wfn.org | Madagascar: Church leader calls on Christians in military not to kill

["Franziska Surber" <Franziska.Surber@warc.ch>]

>World Alliance of Reformed Churches
>News Release
>17 March 2009

Madagascar: Church leader calls on Christians in military not to
kill

The leader of the largest Protestant church in Madagascar has
issued an appeal to Christian soldiers in the military not to
commit murder.  In a message broadcast repeatedly this morning on
the radio station of the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar,
Rev. Lala Rasendrahasina is calling on Christians in the military
not to commit violence.  

Speaking by telephone from Antananarivo, Rasendrahasina reports,
“I have asked Christians in the military to remember they are
baptised and that they are not supposed to murder nor to accept
orders from superiors to kill.”

The Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar, a member church of the
World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC), is involved in an
initiative by the Christian Council of Churches in Madagascar to
mediate a peaceful resolution to the violent political crisis
which has caused at least 135 deaths since a dispute over
democratic reform broke out in late January.  The United Nations
has been facilitating planning for the church-brokered meeting of
all political parties and civil society. 

The Christian Council of Churches will meet this afternoon in
the midst of what is now being called a coup d’état, in order to
arrange a date and a list of participants for the national
conference. Attempts to organize a meeting on 12 March failed
because of concern expressed by the opposition group that the
proposed list of participants included too many government
supporters. 

Rasendrahasina says the situation for church people is very
tense. He has received two threats that his home will be “burned
out”.  He and other pastors have hired security guards.  Tensions
are exacerbated by the prominent role of President Ravalomanana
in the Church of Christ in Madagascar where he serves as its lay
vice-president. 

Violence broke out on January 26 when the former mayor of
Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, called a demonstration to protest
the government’s closure of a private radio station that had been
campaigning for democratic reform. Although the radio station has
since reopened, violent confrontations between Rajoelina’s
supporters and those of President Marc Ravalomanana continue.

“We recognize the extraordinarily complex situation in which the
church finds itself at this time in the country’s history,” says
WARC’s world president, Clifton Kirkpatrick. “We are keeping the
country and its churches in our prayers. We deeply regret the
loss of life in this conflict, the destruction of property and
the fear with which people are living. We pray that political and
church leaders will agree to seek a peaceful resolution to their
disagreements. “

>***

The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) brings together
75 million Reformed Christians in 214 churches in 107 countries -
united in their commitment to making a difference in a troubled
world. The WARC general secretary is Rev. Dr. Setri Nyomi of the
Evangelical Presbyterian Church, Ghana. WARC's secretariat is
based in Geneva, Switzerland.

>Contact:

>Kristine Greenaway 
>Executive Secretary, Communications
>World Alliance of Reformed Churches
>150 Route de Ferney
>P.O. Box 2100
>1211 Geneva 2, Switzerland
>tel.  +41.22 791 6243
>fax: +41.22 791 6505

>web: www.warc.ch ( http://www.warc.ch/ ) 
>e-mail: kgr@warc.ch