Hundreds March Against Hate Speech In Ghana

The Forum for Governance and Justice on Thursday successfully organised a peace March to campaign against hate speech in Ghana. This followed the growing development of the use of intemperate language by some politicians whose action has the tendency of plunging the nation into chaos ahead of the 2012 December elections. The peace March started at the Obra Spot near Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra and ended at the Arts Centre with the protesters holding placards some of which read, �Hate speech breeds disunity, say no to hate speech, stop Kennedy Agyapong now, Ghana belongs to God, no Boko Haram in Ghana and Asantehene why the silence?� Dr. Clement Apark, Convener of the Forum for Governance Justice, who led the peace March said: �The patronage has been huge way beyond our expectation and the reason why so many people have come out is because the good people understand that without peace, stability and national cohesion, their challenges and issues cannot be resolved.� He remarked: �Basically we have achieved our goal because our intent is to raise the awareness of the people to understand that they cannot achieve their goals and the dreams and aspirations if they do not have a peaceful, stable and a coherent nation.� Dr. Apark said given the success of the Peace March, the Forum will cultivate the habit of replicating it in other parts of the country. �Given the success of today�s demonstration it is very likely that we are going to regionalise it which means that Ghanaians in every part of the country will be expected to speak about and promote peace in their communities,� he said. A peace crusader, Christopher Owusu, alias Ghanaba, declared his intention to �embark on a nationwide peace March to sensitize Ghanaian on the need to co-exist peacefully.