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Issued jointly with the Conference of European Churches

cf. WCC Press Update, Up-00-32, of 6 October 2000

"We are writing to express our profound concern at the continued violence facing members of the Serbian Orthodox Church and its cultural and spiritual property in Kosovo and Metohija in the recent period"; this is the aim of two letters sent today by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches (WCC), Rev. Dr Konrad Raiser, and the general secretary of the Conference of European Churches (CEC), Rev. Dr Keith Clements. The letters were addressed to His Holiness Pavle, patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and Mr Michael Steiner, special representative of the United Nations' secretary general and head of the UN Interim Administration in Kosovo.

"The deliberate attacks on the churches and holy places of the Serbian Orthodox Church occurring in Kosovo and Metohija at this time," Raiser and Clements write, "are a painful and scandalous manifestation of the extremism and instability still affecting parts of this region." On behalf of the WCC and the CEC, the two general secretaries condemn these acts of violence, which reflect "the inadequacy of the international protection provided by the interim authorities in Kosovo to the minority communities, and particularly to the Serbian community". They appeal for "effective security and justice for all the peoples and the protection of their spiritual and cultural inheritance in Kosovo."

"It is the firm belief of our organisations", they state, "that a lasting solution for peace in this region can only be based on a situation of tolerance and respect for all ethnic and religious communities". Churches and religious communities are called to "contribute to an opening of minds and a calming of hearts at this time".

The full text of the letters is available on the WCC Website:

www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/koslets19-08-02.html

For more information please contact:

World Council of Churches, Media Relations Office

Tel. +41 22 791 64 21

Conference of European Churches, Office of Communications

Tel. +41 22 791 64 85 or 791 63 25