Wa, May 28, GNA - Mr. Martin Amidu, Minister of Interior has appealed to the people of Upper West Region to continue to use dialogue and other legal channels in the settlement of all disputes. He asked them to discourage the use of violence no mater how serious a dispute could be, saying, "all conflicts are created by human beings and not by divine creation.

"Man should therefore learn to resort to appropriate mechanisms to resolve them whenever the need arises," he said. Mr. Amidu said this when he briefed members of the media in Wa, on Thursday at the start of his two-day official visit to the region. He said the visit would afford him the opportunity to acquaint himself with the challenges being faced by all the security enforcement agencies that were operating under his Ministry in the region. The Minister said the Upper West Region, though the youngest among all the ten regions in the country, had taken the lead in showing the road to peace and urged the other regions to emulate them. Mr. Amidu said "there may be instances of misunderstanding between groups, individuals and institutions, but that has not denied the people the peaceful atmosphere they are now enjoying".

According to the Interior Minster, it was as a result of this that he chose to visit the region first, since he took over the Ministry this year. He expressed the intent to find out how the Regional Security Council (REGSEC), the Police and the Peace Advisory Committee, had managed the conflict situations, and to see how that could be replicated among other regions. Mr. Amidu commended the security enforcement agencies especially the Police for conducting themselves professionally in handling minor security cases. He also thanked the NDC regional executives for exhibiting a high sense of maturity in handling the recent distasteful activities by foot soldiers of the party, and urged them to keep it up to protect the integrity of the party. He said while using the police to forestall peace, there was also the need to search for alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and institutionalize them, for people to refer to them when settling disputes. Mr. Amidu said power over regional security issues were vested in the regional security councils, and said government would therefore not relent in its efforts to empower them to function properly across the country. Mr. Moses Bukari Mabengba, acting Upper West Regional Minister, also commended the media for the good reportage that had helped in promoting peace in the region, and urged them to continue to do so to bring about the needed development to the region.