The secretary general of the Cec (Ecumenical Council of Churches) Konrad Raiser, has sent a letter to the secretary general of the UN, Kofi Annan, expressing his “profound concern for the increasing violence of the struggle between government forces and rebel groups in Liberia”. And he invites the United Nations “to support peace initiatives in the region”. Raiser goes on to write: “Given the gravity of the situation which is now bordering on anarchy, it is difficult to foresee a lasting cease-fire without the support of a credible peace force”. Similar views are held by the Ceta (Conference of Churches of All Africa, which brings together 170 Churches from 39 countries in the continent). In the meantime several thousand refugees have fled in search of safer areas. Raiser says: “The Cec asks the United Nations to support the peace initiative of the Economic Community of East African States (Cedeao) and of the International Contact Group for Liberia (Icgl), and to encourage the conflicting parties to reach agreement on the presence of a peace force, with the aim of avoiding another terrible human tragedy”. For its part, the Ceta hopes to see the launch of “a clearly defined peace process” for an agreement “that includes the creation of a transitional government”.
