Dambai (O/R)-Ghana May 19, GNA – Mr Sheikh Salman Mohammed Alhassan, Governing Board Member of the National Peace Council, has advised media practitioners to be circumspect in their reportage on potential conflict situations.
He said information plays a vital role in conflict management and peace-building, hence the need for sensitivity in media reportage.
He said there had been instances where editors had demanded to have conflict stories from their reporters when the reporters had not had access to adequate and accurate facts on the issue.
Mr Alhassan said in conflict situations the feuding parties were often eager and desperate to let the whole world hear their side of the story to gain sympathy, adding to their eagerness, they try to present half-truths and inaccuracies to the media.
He stated that if these are not verified from independent sources but put on air or published as they were, they tend to aggravate the conflict with devastating consequences.
He made the call at Dambai during the inauguration of the Oti Regional Peace Council and a swearing in of a 13-member Committee to stir peace building in the region.
He appealed to the government, the business community and international community to continue to stand with the National Peace Council on the noble task of peace building.
Mr Alhassan noted that it was only an environment of peace that Ghana could progress and keep the economic gains it had chalked in recent years and improve the lives of Ghanaians.
He entreated the Regional Coordinating Council to continue to assist the Regional Peace Council and its administrative outfit to effectively execute their mandate.
He said the need for peace in Ghana had never been more apparent than this present time when our socio-political system seemed not to respond effectively to emerging conflict conflicts.
He noted the youth were becoming increasingly agitated over limited opportunities available to them, while impunity and disregard for law and order was eating deep into the fabric of our society.
