wfn.org | Church officials urge end to Kosovo bombing

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

March 29, 1999	News media contact: Thomas S.
McAnally*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.    10-21-71B{167}

By United Methodist News Service

 Calls for the immediate cessation of  NATO air strikes on Kosovo have been
made by the staff executive for United Methodism's social action agency in
Washington and Church World Service (CWS), the humanitarian assistance arm
of the National Council of Churches.

In a statement released March 26, the Rev. Thom White Wolf Fassett of the
United Methodist Board of Church and Society, points to official United
Methodist policy that rejects any form of war as an instrument of national
foreign policy and insists that the first moral duty of all nations is to
resolve conflict by peaceful means. 

Church policy further states that "war is incompatible with the teachings
and example of Christ,'" he said.

Bypassing  U.N. Security Council authorization prior to the bombings  is a
clear example of NATO's disregard for the United Nations, Fassett observed.
"Moreover, the NATO bombing is in direct violation of its own charter, which
recognizes the U.N. Security Council's responsibility in maintaining
international peace and security," he said.

Appropriate action, Fassett says, would be "strong international sanctions
and forceful diplomacy, followed by the intervention of a U.N. peace-keeping
force."  He pointed to the U.N. intervention in Haiti as a model.  "U.N.
peace-keeping troops in and around Kosovo are urgently needed at this time,"
he said.

"True peace will be achieved when all of Kosovo's history is taken into
account at a bargaining table where the diverse interests of its population
are equally and fairly represented," Fassett said.

The CWS statement, released March 25,  also expressed displeasure that the
United Nations was not involved.  "No true resolution of the issues can be
achieved by the application of force," the statement said.

The CWS statement said the unit's governing members expressed  "disgust with
the repeated  bragging of many in the United States about the capacities of
the new trillion dollar bomber, especially in light of the $1.6 billion
dollars owed by the United States to the United Nations."

"To show that airplane over and over and say that it's a weapon of peace,
for Clinton to say that it's a bombing for peace, is something we as
Christians can't accept," said Mia Adjali, a United Methodist who chairs the
NCC's International Justice and Human Rights Committee and is a member of
the CWS Unit.
#  #  #

The full texts of the statements:

General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church
March 16, 1999

NATO urged to stop Kosovo bombing and use international diplomacy.

This is a statement of Dr. Thom White Wolf Fassett, general secretary of the
General Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church.

We strongly oppose NATO's decision, under the leadership of the United
States and Britain, to execute air strikes in Kosovo and call for the
bombing to stop immediately.  Although U.S. President Clinton says peace is
the final goal of these air strikes, we question a policy that brings
further suffering on thousands of innocent people in Kosovo.  The United
Methodist policy rejects any form of war as an instrument of national
foreign policy and insists the first moral duty of all nations is to resolve
conflict by peaceful means  Church policy further states that "war is
incompatible with the teachings and the example of Christ."

We believe international pressure to stop the tragedy in Kosovo must be
channeled through the United Nations and regret that NATO bypassed
authorization from the U.N. Security Council prior to the bombings.  The
execution of air strikes is a clear example of NATO's disregard for the
United Nations.  Moreover, the NATO bombing is in direct violation of its
own charter, which recognizes the U.N. Security Council's responsibility in
maintaining international peace and security.  We call upon the United
Nations to act immediately to intervene in this situation.

Appropriate action in Kosovo would be strong international sanctions and
forceful diplomacy, followed by the intervention of a U.N. Peacekeeping
force.  The U.N. intervention in Haiti can be viewed as a model.  There, the
United States worked closely with the U.N. to intervene in a very dangerous
and serious situation.  U.N. Peacekeeping troops in and around Kosovo are
urgently needed at this time.

The history of the situation in Kosovo is complicated, muti-faceted and runs
deep --- emotionally, geo-politically, and religiously.  Additional violence
in the region, brought on by the bombing, only adds more misery. True peace
will be achieved when all of Kosovo's history is taken into account at a
bargaining table where the diverse interests of its population are equally
and fairly represented.
#  #  #
Only General Conference speaks for the entire denomination.  The General
Board of Church and Society of the United Methodist Church is the
denomination's public policy and social action agency.
*  *  *

NCC's Church World Service and Witness Unit[ Committee meeting in Atlanta
March 25:

"Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God."
(Matthew 5:9)

The Unit Committee of Church World Service and Witness of the National
Council of the Churches of Christ meeting on March 25, 1999 witnesses with
horror the attacks by the Government of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
on its own people and villages and the bombing in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia (FRY) by NATO forces involving sizable contingents of United
States and British military personnel and equipment.  The member communions
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCCC) seek to
be faithful to the call of God through Jesus Christ to struggle for peace
with justice.  The Church World Service and Witness (CWSW) Unit Committee
asks the General Secretary of the NCCC to convey the following concerns to
the appropriate bodies.

The path to a negotiated, peaceful settlement of the conflict has failed to
this point due to a number of circumstances including the following:
* escalation of the level of violence and other violations of human rights
during this period;
* failure to respect the role and involve the United Nations in the
negotiations; and
* demands for an agreement to a peace settlement not reached by consensus
nor adequate representation of the parties and peoples involved.

Peace in Kosovo and the FRY will be realized as the residents are given the
opportunity to engage in the resolution of the issues which have become
barriers to peace with justice.  We stand with the people of good will in
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia who seek peace and reconciliation.  No
true resolution of the issues can be achieved by the application of force.

We find hope in past meetings of representatives of the religious bodies in
Kosovo and urge continued support of the efforts of religious leaders to
seek reconciliation in Kosovo.

We call upon CWSW and the NCCC through the office of the General Secretary
to communicate with the appropriate bodies the following concerns:
* that NATO cease the bombing immediately;
* that the United Nations Security Council pursue vigorously a peaceful
settlement of the conflict and call for a cease fire by all parties to the
conflict to provide time to search for such a settlement;
* that all humanitarian agencies, including Action by Churches Together,
increase efforts to meet * the emergency needs of all victims of the
conflict and of the latest attacks;
* that the NCCC member communions seek additional funding for the
humanitarian needs of all of the people in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia;
that the member communions continue their efforts to address the moral and
ethical imperatives of a comprehensive common global security for the 21st
century, in cooperation with regional and international ecumenical bodies,
and
* that all people of faith pray for God's guidance and forgiveness for all
violence done, for all missed opportunities to seek peace and for those
persons who face these days with fear.

# # #

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