wfn.org | NCC delegation shows support in Latin America

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Nov. 7, 2001   News media contact: Linda Bloom7(212) 870-38037New York
10-21-32-71B{517}

By United Methodist News Service

A four-member National Council of Churches (NCC) delegation traveled to
Chile, Argentina and Uruguay Oct. 28-Nov. 2 to show continuing support for
those seeking the truth about the mass abductions of citizens under past
repressive governments.

United Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert of Nashville, Tenn., who led the
delegation, said the group met with family members of some of the nearly
25,000 people who "disappeared" about 25 years ago, as well as with church
leaders, representatives of human rights groups, politicians and government
leaders.

The trip was a follow-up to a delegation visit just before presidential
elections in the three countries in 1999. Church members had urged the NCC
to encourage the presidential candidates to resolve issues regarding the
disappearances.

"The National Council has a longstanding commitment to standing in
solidarity with the churches and human rights organizations in Latin
America," said Talbert, a former NCC president and currently ecumenical
officer for the United Methodist Council of Bishops. "The delegation that
went two years ago was simply a way of saying, 'We still stand with you.'"

He noted that progress has been made on the issue of the disappearances
since the last delegation visit, but added that families were still "pushing
hard" for justice. 

The governments of Chile and Argentina, for example, have admitted the
atrocities occurred. "Now they're working, trying to find out where the
bodies are so their families can get on with their lives," he explained.

In Uruguay, according to Talbert, the military still refuses to cooperate,
but a truth commission formed by the new president already has recovered
some bodies of the disappeared.

Talbert said he was struck by the NCC's influence in opening doors in those
countries, in recognition of its longstanding commitment to the people and
the justice issues involved.

During the trip, the delegation met with Fernando de la Rua, president of
Argentina, members of Uruguay's Truth Commission, and senators and
government officials in Chile.

Besides Talbert, the delegation included the Rev. Joe Eldridge, a United
Methodist pastor and chaplain at American University in Washington; the Rev.
Oscar Bolioli, a United Methodist and NCC executive who took part in the
1999 visit; and Brenda Girton-Mitchell, a Baptist and director of the NCC's
Washington office.

Eldridge, a former missionary to Chile, also is founder and chairperson of
the Washington Office on Latin America. 

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United Methodist News Service
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