IM: GHANA'S FREEDOM FIGHTERS' CAMP AND THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS

Created: 3/4/1966

OCR scan of the original document, errors are possible

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INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM

g GHANA'S FREEDOM FIGHTERS' CAMP AND THE CHINESE COMMUNISTS

DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE Office of Current Intelligence

APPROVED FDR RELEASE DATE:1

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY Office of Current6

INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM

Ghana's Freedom Fighters' Camp and the Chinese Co.-ar.ur. ists

One of the earliest pronouncements of the new regime in Ghanaromise to end Ghanaian meddling in the internal affairs of other African states. This statement was broadcast shortly after the discovoryecret training camp for subversives run by theCommunists in the interior of Ghana.

The Nkrumah regime had been in the business of providing support, in the form of "ospi tal ity, money, and training in guerrilla techniques, to Africanfighters" virtually since Ghana became independent in Chinoso Communist assistance in thishowever, apparently dates only from4 or

Ghanaian aid and comfort were extended at first only to African nationalists from7 included all of Black AfricaLiberia, Ethiopia, and Ghana itself. hana "adopted" and similarly aided dissidents from neigh-ooring independent AfricanFrenchby Nkrumah to have "neocolonialist" regimes.

umber of years aftert wasto discover any of the details about theseprograms. It was established early that they were operated under the aegis of Nkrumah's Bureau of Africanofficial government agency set up mainly to deal with the freedom fighters. However, ong while,reports remained generally vague as to the rcWTT^TTrTese activities and theand nationalities of trainees. 84 several different localities in Ghana wereand it seems likely that tho site of the program was moved several limes. Many of these early reports also included generalized references lo the presence of specialists from Communist countries. The CSSR and East

Germany were most frequently mentioned in thison.

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5. Sinceuccession of reports has made it clear that the major and perhaps the only freedom fighters' camp in Ghana is the one now being publicized in the press. The decision for itswas apparently made in It was set upiles northwest of Accra and not far from the upcountry city of Kumasi. The actual site is an abandoned gold mine near the small town of Obenemasi. ndhineso guerrilla train ers arrived In Ghana In late4 or Jan-

Field reporting5 indicated that the number of Chinese may have fluctuated somewhat, but apparently never exceeded the size ofoup. The latest report, dated litated that nine Chinese instructors who had been on leave in Accra were to return to the camp that day to assist the Ghanaian commandantew training session.

A wide variety of Africans deemed by Nkrumah to qualify as "freedom fighters" have receivedat Obenemasi. Apparently included wereelements from independent Niger, Cameroon, Congo (Leopoldvllle), Ivory Coast. Senegal, and South Africa The largest individual contingents, however, evidently came from Rhodesia and Portugal's three Africanespecially Angola and Mozambique. At tho time of the coup, arrangements were already under way to process additional recruits through this program.

All told, perhaps several hundred trainees have passed through the Obenemasi camp since thebecame Involved in the program. ood many

of these Africans were reported to have left Ghana en route to staging areasanzania) nearer their homelands.

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