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On the second leg of a 1-16 July five-country visit to the Greater Horn of Africa, World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser met with Rwanda genocide suspects at a detention camp in Arusha, Tanzania.

The 4 July visit to the camp was authorized by the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda; Raiser's exchange with the detainees focused on the meaning of reconciliation. Addressing a gathering of some 30 of the 52 suspects held in the camp, the WCC general secretary explained that the WCC's visit to the Horn of Africa was an effort to learn more about the ongoing conflicts in the region and the peace-building role churches could play.

In response to a request from one of the suspects, Raiser defined reconciliation as "having to do with healing broken relationships. It is a process which needs time. You can't declare it. It takes time to reach genuine reconciliation".

The suspects expressed their appreciation for what they said was the first-ever visit by a high-ranking official of an international organization to the camp. At the end of the exchange, they all joined hands and said the Lord's prayer in their respective languages.

Earlier in the day, the WCC delegation met with the registrar of the International Tribunal, Mr Adama Dieng from Senegal. Dieng is also United Nations assistant secretary-general. In their discussion, Raiser noted that establishing justice through courts is important in order to rectify wrongs. "But," he pointed out, "by focusing on sentence and punishment, [the procedure] tends to isolate perpetrators from their communities. As such, the system cannot heal the victims' wounds."

In response, the registrar said that the Rwandan traditional court - the Gachacha - offers space for dialogue, helps establish truth, and promotes a healing process. He noted that although the Gachacha process is lacking in some aspects of adjudication of justice, "it is necessary as there are large numbers of suspects awaiting trial, some of whom are dying before their trial".

On arriving in Arusha, the WCC delegation was received by the Arusha regional commissioner Daniel ole Njoolay. The commissioner expressed concern that following an influx of refugees into his country from the Great Lakes, the crime rate had shot up in several once-peaceful provinces and that, as a result, residents were becoming hostile to refugees and members of parliament were putting pressure on the government to reject refugees.

Raiser also met with church leaders and theological students of Tumaini University, and expressed the WCC's condolences to the Tanzanian government and the relatives of the 281 victims of a tragic railway accident that took place two weeks ago near Dodoma, the administrative capital of Tanzania.

In Nairobi, Kenya, on the next leg of its tour, the WCC delegation was briefed (9 July) by a high-ranking official of the Sudanese Peoples Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), Commander Salva Kiir Mayadit, on Sudanese peace talks, under the aegis of the Inter-Governmental Authority for Development (IGAD), currently in their second week at a secret location in Kenya. Commander Mayadit said that the delegation from Khartoum lacks the authority to make concessions that could pave way for peace settlement, and predicted that the talks would collapse.

The WCC delegation is visiting northern and southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Tanzania and Kenya during its 1-16 July tour. Members of the WCC delegation are Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, WCC general secretary, Dr Agnes Abuom, WCC president (Sudan, Kenya, Eritrea portions of visit), Ms Karimi Kinoti, former coordinator of FECCLAHA, All Africa Conference of Churches, Mr Stein Villumstad, East Africa regional representative, Norwegian Church Aid, (Sudan-Khartoum, Ethiopia, Eritrea), Mr William Temu, WCC regional secretary for Africa, Mr Mitch Odero, head of Information & Communication Department, All Africa Conference of Churches, Mr Peter Williams, WCC photographer and videographer (Southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea). The delegation is being accompanied by Rev. Haruun Ruun, New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) executive secretary.

Photos of the visit are available on our website at www.photooikoumene.org/events/events.html