The National Peace Council has asked the media to be sensitive in reporting the violence in Bawku.
There were reports of gunshots in the early hours of Monday, December 27, 2021 leading to loss of lives and destruction of property in Bawku.
This follows a similar incident that happened in Bawku on November 18, 2021, which occasioned the imposition of Curfew on the township.
In a statement, Chairman for the National Peace Council, Rev. Dr. Ernest Adu Gyamfi stated that the council observed that between 2013 and 2017 when the parties used dialogues, they were Ble to resuscitate the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee set up by the Peace Council.
He added that the council has been working with state partners since the conflict was renewed in November 2021.
The Peace Council has since called on all sides of the conflict to cease fire and seek nonviolent ways to address their grievances.
The Peace Council has also appealed to the media to be sensitive and restrain itself from making pronouncements that will make the situation worse.
Read Full Statement below:
PRESS STATEMENT JOINTLY ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL PEACE COUNCIL & CSOs ON THE RECENT VIOLENT INCIDENT IN BAWKU
The National Peace Council and our partner CSOs received disturbing reports of gunshots in the early hours of Monday, December 27, 2021 leading to loss of lives and destruction of property in Bawku. This follows a similar incident that happened in Bawku on November 18, 2021, which occasioned the imposition of Curfew on the township.
The National Peace Council has observed that between 2013 to 2017 when the parties used dialogue, they were able to resuscitate the Bawku Inter-Ethnic Peace Committee (BIEPC) which was set up under the auspices of the National Peace Council to facilitate the peace process in Bawku. With these engagements and dialogues, the parties achieved a lot of successes facilitated by the BIEPC and we believe that with similar efforts these successes can be sustained. Since November 22, 2021, when renewed violence erupted in Bawku, the National Peace Council has been working with state partners and those in civil society to continue engagement with the parties through dialogue and other peaceful approaches.
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The National Peace Council wishes to call on all sides of the conflict to cease fire and seek nonviolent ways to address their grievances. The call particularly goes to the leaders and youth of both sides of the conflict. The National Peace Council and other stakeholders in the Bawku peace process would like to further urge the parties to stop all acts of violence and commit to nonviolent ways of resolving their differences.
The National Peace Council urges the Upper East REGSEC to conduct the necessary inquiry into the circumstances that led to the unfortunate occurrences and thereafter, make the appropriate recommendations. The National Peace Council and our partners will continue to work closely with the REGSEC to calm the tension and explore opportunities for dialogue as soon as practicable.
The Council uses this medium to appeal to the media and all those who make statements on the matter, to be sensitive of the issues and restrain themselves from pronouncements that could exacerbate the situation.
Thank you
SIGNED
REV DR ERNEST ADU GYAMFI
CHAIRMAN
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu | [email protected]
