wfn.org | Kosovo Message

[Sheila MESA <smm@wcc-coe.org>]

World Council of Churches
Press Update
17 March 1999

MESSAGE TO THE CONFERENCE ON PEACE AND TOLERANCE IN
KOSOVO

cf. WCC Press Release of 14 October 1998

The General Secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr
Konrad Raiser, has welcomed recent attempts to seek a just and
peaceful settlement to the conflict in Kosovo. In a message addressed to
the first summit of Kosovo religious leaders currently meeting in Vienna,
Austria, Raiser stated that "the WCC supports the statements and
actions of the churches and religious communities that seek to promote a
lasting peace". 

The religious leaders of the Serbian Orthodox, Roman Catholic and
Islamic communities in Kosovo are attending the "Conference on Peace
and Tolerance in Kosovo", which was organized by the US-based
interfaith Appeal of Conscience Foundation. WCC representative at the
meeting is Fr Leonid Kishkovsky from the Orthodox Church in America,
who is also a member of the WCC Executive Committee.

Message of WCC General Secretary, Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, to the
Conference on Peace and Tolerance in Kosovo, Vienna, 16-18 March
1999: 

"To the distinguished participants in the First Summit of Kosovo Religious
Leaders,

The World Council of Churches (WCC) has closely monitored the civil
conflict in Kosovo over recent months, and welcomes all attempts to
seek a just and peaceful settlement to the crisis in the region. The WCC
supports the statements and actions of the churches and religious
communities that seek to promote a lasting peace, including the present
summit of Kosovo religious leaders of the Serbian Orthodox, Catholic and
Islamic communities.

As churches and religious leaders in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
and elsewhere have said from the beginning of this conflict, violence
cannot bring peace. The use of force and intimidation cannot secure a
lasting and just solution to this complex and 

painful conflict. The only viable future for the region lies in a negotiated
settlement based on the establishment of full democracy and respect for
the human rights of all communities, majority and minority, and the due
recognition of the need for tolerance and peaceful co-existence. The
WCC affirms the principle that the representatives of all national
communities in Kosovo should be involved in any political settlement, if
this is to be just and durable.

The Council condemns in the strongest terms the use of violence in any
form by the conflicting parties. The efforts by the international and
regional organizations and mechanisms to actively promote a settlement
to the conflict, in particular the Rambouillet peace process, and all
supportive measures short of military force to achieve this end, are
commendable and need to be encouraged. The WCC welcomes the
active involvement of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE), which is in accordance with the resolutions of the UN
Security Council. The WCC emphasizes the necessity for the
international institutions to ensure that any future political settlement
enhances stability in the region and builds confidence among all its
peoples. 

The Council remains greatly concerned about the humanitarian disaster
created by the armed conflict which has resulted in the displacement of
tens of thousand of civilians. The WCC therefore urges all parties, and
especially the authorities in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to honour
their commitments to maintain and uphold the right to access by
international humanitarian organizations to the affected region, and to
facilitate the safe return of all those displaced by the fighting. The WCC,
through its emergency office ACT-Action by Churches Together, will
continue to provide assistance to the victims of the humanitarian crisis,
regardless of their origin.

The WCC expresses its profound solidarity with all the peoples of
Kosovo, and joins the common prayer of the faithful of all religious
communities that justice and peace may be restored in this land."

Contact:  Karin Achtelstetter, Media Relations Officer

**********
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 338, in
more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions.  The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but
works cooperatively with the WCC.  The highest governing body is the
Assembly, which meets approximately every seven years.  The WCC
was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.  Its staff is
headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church
in Germany.

World Council of Churches
Media Relations Office
Tel:  (41.22) 791.61.52/51
Fax:  (41.22) 798.13.46
E-Mail: ka@wcc-coe.org
http://www.wcc-coe.org

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