wfn.org | WCC delegation to Horn of Africa pinpoints root causes of

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

conflict ...

World Council of Churches
Update, Up- 02-21
For Immediate Use
22 July 2002

WCC visit to Horn of Africa:
Delegation pinpoints root causes of conflict, says real peace
needs the people

cf. WCC Press Update, Up-02-20, of 15 July 2002
cf. WCC Press Update, Up-02-19, of 10 July 2002
cf. WCC Press Update, Up-02-18, of 8 July 2002 
cf. WCC Press Release, PR-02-17, of 28 June 2002

Just back from an intense 16-day ecumenical visit to the Greater
Horn of Africa and Tanzania, World Council of Churches (WCC)
general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser notes the complexity of
inter-faith relationships in the region, and emphasizes the need
to take them "much more seriously" than the international
ecumenical community has done so far.   

"We cannot just underline concern about Muslim fundamentalism
without recognizing that there is a similar fundamentalism on the
Christian side," Raiser says. He notes that Christians often get
caught in a mindset that their role is to "contain or push back"
Muslim influence. But this, he says, only pits each side against
the other in a struggle for territory and hegemony.  

The main purpose of the WCC delegation's visit was to attempt to
address the root causes of conflict and violence in the region.
"We need to move away from a tendency to say that the root cause
is 'injustice'," Raiser states. To his mind, political and power
issues, access to resources including land and mineral resources,
ethnicity, religious identity, religious militancy, the absence
of law and impunity are at the heart of the conflicts now being
experienced in the region. "These are the more specific root
causes of the violence and injustice," he says. "While
peace-building needs to address injustice, our strategies must be
more sophisticated. They must address the real causes. In terms
of our Focus on Africa and the Decade to Overcome Violence, the
WCC needs to go in this direction," he says.  

Troubling situation in Eritrea

The ecumenical delegation led by Raiser ended its visit in
Eritrea and expressed "profound concern" about the situation
there. "On the surface, the peace agreement between Eritrea and
Ethiopia is accepted, the borders are agreed, the United Nations
mission is continuing and both governments appear to be
cooperating," Raiser observes. "But for the people who had a
stake in the war, this is still little more than a formal peace
declaration. Their hatred and profound disillusionment with one
another has not been overcome at all."   

Raiser finds the Eritrean government's attitude to its own
people and to any critique of its policies particularly
troubling. Describing it as "the mentality of perpetual war that
needs enemies to be maintained," he fears that Eritrea could be
another example of a liberation movement unable to make a
transition from military strategy to responsible political
governance.  "With a siege mentality nurtured on conspiracy
theories, they will be unable to live in peace with each other,"
he observes.  

However, Raiser also notes that in both Ethiopia and Eritrea,
the effort to bring religious leaders together is generating good
results. "It was encouraging to see the ease with which the
Christian and the Muslim leaders related to each other," he says.
"They also are making every effort to spread this among their
people."  

Raiser affirms the ongoing role of Norwegian Church Aid as an
ecumenical advocate in the peace-building efforts. However, he
notes that the international community will need to give more
attention to caring for internally displaced people, who are
dependent on non-governmental organizations for assistance. The
Action by Churches Together (ACT) alliance has been very active
in this regard. "At some point," Raiser says, "we will need to
see how we can move from an 'emergency' mindset to a strategy of
reconstruction and rebuilding."  

Peace prospects need the people

The delegation also visited both North and South Sudan and met
with representatives of the government in Khartoum and the Sudan
Peoples Liberation Army (SPLA), as well as of churches and civil
society.  

As the two sides engage in negotiations under the IGAD
(Inter-Governmental Authority on Development) framework, Raiser
notes that the people the delegation met in Southern Sudan were
clear that "unless a peace agreement addresses the issue of
religion and state and recognizes the right to
self-determination, they cannot recognize the agreement."  

"For the people, it is very clear that they must be given the
option. The church itself has no position on any option. What
they request is that people have the opportunity to express their
convictions," he said. "The churches are very clear that while
they declare self-determination as a basic right,
self-determination as such does not yet provide a solution,
depending on how you interpret it."   

"The voice of the people needs to be heard for any peace
agreement to be sustainable," Raiser emphasizes. "It must be in
Khartoum's and the SPLA's long-term interest for the voice of the
people to be heard and taken seriously in the negotiations. As
yet, there is no specific way for this to happen." Raiser hopes
that the WCC has strengthened the churches' claim to be involved.
He says the WCC is not seeking a special role, but sees itself as
facilitating the voice of the churches, through the Sudan
Ecumenical Forum. As one of the next steps, the Sudan Council of
Churches (SCC), based in Khartoum, and the New Sudan Council of
Churches (NSCC), based in the south, are planning a meeting of
church leaders and representatives from the negotiating parties
to look at the root issues that need to be addressed for
sustainable peace.  

"The people want peace - there is no question of that," Raiser
concludes. "But they don't want peace at any price."  

_________
The WCC delegation visited northern and southern Sudan, Ethiopia
and Eritrea, Tanzania and Kenya during its 1-16 July tour.
Members of the WCC delegation were Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, WCC
general secretary, Ms Karimi Kinoti, former coordinator of
FECCLAHA, All Africa Conference of Churches, Mr Stein Villumstad,
East Africa regional representative, Norwegian Church Aid,
(Sudan-Khartoum, Ethiopia, Eritrea), Mr William Temu, WCC
regional secretary for Africa, Mr Mitch Odero, head of
Information & Communication Department, All Africa Conference of
Churches, Mr Peter Williams, WCC photographer and videographer
(Southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea). The delegation was
accompanied by Rev. Haruun Ruun, New Sudan Council of Churches
(NSCC) executive secretary

Photos of the visit are available on our website at
http://www.photooikoumene.org/events/events.html 

For further information, please contact Media Relations Office, 
 tel: +41 (0)22 791 64 21

**********
The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a fellowship of churches,
now 342, 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, The Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general
secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

World Council of Churches
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