wfn.org | WCC on Ethiopia/Eritrea conflict

[George Conklin <gconklin@wfn.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
11 June 1998

WCC WARNS ETHIOPIA-ERITREA CONFLICT COULD SPARK NEW
CONFLAGRATION

In a letter sent to both the Prime Minister of  Ethiopia and the President of
Eritrea, the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev Dr
Konrad Raiser has warned the present conflict between the two
countries could "spark  a new, spreading conflagration". The full text of
Dr Raiser's letter to H.E. Meles Zenawi of the Federal Democratic
Republic of Ethiopia and H.E. Issias Afwerki of Eritrea follows:

"We write to you out of deep concern for the conflict which has arisen
on the border between your two respected nations, for the suffering it
has inflicted upon your peoples and the destruction it has caused to
points of infrastructure vital to their economic and social well-being.

We have admired the successful efforts of your two governments in
settling the earlier disputes between your two lands through wise and
peaceful negotiated means.  In so doing, you provided a model to Africa
and to the world that the divisive legacy of colonialism could effectively
be addressed through the use of African approaches to conflict
resolution.

We have also appreciated the roles both your governments have played
in the Inter-Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD) process,
seeking again a peaceful resolution of the long-standing conflicts
affecting the Horn of Africa.

It was therefore with great dismay that we received the news that your
nations had entered into armed conflict over a significant, but relatively
minor and predictable dispute over delimitation of the border separating
your two states.  We profoundly regret that earlier negotiations on this
question collapsed, and that recourse was had to the use of armed
force.

Yours is a part of the world which has suffered greatly from armed
conflict.  This particular conflict now threatens to spark  a new,
spreading conflagration.  We therefore appeal urgently to you to call an
immediate cease-fire, to withdraw all armed forces from the immediate
zone of conflict, and to return to the negotiating table.  The UN, the OAU,
and Third parties have given signs of their readiness to assist you in this
process.  Yet it is only your own good will which can bring an end to this
dispute and set out a regular negotiating framework on remaining,
potentially divisive points of contention between your two states.

The World Council of Churches, its member churches and related
humanitarian agencies have been close to you and your peoples through
years of great tragedy and suffering.  We remain still with you as
friends, and stand ready to do whatever you feel we might be able to
contribute to the resolution of the present dispute. 

May the God of peace and mercy guide you now in His ways."

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 332, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the

Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Press and Information Office
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