WOMEN IN BUIPE MARCH FOR PEACE - Canadian High Commissioner joins (Daily Graphic, Oct 4, 2011, Page 11)

THE Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana, Ms Trudy Kernighan over the weekend joined women from the two feuding factions in the chieftaincy dispute in Buipe in the Northern Region to hold a peace march.

The march, organised by the West African Network for Peace-building (WANEP), Ghana, and the Canadian High Commission, was expected to put pressure on the factions to resolve their differences and let there be peace in Buipe.

Buipe has experienced some uneasy calm on a number of occasions due to a protracted chieftaincy dispute between the Jinapor and Lebu gates.

Women leaders from the two gates noted that the conflict was retarding development in Buipe and this impacted negatively on the lives of women and children.

Ms Mankari Barchisu Kinshiwuripe of the Lebu gate told the Daily Graphic that women in Buipe could not undertake their economic activities anytime the conflict turned violent.

“When we do not engage in economic activities, we won’t get income to take care of our families and we would remain poor,” she said, adding that women from the Lebu gate were ever prepared to dialogue with their colleagues from the other side so as to bring lasting peace to Buipe.

A representative of the Jinapor gate, Ms Mariama Yakubu said women from the Jinapor gate were equally prepared to dialogue with their counterparts from the other side.

“We can only make progress when we sit together and talk, bring out the issues from our hearts and find the way forward. We are tired of the fighting,” she stated.

A board member of WANEP-Ghana, Mr Theophilus Dokurugu described the march as very significant and historic.

He said the peace march was not an idea of WANEP-Ghana, but that of the women of Buipe, adding that they made the decision to undertake the march at the close of a dialogue meeting held some weeks earlier.

“For the women themselves to choose to embark on a march to demonstrate their dislike for the conflict and their love for peace is an indication of their preparedness to resolve their differences,” he noted.

On her part, the Canadian High Commissioner to Ghana said the march was a reflection of how women could actively promote peace and dialogue, instead of always claiming to be victims.

“My greatest hope is that we have motivated the rest of the community in Buipe to move forward and resolve to peacefully settle the ongoing dispute,” she intimated.