wfn.org | Church bodies write to Annan

[Sheila MESA <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Release
For Immediate Use
29 March 1999

INTERNATIONAL CHURCH BODIES CALL FOR A HALT TO THE NATO
INTERVENTION AND A RETURN TO THE NEGOTIATING TABLE

Geneva, 29 March 1999  - International church bodies with headquarters
here today appealed to the United Nations (UN) to initiate immediate
efforts to reach a just and lasting peace in the Kosovo conflict. "The
NATO-led intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia manifests
the failure of the international community to achieve a credible, negotiated
solution," says the text of a joint letter to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, Kofi Annan from the World Council of Churches (WCC),
the Conference of European Churches (CEC) and the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), with the support of the Reformed Alliance of
Reformed Churches (WARC).  The letter goes on to say that each day of
bombing makes the solution more distant and increases the risk of
regionalization of the conflict.  It also heightens the danger of a renewed
divide in Europe. 

WCC General Secretary, Konrad Raiser, CEC General Secretary, Keith
Clements, LWF General Secretary, Ishmael Noko and WARC General
Secretary, Milan Opocensky, therefore appealed for an immediate
moratorium on the military interventions, in order to allow for a renewal of
the political process under the auspices of the UN.

Text of the letter to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi
Annan, signed by Konrad Raiser, General Secretary of WCC, Keith
Clements, General Secretary of CEC, Ishmael Noko, General Secretary of
 LWF, and also endorsed by Milan Opocensky, General Secretary of
WARC:

"Dear Secretary General,
We write to express our profound concern at the current military
intervention of NATO in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and appeal
to you to immediately initiate efforts of the United Nations to seek a just
and lasting peace to the conflict in Kosovo.

The NATO-led intervention in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
manifests the failure of the international community to achieve a credible,
negotiated solution.  Each day of bombing makes the solution more
distant, and increases the risk of regionalisation of the conflict.  It also
enhances the danger of a renewed divide within Europe.

We therefore appeal for an immediate moratorium on the NATO military
intervention, in order to allow for a renewal of the political process under
your leadership and under the auspices of the United Nations.

We agree with the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Pavle, head of the
Serbian Orthodox Church on March 25, 1999 urging "the governments of
all countries of the world for their action in order that the bombardment
should be stopped and that a just solution to the current crisis may be
found through negotiations.  The Serbian Orthodox Church appeals to the
military and civilian authorities of Serbia and Yugoslavia to do everything
possible so that peace may be established'.

We affirm the declaration of Kosovo religious leaders for a non-violent
resolution of the conflict based on guaranteed rights of all communities.

We reiterate our conviction that decisive progress was made in the
Rambouillet process towards a durable political settlement, and this
should not be lost.  In the present situation, however, we believe that the
United Nations alone can offer a framework for a new initiative which
can break the present deadlock.

On behalf of our member churches we confirm our willingness to back
and support any initiative taken by Your Excellency to stop the present
acts of military violence and seek a non-violent resolution of this conflict
in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia."

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 338, 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.

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