Leadership of Northern Ethic Groups call for peace

The leadership of Kokombas, Bimobas and Nawuri have expressed worry about the recent burning and killings at Bunkurugu and condemned the action.

This was contained in a statement issued in Accra and signed by Mr. Titus Jawol Bisunna, General Secretary of Kokomba Youth Association (KOYA), Mr. David Kombat, President of Bimobas Youth Association (BIYA), and Mr. Jonny Saka, President of Nawuri Youth Association (NYA), and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Koforidua.

The statement recalled that on June 02, there was a report of burning of houses at Kpasa as a result of misunderstanding between Kokombas and Nawuris, which was brought to stop by the intervention of the security agencies.

“Just a day after the Kpasa incident another similar one took place on June 03 and 04 at Bunkurugu, which led to loss of lives and property”.

The statement consoled all those who were affected by those two separate incidents and condemned the acts which were being committed by some disgruntled people who had planned to disturb the peace of the north.

It stated that Kokombas, Bimobas and Nawuris as well other ethnic groups in northern Ghana are not enemies and should not be fighting especially at the time the area is enjoying peace after the 1994 conflict.

It warned that anybody who is caught fanning trouble should be punished accordingly whether the person is a Kokomba, Bimoba or Nawuri to serve as a deterrent to others who like causing troubles.

“We as leaders of our various ethnic groups want to state that we are not in support and will never support any faction or ethnic group who will want to disturb the peace that we are currently enjoying in Northern Ghana”.

The statement appealed to the warring factions to lay down their arms in the interest of peace, children and women and cooperate with the security agencies and the mediators in order to help bring peace and order to the areas affected.

It urged that anyone or group of people who try to defy security orders should be arrested and punished as a sign of warning to other people who had decided not to cooperate with the security to bring peace and order to the areas affected.

The statement appealed to the Regional Ministers to take quick action to invite the leadership of all the warring factions to a round table discussion so that consultative and consensus building could be reached between them.

The statement also appealed to the Regional Ministers and the District Chief Executives to help the leadership of the fighting factions to jointly visit to interact and advise their people on how to live together in peace.

It suggested to the Government to constitute a committee and mandate it to investigate into the causes of the disturbances and recommend appropriate sanctions to be given to those who are found guilty of the crime.

The statement further advised that the Government and the Land Commission take the appropriate measures to see to it that, land issues were well addressed in areas where there had been problems between ethnic groups and families.

“This will help those who have been deprived of their farmlands to retrieve them for cultivation”.

It also urged that a workshop be organized to educate traditional leaders and farmers on the land tenure system in Ghana and the importance of defending lands, which were allocated to government projects and the risk involved on its encroachment.

“Also, issues concerning chieftaincy should be expedited by the National and Regional Houses of Chiefs so as to help address chieftaincy issues in Northern Ghana”.

The statement appealed to politicians not to try to exploit the current situation to their advantage.**