STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF THE INTER PARTY YOUTH COMMITTEE, LUDWIG AKPENE HLODZE, [NDC- NATIONAL YOUTH ORGANISER] AT A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE CONFERENCE HALL OF FRIEDRICH-EBERT- STIFTUNG, ACCRA ON JUNE 19, 2012 ON THE SUBJECT, “SUSTAINING PEACE BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER ELECTIONS 2012”. Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen, my colleague Youth Organisers of the political parties of the Inter Party Youth Committee and the media present at this event. Let me foremost express our profound gratitude to the organisers of this platform the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung [FES], for collaborating with us, Youth organisers of the political parties in Ghana, towards sustaining Peace before, during and after the 2012 general elections. Again, let me on behalf of my colleagues thank the media for your support over the years towards ensuring that Ghana’s democracy is nurtured and remains a reference point not only in the sub region but across the world. We have been brainstorming over the past months as young leaders of the four main political parties, ie. The National Democratic Congress (NDC), the New Patriotic Party (NPP), the People’s National Convention (PNC) and the Convention People’s Party (CPP) and we are here this morning in the spirit of unity and patriotism to assure the good people of Ghana of our commitment towards peaceful and violent-free elections come December. Reports in the media especially from the beginning of the year seem to suggest a fast rising atmosphere of intemperate language and political intolerance surfacing in our body politic. As young people who have a major stake in the continuous survival and the peace of Ghana, we deem it fit to rise to the challenge to stem the tide and re direct the path of our electioneering campaign. Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, we are not here this morning to point fingers at any individual or group of persons for some inflammatory statements that might have been made in the past, BUT we are here with one voice to send a message to our members in Ghana and in the Diaspora that the youth of Ghana, represented by this body, have resolved to change the face of our political activities. We have resolved that our campaign messages would be focused on peace building and national development rather than on insults, intemperate language, provocative statements and any incitement of or against groups, tribes or religious sect in Ghana. Ladies and gentlemen, as the clock ticks closer to December, there is the need for all of us including the media to be very circumspect in what we say and what we report to the world. There must be a strong sense of vigilance by editors of newspapers, online portals, radio and TV Producers to report stories and developments which seek to promote national cohesion, peace and development rather than sensationalism and incitement which have the propensity to derail our efforts to engender peace among parties and their supporters. To achieve this objective we have set for ourselves and resolved that henceforth our messages to our supporters at forums, campaign meetings, and in the media should be devoid of any form of provocation. Our posture and utterances should be geared towards inculcating in our supporters the need for peaceful co-existence, peaceful electioneering campaigning and above all peaceful elections. Ladies and gentlemen, as part of our activities to towards engendering collaboration among us as political parties, we the Youth Organisers under the auspices of the FES would as a group be paying working visits to the 10 regions of Ghana to preach the message of Peace and peaceful campaign across the regions. We would also pay courtesy calls on the flagbearers of the various political parties to discuss with them on behalf of the youth of Ghana the need to promote peaceful electioneering campaign before, during and after the 2012 elections. Furthermore, we would equally seek audience with our former Presidents; ex-President Jerry John Rawlings and ex-President John Agyekum Kufuor, to formally announce to them our Peace Project and solicit their support to promote peaceful elections in Ghana. Ladies and gentlemen of the Press, at the centre of this peace project should be the media, the vehicle on which we all ride to send our messages across to the public. The media should be interested in putting on the front burner, issues that would help the electorate to make a wise decision when they enter the ballot box to vote. The media should emphasise on stories which unite us rather than those that divide us. The media must help us to ensure that henceforth, time and energy is spent on promoting developmental issues such as health care, education, the economy, sanitation and the other things the sustain us as a nation. It is known that in countries that have witnessed electoral violence and civil strife on the African continent over the past decades, the media was used as a potent vehicle for violence and ethnic cleansing rather than as the rallying point for unity, peace and national development. We do not want to sit aloof while there are early warning signals in some parts of the country. Beyond the Media, Ladies and gentlemen, our religious and civil society must be seen to be involved in this campaign to promote peace in Ghana. The job should not only be left in the hands of the politicians and the media, BUT our religious leaders and civil society must be seen to be discouraging people who preach division in our country. Trust must be reposed in our security agencies to keep the peace and in doing so, no one should encourage any incidence of vandalism and mob justice when disputes arise. We must have enough confidence in our security and legal system so they perform their duties without undue pressure. Ladies and gentlemen, the fashion now is social media and the power of the internet especially amongst the youth. Loads of information gets to the world faster on social media including facebook, twitter, even before formal media houses break these stories. The rising use of foul language on the social media by many of our young users should be a matter of concern. While admitting that social media has become an informal debate forum for our youth, we ought to be disciplined enough to eschew political intolerance and plain insults in the eyes of the world. We will be addressing this issue as part of our Peace Project. As we work harder towards soliciting votes for our respective candidates in the 2012 Elections, the safety, security and survival of Ghana should be the paramount Objective of all stakeholders in this election. As young men and women of Ghana, we should be more concerned about the outcome of the December elections and work towards peaceful campaign before, during and after the elections. Invited Guests, Ladies and gentlemen of the press, Schools , hospitals, roads, must be built; people must be trained to develop this great nation; investments must be made in our natural resources and our objective as the youth of Ghana is to work to ensure that this country is at par with the fastest developing countries of the world. We can only get to that level when we sustain the peace we have inherited under the 1992 Republican Constitution and which is currently prevailing in Ghana. Ladies and Gentlemen, let me use this opportunity to commend efforts made so far to bring lasting peace to Hohoe owing to recent disturbances. We wish to appeal to all parties involved to continue to work together with government to ensure that life returns to normalcy in the area. Same must be extended to other areas experiencing pockets to conflicts across the country. The 2012 general elections should come and go without the loss of any life or property in the name of partisan politics. The elections should come and go just like any public event and we the youth must ensure that peace prevails before, during and after the general elections. Once again, Ladies and gentlemen, I say thank you to FES for creating this platform; I thank the media for coming and we hope to call on you to cover our subsequent programs leading to the 2012 general elections. Thank You.