Christians urged to preach peace to quell political tension

Winneba (C/R), June 23, GNA - The Area Head of the International Central Gospel Church at Winneba, Pastor Beneto W. Okoro, on Sunday urged Christians to use their numerical strength to preach peace and reduce political tension.

He said Christians should serve in their respective vicinities as catalyst to help to resolve political tension instead of helping to inflame passions that would not advance the course of democracy. Pastor Okoro told Christians that they have vital roles to play during and after the general elections in December 2008 with their message of peace and unity.

He called on Churches not to relent in their efforts to offer constant prayers for the various political parties to organise smooth campaigns devoid of insults and acrimonies. Pastor Okoro urged the youth of Ghana to resist being used by some ambitious and selfish politicians saying: "the youth are used by politicians to create confusion and at the end are left to face the full rigours of the law alone when they are caught".

He said those who gave the youth alcoholic drinks to misbehave during the electioneering campaigns, often left them to their fate when they fell ill. Pastor Okoro, therefore, advised them to learn form past experiences and added: "Taking drugs and misbehave during political campaigns will not help you achieve anything better, rather it endangers your own future career".

He said the youth must let politicians know that, the time when they were given hard drugs and strong drinks to foment trouble and create problems were gone forever. "We want peaceful and transparent elections in 2008 to sustain the nation democracy," he said. 23 June 08