wfn.org | East Timorese Nobel Peace Laureate to Worship

[CAROL_FOUKE.parti@ecunet.org]

Nobel Peace Laureate from East Timor to Worship with NCCCUSA Leaders
with NCCCUSA Leaders May 30
National Council of the Churches of Christ in the 
U.S.A.
Internet: c/o carol_fouke.parti@ecunet.org

Contact: Wendy S. McDowell, NCC, 212-870-2227
NCC5/22/97 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WHO:  Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Ximenes Belo of 
Dili Diocese, East Timor, 1996 Nobel Peace Prize 
recipient

WHEN:  Friday, May 30, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

WHAT:    10 - 11 a.m. Reception.  10:30 a.m. - 11 
a.m. PRESS INTERVIEWS with Bishop Belo will be 
possible on a first come, first serve basis.
  11 a.m. - 12 noon, "An Ecumenical Liturgy of 
Peace, Justice and Reconciliation," to be celebrated 
with leaders from the National Council of Churches 
(NCC),  Bishop Belo will deliver a homily.  Other 
participants include: The Rev. Dr. Joan Brown 
Campbell, NCC General Secretary; United Methodist 
Bishop Melvin Talbert, NCC President; and the Rev. 
Dr. Rodney Page, Executive Director, Church World 
Service and Witness, NCC.
  12 noon - 2 p.m., Luncheon  Bishop Belo will speak 
about the current situation in East Timor, where the 
indigenous population of 600,000 has been denied 
self-determination by the Indonesian occupation.

WHERE:  The Interchurch Center, 475 Riverside Drive 
(@ 120th St.), New York City.  Press interviews and 
luncheon will be held in Rooms C & D, First Floor.  
The worship service will be held in the TIC Chapel, 
First Floor.

 A small delegation of NCC leaders visited 
Bishop Belo in East Timor in January of 1995.  The 
Rev. Larry Tankersley, Director of the NCC Southern 
Asia Office, has visited Bishop Belo on two other 
occasions.  Bishop Talbert praised Bishop Belo for 
his "prophetic and courageous leadership."  A 
November, 1995 resolution by the NCC's General Board 
supported the rights of the East Timorese to self-
determination.

 Church World Service, the NCC's humanitarian 
response and refugee assistance arm, has also 
brought relief and rehabilitation programs to East 
Timor starting in 1975.  Indonesia's invasion and 
occupation of East Timor in 1975 caused the deaths 
of about 200,000 people, fully a third of the 
population.  In 1991, nearly 200 peaceful protesters 
were killed by the Indonesian army in Dili, 
galvanizing a movement for political change in East 
Timor.

 According to Rev. Tankersley, recent reports 
indicate that "things are not getting any better" in 
East Timor.  He said Bishop Belo has expressed 
appreciation for those in the international 
community who have supported the struggle of the 
East Timorese people, including the NCC.  Rev. 
Tankersley said the NCC plans to continue supporting 
the East Timorese with development aid and advocacy.  
An official NCC delegation will visit East Timor in 
August.

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