NDC welcomes Asantehene's statement on unity

Kumasi (Ashanti Region) 13 May ?99

The Ashanti Regional branch of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has welcomed Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, Asantehene?s declaration that he is committed to the cause of unity among all Ghanaians.

A press release signed by the Regional Chairman of the party, Mr P.E.K. Antwi, and issued in Kumasi on Wednesday described it as "timely" and expressed the hope that the path chosen by the Asantehene would "provide a guide to all citizens of the region".

The statement was critical of recent pronouncements by some contributors to radio programmes "that carried a potential danger of arousing unnecessary ethnic animosity, mistrust and suspicion, especially against people from the region".

This, it noted, did not augur well for social cohesion and nation building. "It certainly does not promote peaceful co-existence," it added.

The statement asked all and sundry to desist from pronouncements that seek to make "one ethnic group more deserving than others."