wfn.org | WCC FEATURE: Colombia: the people want and deserve peace, say Living Letters

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World Council of Churches - Feature

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For immediate release - 18/12/2008 17:22:27 

THE COLOMBIAN PEOPLE WANT AND DESERVE PEACE, SAY LIVING LETTERS

>Free photo available - see below

"Enough is enough! The Colombian people want and deserve peace."
With this message, members of a Living Letters team began their
journey home after visiting this South American country on behalf
of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in early December. 

"The message we are taking with us is very clear", said the Rev.
Christopher Ferguson at the end of the visit: "The peasants, the
internally displaced and the indigenous peoples are clamouring
for the return of their lands, for justice, for the government to
keep its promises and for an end to violence. In short: enough is
enough! The Colombian people want and deserve peace."

Living Letters are small international, ecumenical teams. Within
the framework of the WCC Decade to Overcome Violence, they travel
to different parts of the world where Christians are striving to
promote peace. Their goal is to express the solidarity of the
ecumenical family and learn how people are dealing with the
challenges that face them. 

Ferguson, who is the New York-based WCC representative to the
United Nations, stressed that, although only Colombians
themselves can build peace in their own country, the
international community should support them to do so. Instead, it
is helping to perpetuate the situation by "ignoring massive
forced displacement and disappearances," he added. 

The visit to Colombian churches, ecumenical organizations and
civil society movements took place from 6 to 12 December. The
programme included the capital Bogotá, the city of Barranquilla
in the north of the country and locations in the western and
north-western regions of the country that have suffered badly
from armed violence and the forced displacement of people. 

"The work done by the churches in the Ecumenical Network of
Colombia is extremely valuable", said Bishop Aldo Etchegoyen, of
the Evangelical Methodist Church of Argentina. "The churches are
the first to express solidarity with the victims and they are
very committed to protecting human rights. In some regions, their
ministers perform a difficult and dangerous task." 

>:: Resisting violence on several fronts

One of the most violent countries in the world, Colombia has
been ravaged by an armed conflict involving the army, two groups
of left-wing rebels and right-wing paramilitaries since the
1960s. Tens of thousands of Colombians have been killed while
some three million have been forced from their homes.
Drug-related crime aggravates the situation.

On 7 December, at the offices of the Colombian Episcopal
Conference in Bogotá, the Living Letters team participated in the
fourth Day of Prayer for the release of kidnap victims and for
the truth about the disappeared. 

An estimated 3,000 people have been kidnapped and are held
hostage by rebel groups, including the Revolutionary Armed Forces
of Colombia (FARC). 

It is difficult to estimate the number of enforced
disappearances committed by the military and paramilitary groups
as part of their counterinsurgency strategy. Amnesty
International puts the figure at between about 15,000 (the number
of cases being investigated by the office of the general
attorney) and 30,000 (denounced by human rights organisations). 

On 10 December, on the 60th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, the delegation took part in a march
in Barranquilla organized by the National Movement of Victims of
State Crimes. Formed by a number of non-governmental
organizations, the movement demands justice for the "forgotten"
victims of paramilitary and state violence. 

The visit and the evidence gathered by the team led it to
criticize President Álvaro Uribe's government. "There is a major
contradiction between the government's portrayal of itself as
democratic and its markedly authoritarian character", said
Etchegoyen. He also criticized the "Plan Colombia", through which
the United States channels "large sums of money for the purchase
of arms in the guise of humanitarian aid." 

The delegation highlighted the work of local churches,
ecumenical groupings and civil society organizations. "We have
seen very practical and interesting examples of peaceful
resistance to violence", said Ferguson. "One example is the
establishment of peasant communities in 'humanitarian zones',
where they can find refuge from armed violence. They are also
able to claim their rights to the land from which they were
expelled by violence, with the connivance of the state, to make
way for major economic projects", he added.

>:: Ecumenical solidarity in action 

"The visit of this group made us feel that churches from all
over the world have been here. It has given us spiritual energy
and encouraged us to persevere as a church committed to the life
of those suffering from forced displacement", said the Rev.
Gloria Ulloa, executive secretary of the Coastal Presbytery of
the Presbyterian Church of Colombia. 

"It was compelling to listen to Bishop Solito Toquero, of the
United Methodist Church of the Philippines and observe how many
similarities there are in the conflicts in our two countries",
Ulloa added. "The commitment of the Philippine churches
re-energizes our effort to move forward with ours." 

The executive secretary of the Ecumenical Network of Colombia,
Osvaldo Ardila, thanked the team for having completed "a hard
journey, but one that is full of hope, solidarity and pastoral
support and advice for the churches, families, communities and
movements."

The Rev. Jorge Ziljstra, secretary for the Caribbean and Great
Colombia region of the Latin American Council of Churches, based
in Puerto Rico, said the Living Letters' mission does not end
with the visit to the country in question. "If you send a letter,
you expect a reply, and perhaps from now on we can be 'living
letters' from Colombia to the world, and make the voice of those
who are suffering here heard in places that are unaware of the
situation in this country." 

>[930 words]

A free high resolution photo 

of Colombian peasants met by the Living Letters team is
available at:
http://oikoumene.org/fileadmin/images/wcc-main/news/2008/december/081208-005.jpg
Please credit: © William Delgado/WCC

Additional information on the visit of Living Letters to
Colombia:
http://overcomingviolence.org/en/peace-convocation/living-letters-visits/colombia.html

>WCC member churches in Colombia:
>http://www.oikoumene.org/?id=4736

Opinions expressed in WCC Features do not necessarily reflect
WCC policy. This material may be reprinted freely, providing
credit is given to the author. 

Additional information: Juan Michel +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507
6363 media@wcc-coe.org

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith,
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