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President John Agyekum Kufuor, in recognition of the need to ensure the restoration of permanent peace and security in the Bawku area, has invited a faction in the sectarian conflict to the Castle, the seat of government this morning for discussions. |
The meeting with the Kusasi chiefs and elders, under the leadership of the Bawku Naba, is expected to find a lasting solution to the conflict which started on December 31 last year and has claimed 17 lives so far.
Minister of the Interior, Kwamena Bartels, who warned the Bawku warring factions against provoking the security agents on duty in the area, said this on the floor of Parliament yesterday, in fulfillment of an earlier promise made on Tuesday by his deputy, K.T. Hammond.
The conflict had subsided recently until two butchers who were on a motor bike to Burkina Faso to buy a cow were on Tuesday morning shot by unidentified snipers. Violence therefore erupted once again, heightening tension in the area.
Government, on the advice of the Upper East Regional Security Council, was on the verge of relaxing the curfew hours imposed on the area, when the fresh wave of violence erupted.
Following the latest developments, government has extended the curfew hours to 16 (from 3.00pm to 7.00am), on the Bawku municipality, Pusiga, Binduri and Zoosi and their environs with effect from Tuesday.
“Government will like to remind the public that the ban on all persons in the Bawku Municipality, Pusiga, Zabugu, Binduri and Zoosi and their environs from carrying arms, ammunition or any offensive weapons still remains in force and any person found with arms, ammunition or any offensive weapon will be arrested and prosecuted accordingly,” said the minister.
He deplored the attempts made on the lives of security personnel deployed to maintain law and order.
“I want to unequivocally state that the security agencies are not parties to the crisis.
“They are there to protect lives and property and to ensure restoration of peace and security so that the people could have their normal lives back.
“I wish to caution that if the factions continue to provoke them with such unwarranted attacks on their lives, then they may have no option than to react in self-defence, which may have very disastrous consequences.”
Mr. Bartels however assured the nation that government would take “all the necessary security measures to ensure peace and security in the area”.
Among those measures was the President’s call on the National Peace Council to intervene in the matter to create and facilitate space for dialogue and reconciliation between the two factions.
“The latest incidents suggest that the situation is still volatile and must therefore continue to be a matter of concern to all, and whilst government continues to partner all stakeholders to look for ways of ensuring restoration of permanent peace and security in the area, we wish to appeal to all the factions to exercise maximum restraint and not to do any thing that could worsen the situation,” he added.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Bawku Central, Mahama Yarigah, bemoaned the lives lost in the relatively short period of the conflict, adding, “We are all losing and nobody is making any gains as a result.”
Mr. Yarigah, who wished President Kufuor would meet both the Mamprusi and the Kusasi groups in Tamale, which is closer to Bawku and not Accra, called on his tribesmen to desist from provoking the security agents.
He then appealed to the security personnel “to maintain your composure despite the provocation” as professional men.
The MP for Zebilla, John Ndebugre, like Mr. Yarigah, called on government to review the unusually long curfew hours, which in his view came second to the one and only 24-hour curfew record held by Grenada, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
“We are begging. The 16-hour curfew is a bit difficult. The consequences are not only economic. You know, when men and women are forced to sleep for 16 hours, the result will be population explosion.”
Mr. Ndebugre, who described himself as the official spokesperson for the Kusasis, said though the media did well by highlighting the matter, “some of the social commentators sometimes go off the cliff”.
He appealed to them to be circumspect and verify all pieces of information they got from the appropriate authorities.
“We should depoliticize the situation as it is not political because the state of Bawku is volatile.”
Hon. Ndebugre, a lawyer and an engineer, called on the factions in the conflict to respect the accord to which they all appended their signatures recently and give peace a chance.
So far, 28 suspects are currently on remand for offences relating to the disturbances, and the security agencies have been urged to expedite action on their investigations to ensure that justice is served.
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