wfn.org | South African Deputy President Affirms Role of Faith Groups in

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

South African Deputy President Affirms Role of Faith Groups in
Quest for Peace
Zuma Seeks Religious Leaders' Intervention to End Child-Soldier
Phenomenon 

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa/GENEVA 1 October 2003 (LWI) - South
African Deputy President, Mr Jacob Zuma, has appealed to African
religious communities to help governments on the continent in the
quest for permanent peace. He was speaking at the official
opening of the Southern African Inter-Faith Conference September
30.

The conference, which has drawn delegates from 11 southern
African countries, representing seven major religions, is the
first regional follow-up meeting to last year's Inter-Faith
Peace Summit in Africa, an initiative jointly organized by the
Geneva-based Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and other
faith-based organizations. 

Zuma emphasized that governments could not be expected to work
alone towards establishing peace and stability. "This is a
multi-sectoral task, requiring every stakeholder within African
society"and the religious community has an even bigger role to
play, given the fact that they reach millions of people each
week.

"You are in a position to spread the message of peace and
harmony, give the victims of violence hope and guide belligerents
to realize that it is possible to stop war and begin to
reconstruct their own lives and their countries," said the deputy
president.

He made a special appeal to religious leaders to assist in
reaching out to the leader of Burundi's Party for the Liberation
of the Hutu People-National Liberation Force (Palipehutu-FNL),
Agathon Rwasa, who is a minister of religion and whose party, to
date, has not joined the cease-fire process.

Zuma, facilitator for the talks between Burundi's transitional
government and Palipehutu-FNL, noted that the "days of war" in
Africa were over. People are learning that they can solve all
problems through dialogue, he added.

He further appealed to delegates to try and stop political
leaders and warlords from recruiting children into armed groups.
"You should use your moral and religious influence to stop the
pressuring of children to take up arms," said Zuma.

Earlier, LWF General Secretary, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko, who is
chairing the conference, urged faith groups to seek ways of
forging relationships with their respective governments to
resolve conflicts, make peace and contribute to nation building.

Southern African countries attending the conference include
Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique,
Namibia, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa. There are
also representatives from Senegal and Kenya.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects
of mission and development work. Its secretariat is located in
Geneva, Switzerland.)
 
[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF' information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where
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