DAVID ADAMS reports…
The secretary general of the World Council of Churches has called for world governments “to do everything possible to starve the fire of war rather than feeding it with further deadly armaments” in an open letter to the United Nations.
In the letter, released yesterday, Rev Dr Olav Fyske Tveit has said that while “condemning all us of chemical weapons” – a crime which must be “thoroughly investigated and prosecuted” – a military attack or intervention in Syria won’t solve the crisis.
“Such a course is much more likely to raise the level of tension and increase pressure on the population at large…It can put certain groups at even higher risk, including Christians.”
– Rev Dr Olav Fyske Tveit, secretary general of the World Council of Churches, speaking about the risk of military intervention in Syria.
“Such a course is much more likely to raise the level of tension and increase pressure on the population at large,” he said, adding: “It can put certain groups at even higher risk, including Christians.”
In the letter Rev Dr Tveit said that in the absence of any legal premise for military intervention in Syria such as a UN Security Resolution, he said “claiming humanitarian intervention as a legal basis in not sufficient in its own right”.
The letter was released as the US considers taking military action in Syria with President Barack Obama earlier this week referring the matter to Congress. The move comes after the UK last week ruled out military action in Syria. France, meanwhile, has declared its willingness to carry out military intervention.
Elsewhere in the letter Rev Dr Tveit said there is “no other way to sustainable justice and peace for the people of Syria than the hard work that must be undertaken by all partoes inside and outside Syria to find a negotiated political solution”.
It is the responsibility of the international community to act now to do everything possible to find a nonviolent solution leading to a lasting peace,” he wrote.
“Particularly we encourage the leaders of the USA and of Russia to use the time as they meet in the coming days to agree on their contributions to a political process towards peace and justice for Syria.”
Meanwhile in Australia, the National Council of Churches in Australia has also expressed concern for the people of Syria and condemned the use of chemical weapons.
The NCCA’s general secretary, Rev Tara Curlewis, says while such crimes need to be investigated and the perpetrators prosecuted, “external military intervention will only increase the suffering of the people and increase the risk of escalating sectarian violence”.
Rev Curlewis called upon Australia’s Foreign Minister, Bob Carr, to engage with the leaders of the US and Russia at the meeting of G20 leaders later today to identify each country’s “contribution to a political process towards peace and justice for Syria”.
There will be a particular emphasis on prayer for peace in Syria in many churches in Australia and elsewhere around the world this Sunday.
To see the entire letter from Rev Dr Tveit, follow this link.
~ www.oikoumene.org
~ www.ncca.org.au
