DAILY GRAPHIC, Saturday, May 26, 2012, Front page. Peace rally in Accra.

Story: Mary Ankrah

A PEACE rally has been held in Accra to solicit the support of Ghanaians towards keeping the peace in the run-up to the December elections and beyond.

Organised by Oparedawuro Media Consult, the rally brought together the youth choirs of the South Ghana Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist (SDA) Church  to use song ministration to drum home the effects of violence on the development processes of the country.

Some of the pastors and youth who were at the event shed tears when the lyrics of some songs and the choreography accompanying the songs depicted scenes of violence resulting in death during campaigning, voting and declaration of electoral results in some countries in Africa.

The choristers reminded Ghanaians of the importance of peace in any development engagement to construct roads, create jobs and enhance incomes to improve the quality of life of the people.

Speaking on the topic: “The responsibilities of the police and the general public”, the acting Public Affairs Director of the Ghana Police Service, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr Cephas Arthur, assured Ghanaians that the police and other security agencies were ready to provide security to ensure the peaceful conduct of the December elections.

In that regard, he said, the service had put in place a comprehensive preparation regime to secure a peaceful atmosphere before, during and after the elections.

He said a National Election Security Task Force would be set up and that some 16,000 members from all the security agencies were being trained to provide security for the conduct of the elections.
“The Ghana Police Service has gained experience from the various elections and it was in a position to do even better in the 2012 elections,” he said.

Mr Arthur said peaceful elections were a shared responsibility and, therefore, the public owed it a duty to the state to conduct themselves in a responsible manner.

To that end, he encouraged Ghanaians to avoid the use of intemperate language in their political discourse and desist from inciting others or taking actions likely to inflame passions.

For his part, the Administrative Officer of the Religious Affairs of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), Pastor Captain P.N.K. Duodu, said it was not enough for people to talk about peace.

Quoting Matthew 5: 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God”, to buttress his point, Captain Duodu said apart from Ghanaians talking about peace, they believed in peace and acted for peace.

He observed that only disciplined people could be real peacemakers and suggested that healthy interpersonal relationships could promote peace.

Some of the stakeholders in the electoral process were made to sign a Peacemakers Banner enjoining them to uphold peace at all times.
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Ransford Tetteh, for his part, said the media would do their best to promote peace by providing accurate information for the public in the coming elections.
He observed that elections were for people to elect their leaders but not to fight and cause violence, which in turn would be detrimental to the development and growth of the country, especially the youth and children. 
“Should we continue to fight in order to elect people to lead us? I guess no,” he said.
He advised the public to abstain from using the media as a platform to insult and incite others.