wfn.org | LWF Tenth Assembly Urges UN to Send Stabilization Force

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

LWF Tenth Assembly, Winnipeg, Canada, 21-31 July 2003

PRESS RELEASE NO. 23

LWF Tenth Assembly Urges UN to Send Stabilization Force to Liberia
"Come to Our Rescue," Lutheran Bishop Harris Pleads to International
Community

WINNIPEG, Canada, 28 July 2003 *The Lutheran World Federation (LWF), holding
its Tenth Assembly here, has called upon the United Nations to send a
stabilization force to Liberia to prevent Government forces and rebels from
attacking each other, and protect civilians.

In a statement released by the Assembly's Policy and Reference Committee, the
LWF "urged the UN Security Council to immediately mandate the deployment of a
multilateral stabilization force to separate the warring sides, to protect
civilians, and to disarm and demobilize all fighting forces."

The statement came after a heart-rending briefing on the current situation in
Liberia by the head of the Lutheran Church in Liberia (LCL), Bishop Sumoward
Harris, and Ms Comfort Freeman, representing the church's women.

According to Harris, innocent civilians have continued to die due to renewed
fighting between the warring parties who have said they will not stop until
US troops arrive. "We welcome President Bush's intervention of sending his
men here but by the time they arrive, many more Liberians will be dead," said
Harris.

On July 25, the US president ordered 2,000 of his troops to head toward the
war-stricken nation and help restore peace and stability.

Harris appealed to the international community to listen to the voice of
Liberians, saying, "We have been crying for so long. Now it is time for the
international community to come to our rescue."

He expresse hope that the African Union (AU) would intervene and send in
peace keeping troops to quell the more-than-a-decade war in the West African
nation. "It is our hope that African leaders through the AU will move in and
guarantee full and decent lives for their fellow Africans," he said.

Freeman, also a founding member of Liberia's Women in Peace Building Network
(WIPNET), noted that Christian and Muslim women in the country have come
together to pursue peaceful solutions for the country.

"We have written statements and presented them to the government and rebels,
demanding unconditional ceasefire," she said.

According to a regular country situation report by Charles Pitchford, LWF
representative in the country and director of the Department for World
Service program in Liberia, 600 civilians have been killed in the past week
as a result of indiscriminate mortar and small arms fire. 

"More than 20 bodies were piled up outside the US embassy protesting that
America is dragging its feet with respect to sending troop," the report
further says.

Pitchford adds, there is no movement in Liberia and the humanitarian crisis
is overwhelming. 

The Tenth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) is taking place
21-31 July 2003 in Winnipeg, Canada, under the theme "For the Healing of the
World." It is being hosted by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
(ELCIC).

There are almost 800 men, women and youth participants in the Tenth Assembly
including 369 delegates from the 133 churches with full membership and three
associate members. The Assembly is the highest decision-making body of the
LWF, and meets normally every six years. Between Assemblies, the LWF is
governed by its Council that meets annually, and by its Executive Committee. 

Further information including photos, video and audio news, is posted on the
Assembly Web site www.lwf-assembly.org

To order photographs, please contact LWF-Photo@lutheranworld.org

*	*	*

The LWF is a global communion of Christian churche in the Lutheran tradition.
Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now has 136 member churches in 76
countries representing over 61.7 million of the 65.4 million Lutherans
worldwide. 

The LWF acts on behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest
such as ecumenical and interfaith relations, theology, humanitarian
assistance, human rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission
and development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.