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The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
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| 04.09.2008 |
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| LWF and WCC Urge Government Intervention in Ending Orissa Violence |
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Solidarity Prayers and Fasting on 7 September
GENEVA, 4 September 2008 (LWI) - The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Council of Churches (WCC) have appealed for the Indian government’s intervention in ending ongoing violence in the country’s northeastern state of Orissa.
In a joint letter today addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, LWF and WCC General Secretaries Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko and Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, respectively, appeal to the prime minister “to ensure an immediate cessation of violence, the restoration of law and justice, and sanctuary for the displaced.”
Citing information received from the LWF and WCC member churches in India, the general secretaries point out that indiscriminate killings, burning of church buildings and destruction of institutions continue in the Gajapati and Khandamal districts and other parts of Orrissa.
Noko and Kobia state, “it is the most vulnerable sections of the population who are worst affected by the violence,” and urge more long-term support to such communities so that they can reconstruct their lives.
According to Rev. Dr A. G. Augustine Jeyakumar, Executive Secretary of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church in India (UELCI), the communal violence, which reportedly started following the 23 August murder of a Hindu spiritual leader, targets the Christian community, with “fundamentalist groups going from village to village destroying churches, burning houses, attacking and killing Christians.”
Prayers and Fasting
Meanwhile the WCC is calling on its member churches and partners to join in a 7 September prayer and fasting initiative of the National United Christian Forum, which groups the National Council of Churches in India, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India and the Evangelical Federation of India.
In a letter to the WCC member churches in India, the general secretary welcomes the Forum’s initiative and urges solidarity in “praying for the families of those who have lost their dear ones, for those who are displaced, for all others who suffer the consequences of this violence and for all those who are striving to restore trust and goodwill among people and communities.”
Some 20 people have been killed, 50,000 displaced and 4,000 homes have been destroyed over the last ten days, as a result of the “worst ever communal riots against Christians,” according to a report by the Forum. Of those who have fled their villages, some 13,000 are living in nine government-run relief camps. Around 200 villages were affected, with hundreds of churches burnt down.
On 29 August church-run educational institutions were closed and demonstrations held across the country as a sign of solidarity with the suffering people and protest of the violence against Christian minorities in Orissa.
Jeyakumar underscores the need to also initiate interfaith peace groups that would be sensitized to address issues of communal violence. “We all need to be united in our efforts to curb this carnage,” he adds.
The UELCI comprises 10 Lutheran churches, and belongs to both the LWF and WCC as well as the national Christian Forum. (501 words)
The full text of the LWF-WCC letter to the Indian Prime Minister is available at, www.oikoumene.org/?id=6267
The full text of the WCC letter to the churches in India is at, www.oikoumene.org/?id=6266
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