President Kufuor meets with Naba

Accra, June 26, GNA - President John Agyekum Kufuor on Thursday expressed concern about the continued blood-letting in the Bawku area as he met with the Bawku Naba as part of on-going efforts to calm and restore the situation to normalcy.

The meeting with Naba Asigri Abugrago Azorka at the Castle, Osu, was also attended by Members of the Peace Council, Ministers of State and Members of Parliament (MPs) from that part of the country. In brief remarks before going into closed doors, President Kufuor said the whole nation was disturbed by the inhuman acts happening there. It was completely out of place and totally unacceptable for citizens to be hacked savagely.

The situation in Bawku, he reminded the leaders, if allowed to get out of hand could hold the entire nation to ransom. History and traditions should not become a drawback on the nation's progress, he stated, adding, "We cannot allow this in today's Ghana. The Government has a responsibility."

He said his expectation was that the meeting was going to be a watershed point that would turn the situation around. President Kufuor had previously met separately with the Bawku Naba and the Nayiri, the Overlord of the Mamprusis, to listen to their views on how to peacefully resolve the crisis.

Added to this, he has enlisted the support of the Peace Council made up of revered and distinguished Ghanaians and chaired by Cardinal Peter Appiah Turkson, to help the feuding parties to find a common ground.

The Council had visited the conflict area more than once. 26 June 2006