The Upper East Regional Peace Council held a Security Agencies-Community Dialogue to foster trust and positive relationships between the Security Agencies and the residents of Sandema in the Builsa North Municipality of the East Region.
The aim of the program is to build trust between security agencies and border communities to prevent violent extremism.
Mr. David Angaamba Atualing, the Principal Programmes Manager of the Upper East Regional Peace Council, made the call when he addressed residents and the security agencies at Azenero social center on Saturday, August 24, 2024.
He urged the residents, especially the youth, to use acceptable and appropriate channels to get their grievances resolved, instead of resorting to violence.
He stated that violent extremists were always on the lookout for areas already experiencing conflict, political violence, and other forms of unrest to take advantage of it to perpetrate their criminal acts.
Therefore, he entreated the residents not to allow themselves to be radicalized to foment trouble in their communities, as it would create the environment for violent extremism to be perpetuated by the actors.
He called on the stakeholders to be key actors in raising awareness on the effects of violence and how violence starts, run educational programs on diversity and inclusiveness, promote peaceful coexistence, speak out against hate speech, promote sustainable lifestyles, and the use of dialogue.
The one-day program had participants from Ghana Immigration Service, Police, National Commission for Small Arms and Light Weapons, Defence Intelligence, National Intelligence Bureau (NIB), Narcotics Control Commission, and National Peace Council.
The program was sponsored by the UNDP with funding support from the governments of Norway, Australia, Denmark, and Germany under the UNDP Atlantic Corridor Project: Preventing and Responding to Violent Extremism.
DSI Robert Ubindan, in charge of operations at the Ghana Immigration Service in Paga, when speaking to Radio Builsa News after the program, noted that collaborating with community members is one of the best ways to maintain security and alleviate fears and mistrust. This promotes unity and shared responsibility between the security agencies and community members, which can lead to timely interventions and prevent additional crimes in the various communities.
He explained that the people have a key role to play by assisting the security agencies in curbing crime around their communities. He assured the availability of security services to partner with communities to fight crime and violent extremism.
The chiefs and people of the area commended the Peace Council and the security agencies for the timely engagement and called for more of such initiatives.
All the concerns raised by participants were duly clarified by the security service.
Source: Oyerepafmonline.com/Edmond Kwaching Agwaazeh, Upper East Regional Correspondent
