wfn.org | Ethiopian, Eritrean Religious Leaders Affirm Commitment to Peace

["Frank Imhoff" <franki@elca.org>]

First Local Meeting Since 1998 Border Dispute

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia/GENEVA, 15 March 2002 (LWI) - Prior to next
April's ruling on the disputed Ethiopian-Eritrean border,
religious leaders from both countries have affirmed their
commitment to consolidate efforts toward peaceful co-existence and
development of the two nations.

Following mid-February meetings in the Eritrean capital, Asmara,
and later in Addis Ababa, leaders from the Protestant, Orthodox
and Roman Catholic churches as well as Muslim representatives
commended their respective governments for their willingness to
resolve the border conflict and work for sustainable peace.

The initiative to bring religious leaders together for dialogue
since fighting broke out in May 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea
over territorial boundary, was taken by Norwegian Church Aid
(NCA), an independent ecumenical development aid organization. It
was the first time they had met in their respective countries. At
the height of the fighting, similar meetings took place in Norway,
Germany, the United States of America and Kenya.

Rev. Ogbarebi Hibtes, president of the Evangelical Church of
Eritrea (ECE) noted that although they had gathered six times on
neutral grounds, the local meetings were very significant. Urging
reconciliation, he hailed the NCA's and Ethiopian and Eritrean
political leaders' relentless support for dialogue toward peace.

Rev. Iteffa Gobena, president of the Ethiopian Evangelical Church
Mekane Yesus (EECMY) thanked both governments for enabling the
meetings to discuss peace. He said they were significant because
they contributed to building relationships between both peoples.
The over 3 million-member EECMY and 12,000-member ECE joined the
Lutheran World Federation in 1963.

NCA regional representative Mr. Stein Vilumstad pointed to a Plan
of Action established by the religious leaders. He commended the
Norwegian government and United Nations for their support in the
process.

Next month an international Boundary Commission in The Hague,
Holland, is expected to rule on the Ethiopian-Eritrean border
dispute. A peace agreement ending the fighting was signed in
December 2000 in Algiers, Algeria. The commission's verdict on
where the border lies is expected April 13.

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 133 member churches in 73 countries representing over 60.5
million of the 64.3 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is the information service of
the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). Unless specifically noted,
material presented does not represent positions or opinions of the
LWF or of its various units. Where the dateline of an article
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with acknowledgment.]

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