September 4, 2000
Indonesian persecution condemned
___By Robert O'Brien
___Special Correspondent
___SKOPJE, Macedonia--Islamic jihad against Christians in the Malukus Islands of Indonesia has drawn an open letter of protest from international framers of the new Stockholm Accords on Ethnic Cleansing.
___The framers met in Skopje, Macedonia, in early August to finalize the Stockholm Accords that call for a worldwide 21st century movement, from grassroots to governments, against genocide and ethnic cleansing.
___They took that opportunity to directly address ethnic and religious killing and population displacement in the 80-percent Islamic Southeast Asian island nation.
Texas-based Global Strategies International wants you to read and then sign the Stockholm Accords on Ethnic Cleansing
___Since January 1999, Islamic extremists have slaughtered thousands of Christians in the Malukus, according to news reports. Thousands also have reportedly fled as refugees, under threats that a 3,000-man army of extremists would kill all Christians left in the Malukus.
___Framers of the Stockholm Accords on Ethnic Cleansing (online at www.gsrf.org), including five from Texas, signed the open letter Aug. 6 for distribution to international political and religious leaders, especially those in Indonesia, said Doug Tipps, president of Global Strategies International and pastor of First Baptist Church of San Marcos.
___Last January, Global Stategies International convened a meeting of 43 people from 15 countries and all continents in Stockholm, Sweden, to develop the Stockholm Accords on Ethnic Cleansing. The group, representing Catholic, Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox and Protestant Christian traditions, approved and signed the accords in Skopje, Macedonia, Aug. 6.
___The Stockholm Accords on Ethnic Cleansing will be the focus of a series of international signing events in locations to be announced around the world, as well as signing on the World Wide Web, Tipps said.
___The open letter, following the spirit of the Stockholm Accords, calls on people inside and outside Indonesia to cease "instigating, aiding or abetting hatred, violence, genocide or ethic cleansing." It futher urges aid to displaced people and efforts to return them safely to their homes.
___It also calls for creation of a truth and reconciliation commission, "consisting of reputable and honorable Indonesians of diverse backgrounds and experiences, to reaffirm that all human life is sacred and to provide a healing response to violence" in Indonesia.
___Inhabitants of the Malukus and all Indonesians should "establish a means of seeking restoration, reconciliation and healing for all ethnic, racial and religious communities of their land," the letter says.
___It also calls on "women and men of every nation of good will to join us in this resolution as an international call for the unqualified reverence for human life in the Malukus Islands of Indonesia."
___Besides Tipps, signers from Texas included Derek Davis, director of the J.M. Dawson Institute of Church-State Studies at Baylor University; Robert Newell, pastor of Memorial Drive Baptist Church in Houston; and Jerry Buckner and Bill Nichols of Global Strategies International in San Marcos.
Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!
