Reverend Dr. Ernest Adu Gyamfi, chairman of the National Peace Council.
THE NATIONAL Peace Council and civil society organisations (CSOs) have called on all actors involved in the Bawku conflict to desist from engaging in acts that have the tendency to fuel the protracted conflict.
A joint statement issued and signed by Reverend Dr. Ernest Adu Gyamfi, Chairman of the National Peace Council, said the unfortunate events have led to the loss of lives and the destruction of properties, among others, in the Bawku community.
The situation, according to them, has not only deprived the people their sources of livelihoods but has also affected the education, health delivery and other commercial activities required for development.
According to the two groups, they were able to revamp the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee that served as the ‘Insider Mechanism’ for the restoration of peace in Bawku between 2013 and 2017.
“With these engagements and dialogues, the parties achieved a lot of successes, which resulted in the de-escalation of the conflict and a return to peace until the recent relapse,” it stressed.
The partners, therefore, urged all actors in the conflict to cease fire to create the enabling environment for the National Peace Council-led team to roll out non-violent strategies (short to medium term) to address the grievances fueling the conflict.
He added, “This call, particularly, goes to the traditional leaders and youth groups of both the Mamprusis and the Kusasis.”
He further stated that the Peace Council-led team would require the support of all parties to find enduring solutions to the problem as intervention starts from April 2022.
“The council concludes with an appeal to all those who make statements on the matter, either in print, radio or social media, to do so with circumspection; and are respectfully urged to restrain from pronouncements that could exacerbate the situation,” he noted.
BY Linda Tenyah-Ayettey