The Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Most Reverend Professor Emmanuel Asante has asked the youth to rise up and resist any attempt by political parties to deploy them for violence in the upcoming general elections.
According to him, any act or event that destabilises the country invariable would jeopardise the future of the youth and everything must be done to guard against it.
“The youth must channel their future in the present, because without the present there will be no future. We say the future belongs to the youth but how will they annex the future if they destroy their present?” he queried.
Prof Asante made the call at the Youth Peace Dialogue and signing of the Peace Charter organised by the National Youth Authority (NYA) as part of this year’s Africa Youth Day held in Accra at the weekend.
Speaking on the topic, ‘Peaceful Ghana: The rhetoric, realities and the youth factor’ he said the country had paid lip service to the youth charter which is also intended to promote peace in the country’.
He said politics was a contest of ideas and not fisticuffs, as a result those who operated within the political space must ensure that they created the space for others to exercise their free will.
“We still do not understand how to live and let others live even though we have opted for a multi-party democracy defined and informed by rule of law he said,” he added.
Prof Asante said individuals had a right to freedom of opinion and expression and no one must act to deny them of it.
“After 63 years of nationhood we are still dealing with the problems of instant justice, child trafficking, we subject people to torture or to cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment,” he stated.
On his part, the Chief Excutive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Authority (NYA) Sylvester Tetteh called the police to expedite investigations and speedily bring the perpetrators to book.
“Let me at this point state the Authority’s utter disdain for the recent clashes at Odododiodoo by supporters of the NPP and NDC. Such repulsive and intolerable conduct must not be condoned. The Authority unequivocally condemns it and calls on the police to expedite investigations and speedily bring the perpetrators to book,” he emphasised.
According to Mr Tetteh, the Peace Charter declaration, would not only send a clear message pledging to work to consolidate and sustain peace in the country.
“I will also stress that while government is primarily responsible to peace building and sustaining peace, we can all contribute to build peaceful and resilient societies, and this, to me is highly commendable,” he said.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
