Work at sustaining prevailing peace - Most Rev. Asante
The Chairman of the National Peace Council, Most Rev. Prof. Emmanuel Asante, has asked Ghanaians to work at sustaining the prevailing peace in the country.
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He said it was not enough to profess peace without working at achieving or maintaining harmony in the country.
The chairman who was speaking at the launch of a book and exhibition on political cartoons dubbed; “Promoting a Violence Free Election,” added that peace was a collective responsibility for which reason all must get involved to promote it.
The event was organised by Cartoonist Alliance Ghana (CAG) in partnership with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) in Accra last Tuesday.
Acknowledgement
Rev. Prof. Asante said even though Ghana had been acknowledged as a beacon of democracy in the sub-Region, Ghanaians should not take the existing peace for granted.
He, therefore, entreated families, groups and civil society organisations to work towards consolidatiing the peace, saying, “tolerance of different opinions, ideas, strategies and the promotion of peace should be our collective interest.”
Prof. Asante advised Ghanaians not to consider their political opponents as enemies nor trade their conscience for pittance during the electioneering.
Elections
Rev. Prof. Asante also pointed out that free, fair and transparent elections were critical to consolidating peace and democracy.
He said an incredible election could contribute to increased tensions, divisions and violence as experienced in other countries.
On the significance of cartoons, the chairmman commended the CAG and indicated that, “Cartoons confront realities since sometimes people are not realistic on issues”.
Importance
The Director of Cartoonist Alliance Ghana, Mr Hugh S.K Quist, stated that cartoon was a strong journalistic tool used to communicate ideas in an interesting way to the public but not to ridicule people in the society.
“The cartoon campaign is aimed at educating the electorate on the importance of avoiding election-related violence in order to protect the peace in the country,” he said.
The President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA), Mr Affail Monney, lauded the CAG for their creative and innovative way of promoting peace in the country.
