People
of Jimara in the Upper River Region, have reaffirmed their commitment to
promote and maintain peace amongst themselves. During a peace Bantaba held at
Hella Kunda over the weekend.
The peace Bantaba was organized by Beakanyang;
a local organisation, and was attended by over one hundred people, including
traditional leaders, political party representatives, village development
committee members, Inter-party youth committees and women leaders.
Participants
also signed their pledges as a sign of their commitment to promote social
cohesion and political tolerance.
Speaking
at the start of the event, Nfamara Jawneh, Executive Director of Beakanyang
thanked participants for their turnout to the Bantaba, saying the event formed
part of their ongoing program that seeks to promote political tolerance and
pluralism in the region.
“We
are fully aware that since the change of government in 2016, communal conflicts
have surged in the region including here, in Jimara. We have realized that
conflicts related to politics, caste system and animal encroachment into farmlands
have all increased in the region over the years. We cannot continue to live in
such an unfortunate situation as a region without addressing,” he said.
He
said that was why they have also launched a weekly radio program at Radio Basse
called of Peace Hour radio, to promote political tolerance and pluralism in the
region.
Mr
Jawneh said the radio programme hosts National Assembly Members from the region
and members of Inter-party Youth Committee to dialogue with the people on the
importance of maintaining social cohesion and harmony.
He
disclosed that the objective of the Bantaba is to provide a platform for
dialogue among the people of Jimara and to help them identify the main causes
of conflict and map out strategies to mitigate them.
“It
is our hope that at the end of this forum, you will identify the main causes of
political intolerance, conflicts and other factors undermining peace in your
communities and also provide possible solutions to such a problem,” he said.
The
National Assembly member for Jimara, Alhagie Sowe, thanked Beakanyang for
promoting peace in the district. He urged the people of the region to reconcile
and forgive each other for their past misunderstandings.
“We
must put aside our political and other differences and focus on the development
of Jimara,” he said.
He
admonished the participants to take the forum seriously and to share the
knowledge from it with other members of their communities.
Representing
the Chief of Jimara, Baa Touray of Bakadaji village said as Gambians, people
must all jealously guard the peace in the country.
Speaking
earlier, Aja Jarai Jagana, lady Councilor of Jimara commended the hosting of
such an event in the district, saying there are many problems in the
communities in the district that such forums could help to resolve.
Fanding
Barrow, a board member of Beakanyang applauded the International Republican
Institute for funding the conference and reiterated his organisation’s
commitment in promoting peace and unity in the district and the region as a whole.
