COUNCIL MAKES PEACE MOVES (p.20) 05-09-08

Story: Kofi Yeboah

THE National Peace Council (NPC) has held separate high-level meetings with key actors in the electoral process to review the state of peace and stability in the country.
This follows the recent political clashes in parts of the Northern Region in particular and the country in general.
The meetings, presided over by the Chairman of the NPC, Peter Cardinal Appiah-Turkson, involved senior officials of the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Police Service, the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI), the Electoral Commission (EC) and political parties.
The meetings were attended by the Chief Justice, Mrs Georgina Wood; the Chief of the Defence Staff, Lt Gen J. B. Danquah; the Director-General in charge of Operations of the Ghana Police Service, DCOP Patrick Timbilla; the Chairman of the EC, Dr Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, and his two deputies, Messrs Sarfo Katanka and David Kanga.
Among those from the political parties were the flag bearer of the Convention People’s Party (CPP), Dr Paa Kwesi Nduom; the flag bearer of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), Mr T. N. Ward-Brew; the Chairman of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Mr Peter Mac Manu; the party’s General Secretary, Nana Ohene Ntow; the General Secretary of the Democratic Freedom Party (DFP), Mr Bede Ziedene, and a representative of the Great Consolidated Popular Party (GCPP).
The meetings with the Chief Justice and the senior security officials were held on Tuesday, while those with the EC officials and the political party representatives were held on Wednesday.
Conspicuously absent were representatives of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), the largest opposition party, but according to its General Secretary, Mr Johnson Asiedu Nketia, the party’s absence was because it was not invited.
He said he just heard about the meeting in the media when some journalists called him to find out about what transpired.
Mr Nketia said the NDC was one of the few political parties that had five vice-chairpersons and two deputy general secretaries, so it was never short of officials to represent the party at any function.
When contacted, the Executive Secretary of the NPC, Mr P. K. Opoku-Mensah, however, insisted that the NDC was invited to the meeting.
According to him, the letter of invitation to the party was received by one Elorm at the NDC headquarters about two weeks ago.
Briefing the Daily Graphic on the proceedings, the Research Officer of the NPC, Mr Emmanuel Sowatey, said the security officials outlined how they would co-ordinate in their strategies to deal with flash points and maintain the peace.
He said the security officials stressed the need for the nation to have trust and confidence in state institutions, who in turn, must play their roles efficiently.
Mr Sowatey said they also urged the NPC to liaise with other state institutions to create more awareness on the civic responsibilities of the people.
He said during the meeting with the Chief Justice, she indicated the role the Judiciary would play in the peace process.
Mr Sowatey said Mrs Justice Wood noted that some courts would be designated to handle election disputes rather than the creation of separate courts to handle such matters as had been suggested by some people.
He said various issues were discussed at the meeting with the EC officials, key among which was the need to clean the voters register.
Mr Sowatey said the EC officials urged political parties, religious leaders, parents and all Ghanaians to contribute their quota to ensure a clean register by discouraging minors from registering and abiding by electoral rules, among other responsibilities.
He said the EC officials also urged political parties to restrain their members from indulging in acts that could undermine the peace.
Mr Sowatey said the political parties, on their part, stressed the need for prompt prosecution of anyone who was involved in fomenting violence.
Mr Sowatey said the aim of the meetings was to understand the concerns of the key actors and find how best to address them.
He appealed to owners of small arms to register their weapons, while calling on those who had registered but not renewed their licences to do so.