Bolgatanga, Jan. 13, GNA - The Bawku Literacy Society (BLS), one of the organisations campaigning for unity and peace in Bawku, has appealed to President John Evans Atta Mills to pay special attention to the Bawku crisis and find a lasting solution to it.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Mr Abubakar Yussif Maako, President of the Society, and Mr Aduala Sophia, Secretary, and issued at a press Conference in Bolgatanga at the weekend. The Statement said Bawku had suffered series of devastating conflicts which had inhibited the town's socio-economic development. "The cascading effect of the conflict cannot be overemphasized. This therefore underscores the need for President Mills to take cognizance of the situation in any decision regarding Bawku," it noted. The statement explained that polarization and ethnicity had been the bane of development in the area and appealed to the President to make conscious efforts to promote national unity and identity in the area.

The statement noted that BLS had been playing a major role in the resolution of the conflict and that it intended to form a number of student unions in the second cycle and tertiary institutions to promote and sustain peace in the area.

It asked for the creation of more jobs in the area to employ and occupy the youth to prevent them from idling and causing problems. It expressed satisfaction about the peaceful manner the recent Presidential and Parliamentary elections were conducted in the area and commended the government, security agencies, non-governmental organizations, opinion leaders among others for their role in the peace process.

Mr Abdul Kadir Alhassan, a Founding Member of the BLS said he had lost hope and faith in the prominent personalities hailing from the area for their failure to tackle the Bawku conflict. He urged them to change their attitude and focus more on resolving the issue.

He said posterity would judge them if they failed to resolve the problem, since the feuding tribes were intermarried and had become one people.

Mr Alhassan urged the citizens of Bawku to forget the past and live in peace. "What is urgently desired is for all of us to imbibe the spirit of mutual respect, co-existence, and above all a high level of ethnic, political and social tolerance if we honestly wish to make conflict a thing of the past".