wfn.org | "Jubilee 2000": Church in Finland urges state to cancel debts

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Good example could influence other European countries

GENEVA, 21 December 1998 (lwi) - The patron of the Jubilee 2000 campaign,
John Vikstrom, has urged the Finnish state to set an example and cancel
the debts of the world's poorest countries.

Finland's example could influence the politics of both the European Union
and worldwide, Vikstrom said, according to a news item of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church of Finland (ELCF).

In autumn, the Finnish government announced that it would support the aims
of the campaign and had already canceled a part of the debts prior to the
campaign. According to the church's information office, the remaining
debts were relatively small in comparison to other countries.

In August, the ELCF bishops had signed the international appeal in
connection with the "Jubilee 2000" campaign. Their decision "had to do
primarily with the many years' experience of the Finnish church in mission
and international social work which taught them that the most indebted
countries in the world are confronted with almost unsurmountable
problems," Vikstrom, archbishop emeritus, declared.

The aim of the campaign is for the creditor countries to cancel the
poorest countries' debts or to allow them to "swap" them against binding
steps in the social or environmental sector. Worldwide 22 million
signatures are to be collected in favor of the debt release for the
poorest developing countries. Finland aims at obtaining 100,000
signatures.

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/