President should not rush to visit Dagbon -
Minority Member
Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 September 2002- Dr Kwame Addo-Kufuor, Minister of Defence
and Acting Minister of the Interior, on Friday said it was not the intention of
government to use the State of Emergency to secure peace and orderliness in the
Dagbon Traditional Area.
"It
has only become necessary to impose on Dagbon the State of Emergency so that
security agencies could contain criminal and anti-social activities," he
explained. Dr Addo-Kufuor was moving a resolution, requesting Parliament to
grant government the authority to extend the State of Emergency in the Dagbon Traditional
Area.
He said
government had agreed to change the curfew hours to 10pm to 4am from the
present 9pm to 5am. The Minister said various centres for filing of complaints
of human rights abuse have been opened in the area.
"These
complaint offices were at the Kamina Barracks, Northern Regional Police
Headquarters, Radio Savannah and the District Police Station at Yendi," he
said. Dr Addo-Kufuor said government was employing several strategies to bring
about lasting peace in the area.
"The
Wuako Commission, which just finished the first part of its job was mandated to
investigate and make recommendations to government on how to tackle the
criminal aspects of the crises," he noted.
He said
since the problems of Dagbon were complex and of great antiquity, the
government had sought the counsel of three important traditional rulers, who
were busy looking at the traditional and cultural dimensions of the crises. He
said the United Nations team in the country was independent of government,
saying that it would also give the whole situation an international and
unbiased dimension.
He warned
that anyone found recruiting warriors or gun running for purposes of fighting
in the area would face the full rigours of the law. Mr Joseph Henry Mensah,
Senior Minister, described the State of Emergency as the price to be paid for
peace in Dagbon.
He said
government was making conditions more flexible for the people in the area
although they were supposed to be under a State of Emergency. Mr Kwabena Sarfo,
NPP-Offinso South, said whatever government was doing was just to make it
possible for the people of the area to live together as they were before the
crises.
" It
is sad for brothers and sisters to kill each other. Indeed, I have lived in the
Dagbon area for sometime. In those days, one could not tell an Andani from an
Abudu. Now I understand they are arming themselves. Who are they going to
fight? Are they not going to kill and injure each other? Somebody must be
educated on who he really is." Mr Samson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional
Minister, asked all members from the three Northern Regions to play a special
role in the search for peace in the area.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 September 2002- Parliament on Friday granted government's
request to extend the State of Emergency in the Dagbon Traditional Area for one
month. All 117 members present voted in favour of the resolution seeking the
consent of the House. The last time the House granted the government such
request was on 12 August
A State of
Emergency was imposed on Yendi on 27 March following clashes between the Andani
and Abudu Royal Gates to Ya-Na Skin that led to the assassination of Ya-Na
Yakubu Andani II, the Paramount Chief of Dagbon area, and 29 others.
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Accra (Greater
Accra) 14 September 2002- The Parliamentary Select Committee on Defence and
Interior on Friday recommended that the lifting of the curfew should take place
only when there was peace in the area. It said the circumstances that led to
the declaration of a State of Emergency still existed and was volatile.
The
Committee said it came to this conclusion after it held meetings with all
stakeholders in the Dagbon Traditional Area, The 20-member-Committee led by its
Chairman, Mr Joseph Darko Mensah was made up of the Majority and Minority
caucus went on a two-day fact-finding mission to the conflict area after which
they presented a report on the security situation to Parliament.
The
Committee said after interacting with both parties in the conflict, it was of
the view that even though the situation was calm it was uneasy. "There
cannot be a lasting peace in Dagbon unless justice prevails in the management
of the conflict and the Yendi Skin Affair," the Committee said.
The
Committee explained that the area was indeed relatively calm to the ordinary
observer but there were serious undercurrents that might explode at any time if
a mutually acceptable, lasting and fair settlement of the Yendi Skin problem
was not found as quickly as possible.
