World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org For immediate release - 11/04/2008 05:10:24 PM
WCC WELCOMES SUMMIT ON ZIMBABWE CRISIS
The World Council of Churches (WCC) has welcomed the initiative of Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa to convene a summit of Southern African heads of state to address the current crisis in Zimbabwe.
"It is the sovereign right of the people of Zimbabwe to choose their leaders, define the future of their country and insist upon a peaceful transition", wrote the WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia in a letter to President Mwanawasa today.
The "emergency summit" to which the heads of state of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community (SADC) have been invited by President Mwanawasa is a welcomed development, as it will address "the growing political crisis paralysing life and safety in Zimbabwe", affirmed Kobia.
In a separate letter to the United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Kobia stressed the Council's "deep concern about the implications of the current political crisis which may be not only regional but also internatio nal".
The WCC, together with the All Africa Conference of Churches, sent a team to monitor the 29 March elections in Zimbabwe.
Full text of the letter to Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=5744
Full text of the letter to UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon http://www.oikoumene.org/index.php?id=5745
Additional information:Juan Michel +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 349 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 560 million Christians in over 110 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, from the Methodist Church in Kenya. Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
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