Membership: | no information |
| Location: | nationwide, Ashanti, Accra |
| Force Strength: | [unknown, unknown] |
| Target(s): | unarmed political opposition, government critics |
| Purpose(s): | protect state, national or religious institutions |
Ethnic Characteristics
| Ethnic Target(s): | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Targeting: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Membership: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Membership: | not applicable |
| Ethnic Purpose: | none |
| Quality of Information for Ethnic Purpose: | not applicable |
Other Information
| Other Information: |
New Variables from Meta-Analysis
Purpose
| Purpose: | The militia’s objective was to secure Rawlings’ and his party’s power. |
| Relative Benefit(s) of PGM Use | unknown |
Treatment of Civilians
| Treatment of Civilians: | The militia targeted and killed opposition protesters. Supreme Court judges were murdered by militia members. |
| Type(s) of Violence against Civilians: | killing |
Reasons for Membership
| PGM Members Coerced? | no |
| PGM Members Paid? | yes |
| Reasons for Membership: | Members were former members of the Committee for the Defense of the Revolution. |
| PGM Members Killed? | no information |
PGM Size
| Size: | No information. |
Weapons and Training
| Weapons and Training: | The PGM owned automatic rifles. |
Organisation
| Organisation: | The association is closely linked to the regular armed forces. Militia members were reported to be members of the military. The PGM was linked to the National Democratic Congress party of former President Rawlings. |
Reference(s) for Meta-Analysis
Evidence
- Examine the evidence for this coding.