wfn.org | LWF challenged to respond to world's strife-torn regions

[FRANK_IMHOFF.parti@ecunet.org (FRANK IMHOFF)]

Violence can never create peaceful international order
Press Release No.04/99

BRATISLAVA, Slovak Republic, 23 June 1999 (lwi) - At its Council meeting
here from 22 to 29 June, the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) was
reminded of the regions in the world in which the communion is
challenged to respond to conflict and post-conflict situations.

In introductory remarks to his report to the Council meeting, the LWF
General Secretary Ismael Noko pointed out that much as the LWF is
convening in a region which is torn by ethnic strife, armed conflict, 
innocent suffering and death, it is important that this is viewed in the
larger context of global situations in which ethnic and religious
tension divide communities. "I think in particular of Sierra Leone,
Angola, Ethiopia , Eritrea, Liberia, Indonesia, India and Pakistan," he
said.

The LWF Council meets in Bratislava in the twilight of a century which
has been coloured more by exclusion, separatism and conflict than by
unity and solidarity, Noko said.  He noted that under the circumstances
of the daily tragedy of the events in Kosovo and the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, the LWF "is obliged to reassess the efficacy of armed
intervention for humanitarian purposes, and the concept of a just war."

When innocent people suffer and die and fragile economies are shattered,
the very notion of 'winning' a war is untenable, Noko said. He however
acknowledged that while the complexity of such situations is obvious,
churches must recognize that violence can never create a just and
peaceful international order. Referring to biblical accounts of wars
waged in the understanding that they were holy wars intended primarily
to establish the kingdom of God on earth, the general secretary said
that none of those wars succeeded in their objective. "It is my firm
belief that the central message of these stories is that war and
violence can never be means of bringing about the promised Kingdom of
God," he added.

The general secretary spoke of the need to develop a culture in which
violence is no longer regarded as the ultimate tool for resolving
disputes and addressing oppression. "Dialogue is the key, and must be
employed in a more sophisticated and genuine way. 'Finger-wagging'
diplomacy must be avoided by all possible means," he underscored.

Turning to the generally held belief that the bombing of Yugoslavia, the
forced deportations and the atrocities perpetrated upon the Albanian
communities under cover of the bombing, have made reconciliation and a
lasting peace distant and uncertain objectives, Noko said that one of
the crucial issues in this and other conflicts is the lack of respect
for one another. "But if people truly respected one another, the
oppression and subjugation of minorities and countries would be
unthinkable, the innocent would be protected, the causes of war would be
significantly reduced and the path to reconciliation would lead to and
cross the bridges that in Christ, God has graciously built for us," he
said.

Another sign of disintegration in the world today according to the LWF
general secretary, is the ongoing debt crisis. He noted that churches
have been at the forefront of the movement expressed in the Jubilee 2000
charter campaign to free the peoples of the world's poorest countries
from unsustainable debt by the beginning of the new millennium. Calling
for a careful examination of the decisions taken at the recent G8
meeting in relation to debt relief, Noko underlined that the
unsustainable debt must be canceled, and a culture be created which will
never again allow the weight of unpayable debt to crush human lives.

His report to the Council covers activities undertaken by the LWF during
the year under review.

(The LWF is a global communion of 124 member churches in 69 countries
representing 58 million of the world's 61,5 million Lutherans. The LWF's
highest decision-making body is the Assembly, held every six or seven
years. Between Assemblies the LWF is governed by a 49-member Council,
which meets annually, and its Executive Committee.)

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Lutheran World Information
Assistant Editor, English: Pauline Mumia
E-mail: pmu@lutheranworld.org
http://www.lutheranworld.org/