On Tue, 1 Jun 1999 14:12:14 +0200, you wrote:

Uddrag af pressemeddelelse om Kirkernes Verdensråds konsultation

i Budapest om Kosovo-konflikten, den slutter med en række principper om

>forhandling, forsoning og løsning af problemerne samt aktionsforslag:

>

>Jørgen Madsen

...: interchurch@folkekirken.dk (Det mellemkirkelige Raad)

>>Subject: Kosovo meeting

>...

>>Please find below the final version of the communique which came out of

>>the meeting in Budapest on Kosovo. The meeting went very well. Thank you

>>for having sent Karsten Fledelius, ...

>>

>>Hubert

>>

>>

>>World Council of Churches

>>Press Update

>>27 May 1999

>>

>>CONSULTATION ON THE CHURCHES AND THE CRISIS

>>IN THE BALKANS

>>Budapest, Hungary, 26*27 May 1999

>>

>>c.f. WCC press release of 21 May 1999

>>

>>Over 40 church leaders and representatives from Eastern and Western Europe

>>as well as from North America met in Budapest, Hungary, from 26 to 27 May

>>to discuss the churches' response to the crisis in the Balkans region.

>>Representatives of the churches in the Federal Republic Yugoslavia

>>(Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed and Serbian Orthodox churches) participated

>>in the meeting.

>>

>>The consultation was jointly organized by the World Council of Churches

>>(WCC) and the Conference of European Churches (CEC) in cooperation with

>>the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) and the World Alliance of Reformed

>>Churches (WARC), and was hosted by the Ecumenical Council of Churches in

>>Hungary. The consultation benefitted from the presence of a representative

>>of the Council of European Bishops' Conferences (CCEE). The international

>>ecumenical organizations have taken several initiatives in response to the

>>crisis, including the sending of delegations to the Federal Republic of

>>Yugoslavia, to Albania and to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

>>

>>The main purposes of the consultation were:

>>* To exchange information on the churches' actions and statements in

>>response to the crisis in the Balkans;

>>* To engage in a dialogue aimed at a better understanding of the different

>>perceptions and positions of the churches;

>>* To discuss the churches' role and witness in response to the crisis and

>>in promoting peace.

>>

>>The consultation shared in the widespread international concern about the

>>escalation of the conflict and the reports of massive human rights

>>violations in Kosovo, the devastating impact of the NATO airstrikes and

>>the tragic effects on the civilian population, and the plight of almost a

>>million refugees from Kosovo.

>>

>>The consultion recognized the complex historical roots of the crisis, and

>>the different perceptions of the nature of the conflict and of the

>>immediate causes of the massive exodus of Kosovar Albanians.

>>

>>In a context of renewed division and hostilities in Europe, the church

>>representatives expressed their commitment to staying together in prayer

>>and in solidarity. In this situation the churches should seek common

>>Christian witness and action by affirming the following principles:

>>* To recognize the fundamental and urgent priority of negotiations as the

>>only basis for a durable solution to the crisis, and to urge the parties

>>to use all possible opportunities to end hostilities.

>>* To support initiatives which foster a peaceful and lasting resolution of

>>the conflict, and which recognize the equal rights of all nationalities

>>and ethnic groups to co*exist within the same territory.

>>* To promote the guaranteed right of return and security of all those

>>displaced by the conflict.

>>* To recognize and promote the central role of the United Nations and the

>>OSCE in any negotiated solution to the crisis.

>>* To contribute to the process of reconciliation and rehabilitation of

>>communities.

>>* To support efforts to render justice to all victims of the conflict.

>>* To continue the response to the humanitarian needs of all those affected

>>by the crisis, through WCC/LWF ACT*Action By Churches Together and local

>>churches and partners.

>>

>>The consultation recognized the need for further dialogue and discussion

>>of the following issues: * The concept of "just war" and the means of

>>peaceful resolution of conflict.

>>* The competing claims of national sovereignty and of humanitarian

>>intervention.

>>* The relationship between religion, identity, territory and nation.

>>* The role which national contexts, minority/majority status and history

>>play in the formation of perceptions.

>>* The identification and nature of reliable sources of information and its

>>accurate dissemination.

>>

>>Follow*up and possible future actions:

>>* The consultation recognized that the crisis affects the entire region of

>>Southeastern Europe. A lasting solution will be furthered decisively if

>>the national, ethnic, cultural and historical features can be brought

>>into the process of European integration. In particular, the Orthodox

>>tradition must be acknowledged as an integral part of the European

>>heritage.

>>* A special expectation for follow*up focuses on the Conference of

>>European Churches. In particular, cooperation with the CCEE and other

>>appropriate Roman Catholic partners can be strengthened in response to the

>>regional challenges. The framework of cooperation with the churches and

>>ecumenical organizations in North America should also be reinforced,

>>drawing on the experience of the churches' human rights programme.

>>* The creation of new instruments for a Christian response at the

>>Southeastern Europe level should be seriously considered in order to

>>generate and nurture a future*oriented approach, emphasizing preventive

>>action, education, interreligious dialogue and building on existing and

>>new networks within civil society.*

>>*

>>

>>

>>**********

>>The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of 336 churches, in more

>>than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian

>>traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works

>>cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the Assembly,

>>which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally

>>inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by

>>general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.

>>

>>

>>World Council of Churches

>>Media Relations Office

>>Tel: (41.22) 791.61.53 / 791.64.21

>>Fax: (41.22) 798.13.46

>>E*Mail: ka@wcc*coe.org

>>http://www.wcc*coe.org

>>

>>P.O. Box 2100

>>CH*1211 Geneva 2

>>