Reconciliation panel inaugurated

President John Kufuor inaugurated on Monday a reconciliation commission responsible for looking into past human rights violations, news organisation reported. At the ceremony in the capital, Accra, Kufuor said that the hearings would be "a forum for those who are aggrieved to seek consolation, and for those whose losses cannot be replaced to receive compensation", news organisations quoted him as saying. He said the government was determined to build a new Ghana and that the setting up of the commission was a genuine attempt to reconcile the nation for the mistakes of the past. Some opposition politicians have criticised the new body saying its only purpose was to carry out witch hunts. The commission, chaired by a retired Supreme Court Judge, Justice Amua-Sekyi, is expected to operate for about one year. It is mandated to investigate abuses committed during the five military regimes which ruled Ghana for a total of 22 years after the first coup in 1966, the BBC reported. Most hearings are expected to focus on alleged atrocities that took place during the 1980's when Jerry Rawlings was head of state. The Ghana Bar Association has said that over 200 people, thought to be victims of politically motivated killings went missing during that period, the BBC reported. Kufuor took over from Rawlings after elections in 2001.