Superintendent Prince Asante Debrah, the Dormaa West District Police Commander has urged political parties and traditional authorities, to use dialogue and consensus building in tackling conflicts, to strengthen the prevailing peace and stability in the country.
The Police Commander said as the Election 2024 approached, if not tackled proactively, conflicts and disputes could trigger violence to disturb the national peace and social cohesion.
He said, “Failure to use dialogue and consensus building in addressing conflicts and political disputes can create and escalate tensions and, in some cases, become difficult to control, particularly in situations where splinter, dissident or opposing groups or factions are involved”.
Superintendent Debrah made the call during an inter-party dialogue committee meeting held at Nkrankwanta, the district capital, by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) with the support of the European Union (EU).
In attendance were representatives of political parties, traditional authorities, religious leaders, civil society organisations, security agencies among others, and the aim was to discuss how to prevent and contain Violent Extremism in the area.
Superintendent Debrah said tensions, lawlessness and violence could create avenues, possibilities or opportunities for terrorists and violent extremists to capitalise on and exploit loopholes to perpetuate their crime and disturb the prevailing peace of the nation.
He said chieftaincy disputes and political violence threatened national stability and urged political parties and traditional authorities to promote and sustain lasting peace, by uniting dissenting groups and factions and giving feuding sides the opportunity to be heard in tackling their differences for mutual benefit.
Superintendent Debrah said although the 1992 Constitution allowed everybody to form or belong to an association, religious or political group, the Criminal Code 2960 (197) enjoined such unions not to harm or infringe on the rights of others.
“Violent extremists are a group of persons who by their ethnic, race, religious and political inclination seek to use force to impose certain ideologies and belief systems on others to gain power, exercise control or authority over a group of people,” he explained.
“Usually, such extremist tendencies begin from the family and at home, manifested in children who are usually loud, who begin to manifest signs and show withdrawal syndrome and recuse themselves from the rest of the family”.
The District Police Commander said land disputes remained a major factor causing violent extremism in cities like Accra and Kumasi, thereby breeding land guards and its attendant violent activities.
“The Vigilante Act 2019 enjoins the state to sanction people found culpable for engaging in land guard matters to face a jail term of 10 years or more,” he stated.
Superintendent Debrah noted that extremist groups and terrorists were now capitalising on technological advancement and were recruiting the youth through the internet and called on the people to reach out to the police to respond to violent incidents.
Nana Rockson Mensah, the Dwantoahene (sub-chief) of Nkrankwanta, appealed to the District Assembly to support the NCCE in sensitising the public on their civic rights and responsibilities, urged the media to also give fair opportunities to all political parties in the electioneering .
Mr Emmanuel Attah, the Dorma West District Director of the NCCE, said the commission with support from the EU had intensified the educational campaign to create awareness on the activities of terrorists.
He said acts of terrorism were now common in neighbouring Togo, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire and was rapidly spreading within the West Africa Sub-region, hence the to sensitize and empower the populace to help to identify and dismantle those networks.
“Violent extremists perpetuate or may carry out their evil agenda on the grounds of certain weakening socio-economic indicators or factors such as rising inflation, unemployment, chieftaincy and land disputes,” he stated.
He said they did this by inducing and recruiting people into their camps, advising everybody, especially residents in border communities, to remain watchful.
GNA