Ecumenical bodies ask for end of Orissa violence

Showing concern over the ongoing Orissa violence, International Christian bodies have appealed to the Indian government to contain the anti–Christian rioting in the state.

The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in a joint letter addressed to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh has condemned the violence and requested for protection to the minorities.

LWF and WCC General Secretaries Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko and Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia, respectively, appeal to the prime minister “to ensure an immediate cessation of violence, the restoration of law and justice, and sanctuary for the displaced,” the letter stated.

Citing information received from the LWF and WCC member churches in India, the general secretaries point out that indiscriminate killings, burning of church buildings and destruction of institutions continue in the Gajapati and Khandamal districts and other parts of Orrissa.

Noko and Kobia state, “it is the most vulnerable sections of the population who are worst affected by the violence,” and urge more long–term support to such communities so that they can reconstruct their lives.

Meanwhile the WCC is calling on its member churches and partners to join in a 7 September prayer and fasting initiative of the National United Christian Forum, which groups the National Council of Churches in India, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India and the Evangelical Federation of India.

Some 20 people have been killed, 50,000 displaced and 4,000 homes have been destroyed over the last ten days, as a result of the “worst ever communal riots against Christians,” according to a report by the NUCF. Of those who have fled their villages, some 13,000 are living in nine government–run relief camps. Around 200 villages were affected, with hundreds of churches burnt down.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday pledged to use force to control the violence in Orissa state.

He said in a letter to Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity that New Delhi would act to end the attacks, which have forced 13,000 people, mostly Christians, to seek shelter in guarded camps in the eastern state of Orissa.