Elders in Alavanyo/Nkonya dialogue for peace

Chiefs and people of Alavanyo and Nkonya at the weekend denounced in a joint statement further arms skirmish in the area and pledged re-engagement towards peace to end their nine-decade old land dispute.

The statement came after a consultative forum facilitated by West Africa Network for Peace Building (WANEP) under the auspices of the Volta Regional Coordinating Council and the security agencies.

It urged both sides to exercise restraint and avoid the phenomenon of revenge or ambush attacks, which could further derail the peace process.

The statement recognised the appreciable progress that was notched despite recent ambushed recorded killings pledging to renew their collective commitment and dedication to the search for sustainable and lasting peace.

The statement, therefore, called on government and other well meaning stakeholders and institutions to support the process through the provision of an enabling environment and funding to anchor the needed peace.

It pledged to deploy continued negotiation and dialogue instead of hostilities and commended WANEP for their corporate readiness to facilitate the peace building process.

Meanwhile, a citizen of Nkonya Tayi, Kofi Kumi, 30, has survived a head injury from gun-shot when identified assailants allegedly shot at him on his farm on the outskirts of Nkonya-Tayi at about 1400 hours on Saturday, whilst the forum was ongoing.

Also, Korku Teyi, chief hunter of Alavanyo, was shot and died instantly outside his house at Alavanyo-Kpeme by unidentified gunman last Thursday.

Despite heavy Police cum Military presence in the area and imposition of curfew, gun-shots could be heard at the mountains at the weekend.

Mediation broke-down between the factions when one side pulled out of the peace process in 2009 to further consult with their compatriots after the land in contention was surveyed and mapped.

Tremendous gains in 2006 crystallised into the unification of both sides leading to the maintenance of the thrust and cessation of hostilities until in October 2012, when what looked-like ambush killings begun to fester tension in the area. The 90-year-old land conflict had claimed several lives.

The Peace Mediation Committee is jointly chaired by Reverend Dr Livingstone K. Buamah, former Moderator of the E. P. Church, Ghana, and Most Rev Francis K. A. Lodonu, Bishop of Ho Diocese of Catholic Church, established by government in 2004.