wfn.org | ARCHBISHOP TUTU PLEADS FOR "JUBILEE" - DEBT RELIEF

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National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
U.S.A.
Contact: Carol J. Fouke, NCC, 212-870-2252
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NCC11/19/96                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU PLEADS FOR "JUBILEE" -- DEBT RELIEF

CHICAGO, Ill., Nov. 13 ---- Anglican Archbishop
Emeritus Desmond M. Tutu of Cape Town, South Africa,
today asked American church leaders to devote the
same effort they put into dismantling South Africa's
apartheid regime into helping the nations of Africa
and other "Third World" countries find relief from
crippling foreign debts.

"Now that you have helped rid the world of the
scourge of apartheid, the next moral campaign should
be this foreign debt.  Give the people the chance to
begin again," Archbishop Tutu pleaded with an
audience of about 800 gathered here to celebrate the
50th anniversary ("Jubilee") of Church World
Service, the relief, development and refugee
assistance ministry of the National Council of
Churches.

 The Archbishop recalled the biblical principle
of Jubilee: All property that was sold or leased in
the previous 49 years reverts back to it original
owner.  "It is this biblical thing that says
everything belongs to God," he said.  "You
acknowledge that by returning things to people to
give them a chance of starting afresh.  Those
burdened by debt -- you set them free."

 "The International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank celebrated their Jubilee last year," said
Archbishop Tutu, "and some of us said, 'Hey, here is
an opportunity for you!  How about applying the
Jubilee principle?'"

Most African economies are growing by two to
three percent annually, but most of the growth is
being used to pay interest on international debt and
is not benefiting the countries' inhabitants, he
said.  "Most African countries have become mass
exporters of capital to pay their debt."
Additionally, local currencies have been so devalued
that the debt has become as much as five times the
original loan, he explained.

 But Archbishop Tutu is not calling for
immediate cancellation of debt in recognition of the
fact that "most aid poured into 'Third World'
developing countries was soaked up by a corrupt
elite and not used for the benefit of the people."
Instead, he proposes a six-month moratorium on debt
repayment, during which time countries would be
asked to demonstrate four things: 1) True
democratization; 2) respect for human rights; 3)
demilitarization and 4) that the money saved is
being used directly for the good of the people.  The
debt of countries meeting these criteria would be
forgiven.

 Archbishop Tutu sounded two sub-themes during
his keynote address at the Church World Service 50th
anniversary banquet, held during the National
Council of Churches' Nov. 13-15 annual General
Assembly -- thanks for support in the struggle
against apartheid, and critique of a U.S. "culture
of success and of achievement."

 He thanked the U.S. churches for their help in
bringing South Africa to the point of holding free
and fair elections in April 1994.  "We were in
struggle against apartheid.  We asked for support.
You gave it.  We won.  This great victory belongs as
much to you as to us," he said.

 He cited especially Church World Service
financial support for scholarships, legal defense
and services for political prisoners and detainees.

In December 1995, President Nelson Mandela
named Archbishop Tutu to head the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission in South Africa -- a panel
investigating human rights violations of the past.
"It is a horrendous past," he said.  "We have to
look at it, look the beast in the eye, open the
wounds so we can cleanse them and be able to heal
them."

 On his second sub-theme, Archbishop Tutu said,
"I am not sure whether the Gospel gets a chance to
be heard when you are rich, successful, powerful.
The Gospel says you don't have to be successful --
God loves you, period.  There is nothing you can do
to make God love you more.  There is nothing you can
do to make God love you less.

 "Your value does not depend on possessions or
achievement," Archbishop Tutu stressed.  "Tell that
to your nation.  Go tell them the good news."  Then
follow Jesus' example, he said, of seeking out the
lost and troubled.

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