wfn.org | Ecumenical delegation to Yugoslavia

[Daphne Mack <dmack@dfms.org>]

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99-058
Ecumenical delegation to Yugoslavia
hears condemnation of NATO bombing 
by James Solheim
(ENS) A high-level ecumenical delegation returned from a mid-April visit
to
the churches in Yugoslavia with a strong message-the local churches are
united in their condemnation of the NATO bombings.

"The World Council of Churches (WCC), the Conference of European 
Churches and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) have repeatedly 
appealed for a negotiated and peaceful resolution to the conflict
situation in
the region of Kosovo, and have consistently opposed any violence or use
of
military forces by the involved parties," according to an introduction
of an
11-page report of the visit.

The delegation found that church leaders were "generally well-informed
about the refugee crisis and deportation in Kosovo, and its dramatic
consequences on the civilian population and the neighboring countries,"
said the report (full text available at www.wcc-coe.org). "All church
leaders
forcefully condemn any violence, intimidation, ethnic cleansing and
forced
displacement of the civilian population in Kosovo, and support calls for
a
negotiated and peaceful resolution to the conflict."

While perceptions of the causes for the conflict varied, the church
leaders
emphasized that "the bombing campaign has undermined democracy, has
strengthened the regime's control of the country, and has radicalized
the
extremist forces in Yugoslavia and among ethnic Albanians."
Orthodox patriarch urges peace
Serbian Orthodox Patriarch Pavle, who lived in the Kosovo region for 34
years, met with the delegation and repeated his condemnation of war and
violence, repeating his public appeals for the end of all military
actions by
all sides, for the guaranteed return of all civilians to their homes,
and a 
solution that encourages peaceful coexistence.

"From the very beginning of this situation I have appealed to our State
authorities, military forces and civilian leaders to do everything in
their
power prevent an escalation of the conflict," the patriarch said. "All
war
is evil but civil war is doubly evil as it provokes neighbor to fight
neighbor."

The Serbian church leaders support cantonisation of the province within
a democratic and federal Yugoslavia with guarantees for all ethnic and
national groups. As these positions have been articulated over the past
two
years they have drawn stiff criticism from theYugoslav political
leadership.

The NATO bombing has decreased the possibility of a peaceful political
solution, the Orthodox leaders said. While admitting that Yugoslavia has
many problems, they argued that it was still the most open country in
the
communist system. "The difficulties are a thousand times greater after
the
NATO intervention," said Bishop Irinej of Novi Sad. "Western policy
towards Yugoslavia has now produced the greatest anti-Western factor
in Europe."