The
Delegation said it met with the Northern Regional Security Council, Yendi
District Security Council, Chiefs, elders and people of both the Andani and
Abudu Gates in Tamale and Yendi, members of the general public in Yendi and
Tamale, Trades Union Congress and Peace Seekers International, a
non-governmental organisation (NGO).
The others
were religious groups made up of Muslims, Christians and Ahmadis, Consortium of
NGOs, Hoteliers Association, Butchers Association, Business Groups in Yendi and
Tamale and paid a courtesy call on the widows of e Ya-Na Andani in Tamale.
The
Committee said its assessment of the security situation indicated that economic
activities were bouncing back and the security agencies were firmly on the
ground and performing their duties with utmost dedication.
It said
there was a breakdown of family ties and good neighbourliness because people
were no longer talking cordially to each other while inter marriages between
members of the two Gates were breaking down and they continued to tease or cast
insinuations at each other.
The
Committee said some elites in the society including those from Dagbon and some
press houses were inadvertently fanning the crisis with statements that were
often misinterpreted and tended to inflame passions.
It said
from its interactions with the people, it became clear that there was the fear
that both Gates might reject the Report of the Wuaku Commission if it did not
favour them and there was widespread suspicion that the security agencies were
using the search for arms to harass and disarm them.
"A
section of the people said that they were worried that the perpetrators of the
assassination of the Ya-Na had so far not been arrested," the committee
said. The Committee said reports also indicated that the two Gates were preparing
for fresh attacks with rumours that they were raising funds through
contributions to buy arms, recruiting and training warriors in weapon handling
as well as fortifying with juju.
The reasons
were that there were concerns that Yendi the scene of the conflict had not been
searched, the non- arrest, and trial of the assassins and the burial and
funeral of the Ya-Na and the funeral rites of the former Ya-Na Mahamadu Abdulai
III.
The State
of Emergency has brought about both positive and negative impact as petty crime
had gone down considerably while there was restriction of freedom of movement;
social and youth activities curtailed and religious and economic activities
impaired. It said since both Gates had declared their desire for peace and
reconciliation the Committee recommended that the curfew hours should be
reduced from 9am-5am to 10pm to 4am.
GRi…/
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Accra
(Greater Accra) 14 September 2002- Major Samuel K Amponsah (rtd), NDC-Mpohor
Wassa, was the toast of the Majority in Parliament on Friday as he defended the
President's hesitancy to visit crisis stricken Dagbon.
He said;
"the time is not right for the President to visit the area. He has
security advisors and men on the ground. It would be suicidal for him to ignore
professional advice just to please a section of the population."
The member
was contributing to the debate for the resolution requesting the House to grant
government power to extend the State of Emergency in the Dagbon Traditional
Area. He said": The President is not an ordinary man. His security equals
the stability of the whole country. If he should stumble now it would be a
serious issue and a disgrace to the entire country."
Major
Amponsah said the State of Emergency was necessary to control the movement of
arms and to stop the various factions from regrouping. "National security
issues must be treated with all the seriousness they deserve. The Dagbon crises
is a national problem and all should support government," he noted.
Mr Cletus
Avoka, Bawku West, called for the celebration of the funeral of the chiefs, who
died with the Ya-Na so that their appointed regents would be used as points of
contact by government in reaching down to the ordinary person.
He asked
government to rehabilitate houses that were burnt during the clashes,"
because they hold the memories of the bitter day." The member called for
the removal of the Yendi District Chief Executive from office since he is a
major "stumbling block" to peace and reconciliation.
"When
a list of names was given to government as those of suspects of the unresolved
assassination of the Ya Naa, government did not bother. I thought that those
people could have been arrested, their statements taken and given bail. If
anyone is peeved it is because this simple action was not done," he said.
Mrs Amma Benyiwa-Doe, Gomoa West, said no one had visited the 28 widows of the
Yaa Na noting that, "they were worried, sad and confused when we saw
them".
GRi…/
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