With elections less than a week away, the Inter-Religious Organization in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is urging all to spread harmony and social cohesion.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday at De Impeccable Banquet Hall, UNDP Representative Khadija Musa urged religious leaders to help to spread peace.
She said it was important to work with communities and even the entire nation to bring unity. Musa added that it was even more important for community organizations to be formed and small groups within the various churches in order to educate those who fear what they don’t know about.
In addition, she spoke about politicians signing the code of conduct recently and expressed the hope that they would all abide by it.
Comparing Guyana with a larger country, Musa said in India, for example, elections are very peaceful and there were millions of people voting, so she did not see it as hard for the same thing to prevail in Guyana.
Giving a brief history of the Peace Pledge, Pastor Ronald McGarrell said it was initiated in Guyana since 2006 and was the reason the 2011 elections was deemed the most peaceful. He added that the UNDP had held workshops for religious leaders and politicians followed by meetings and based on the discussions, the pledge was put in place. Politicians signed it on the grounds of the Parliament.
There was also a peace walk in the month of January and the nation has since been sensitize about the peace pledge by the television programme ‘Harmony Talk.’
Public Relations Officer of the Inter-Religion Organization Wendell Jeffrey said religious leaders of Guyana came together with the assistance of UNDP and engaged in a formal approach to sensitize Guyanese about peace. He noted that peace is required during the election period as well as before and after.
He said the intention is to have all the religious organizations put aside their religious differences and promote peace around the country.
The religious leaders present then signed the Peace Pledge.
