Cote d'Ivoire Methodists seek end to war
2/27/2003 News media contact: Linda Bloom · (646) 369-3759 · New York NEW
YORK (UMNS) - Methodist leaders from the Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast)
are blaming France for contributing to the current unrest in the West
African country.
During a Feb. 26 briefing with the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the church leaders outlined their
viewpoints on the crisis and the need for U.S. involvement. The
Protestant Methodist Church of Cote d'Ivoire recently was given "mission
church" status with the Board of Global Ministries.
The Rev.
Benjamin Boni, president of the Protestant Methodist Church, explained
that although the Sept. 18-19 uprising in Abidjan was first called an
uprising of military members seeking a better life, it later became
clear that the rebels had outside backing.
"This is clearly not a mutiny," Boni declared through a translator. "It's a plot of the neighboring countries with France."
The Cote d'Ivoire gained its independence from France in 1960.
He
believes that France would like to see the Cote d'Ivoire divided into
two parts - an eastern part, allowing the countries of Burkina Faso and
Niger to use Abidjan as a port, and a western part, allowing Guinea and
Mali to use San Pedro as a port. Some of the motivation, Boni claimed,
is to improve conditions in Africa so that citizens of those countries
will be less inclined to immigrate to France.
The Methodist
delegation said it is not happy with the recent peace accord brokered by
France, which also has imposed a new prime minister on the Cote
d'Ivoire, ousting the Methodist who was serving in that position.
The
church's most immediate concern is the violence that has erupted from
the conflict, along with what Boni described as the rebels' "extreme
cruelty" against civilians.
Antoinette Gadie, of the church's
Women's Division, said she is particularly in tune with the suffering of
women and children. The images of mothers fleeing with children in an
attempt to escape the violence "go straight to our hearts," she added.
Samuel Koffi, an assistant to Boni, put it bluntly: "Do we want another Rwanda in Africa?"
He is hoping U.S. churches will become aware of the crisis in Cote d'Ivoire and help advocate for U.S. government assistance.
Americans
in particular should relate to the threat against principles of
democracy and freedom, said Emmanuel Ackah, chairman of the Methodist
Church financial board. "The danger we are facing is that democracy is
not valid in our country," he noted. "If we had a real democracy, we
would not have this war."
Although politicians sometimes try to
use religious differences to create tension, that is not the problem in
Cote d'Ivoire, according to the Rev. Isaac Bodje, who monitors
Christian-Muslim relations for the Methodists. In fact, Christians and
Muslims have often spoken "with one voice" to denounce injustices, he
said.
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