wfn.org | Lutherans Welcome Guatemala Peace Accord

[ELCANEWS@ELCASCO.ELCA.ORG]

ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 10, 1997

LUTHERANS WELCOME GUATEMALA PEACE ACCORD
97-01-003-FH

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The general secretary of the Lutheran World
Federation (LWF), Ishmael Noko, called on the international community
to help Guatemala rid itself of conditions that caused years of
conflict and thus "give peace a chance" in the Central American
country.  Noko welcomed the Dec. 29 signing of the final peace accord
in Guatemala as a milestone that "establishes the foundation for peace
in Guatemala."  However, the "arduous process of reconciliation and
consensus-building" still lies ahead, he said in a statement.
     The Zimbabwean theologian is general secretary of the
Geneva-based LWF,
whose 122 member churches in 68 countries worldwide include
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
     Noko called on the international community to safeguard the
achievements reached in the peace agreement.  "Increased attention
must be given to long-term development and reconstruction in order to
eliminate the conditions that cause conflicts and thus give peace a
chance."  He added, "Peace can only be achieved if the culture of
violence that has grown over many years of confrontation can be
converted into a culture of reconciliation and justice."
     Noko stressed the LWF's commitment to conducting development and
humanitarian projects in Guatemala, as part of its continued mission
of solidarity with the Guatemalan people.
     The LWF originally sponsored talks between the Guatemalan
government and the Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity (URNG) in
March 1990 in Norway, at which the Oslo Peace Accord was signed
that
inaugurated the Guatemalan peace process.  The formal negotiations
between the government and the URNG began in Mexico City in 1991.
     Between 1993 and 1995, the LWF was one of four major church
organizations that together convened a series of ecumenical
consultations that brought together representatives of Guatemala's
civil society.  While not part of the formal negotiation process
between the government and the URNG, the four consultations sought to
strengthen the process toward peace and democracy in Guatemala.
(The
consultations were organized in association with the Latin American
Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches and the National
Council of Churches of Christ in the USA.)
     In September 1996 an LWF delegation visited Guatemala to identify
possible development programs that would help ensure implementation of
the peace agreements.
     The Lutheran World Federation is a communion of 122 member
churches and 12 recognized congregations, representing over 56 million
Lutherans worldwide.  Of these, some 5.5 million are in North America
and over 1.1 million in Central and South America.  The federation was
founded in 1947.

For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service, (312)
380-2958 or AHAFFTEN@ELCA.ORG; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir., (312)
380-2955 or FRANKI@ELCA.ORG; Melissa Ramirez, Assist. Dir., (312)
380-2956 or MRAMIREZ@ELCA.ORG