UMC Concerned Over Scattered Reports from the Ivory Coast
We have had limited contact with church leaders there since the outbreak of violence, and we are unable to put into context some of the scattered reports we have received
In lieu of the sudden rush of violence that engulf the streets of Cot d’Ivoire last week, the United Methodist Board of Ministries released a statement of “concern” for its local personnel and “comfort” to those that have been caught in the midst of the volatile situation, on Nov. 22, 2004.
“We have had limited contact with church leaders there since the outbreak of violence, and we are unable to put into context some of the scattered reports we have received,” the statement said.
However, the Board recognized that on the plus-side, “the leaders and pastors of the United Methodist Church of Cote d’Ivoire are safe and are working to bring calm to a volatile situation.”
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The violence in Ivory Coast erupted in Nov. 5, when a government aircraft bombed a French position near Bouake, leaving nine French soldiers and one American aid worker dead. The French responded to the “accident” by destroying two Ivorian Air Force planes and three helicopters. In protest, thousands of native Ivorians took to the streets, thus sparking a four-day crisis that has left more than 20 dead and hundreds wounded; thousand of mostly French Westerners have also evacuated the nation since the violence erupted.
Most of the missionaries, including Methodist missionaries, also evacuated the volatile state, and headed for Liberia. However, with over 1 million United Methodists living in the Ivory Coast, the United Methodist Board said concerns still linger.
“One report indicates that United Methodists provided aid to persons injured in street clashes between the French military and Ivorian protesters. The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has offered assistance to be used in the care of civilian victims,” the statement read.
According to the United Methodist News Service (UMNS), the head of the United Methodist Church in the Ivory Coast has been “in consultation with other religious leaders to bring about stability.”
Boni was heard on national Ivorian television and radio, condemning the violence and killings.
“The United Methodist Church of Cote d’Ivoire shares the sorrow and pain of all the grieving Ivorians, French and American families,” said Boni in his Nov. 10 statement. “The church regrets the extent of the killings and massacre that characterized this time of uncertainty. The church wishes a prompt recovery of all the wounded.”
Boni, who urged the thousands of evacuees to remain in “hospitable and welcoming” territories, also prayed for “lasting peace” as he quoted Psalms 34:6-7: “This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord, and was saved from every trouble. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him and delivers them.”
“The north-south tensions in Cote d’Ivoire are longstanding and involve economic as well as political and, perhaps, religious factors,” the Board of Global Ministries’ statement continued. “The country is the world’s largest producer of cocoa, and news reports indicate sectional conflict over control of the crop. Much of the north is controlled by groups considered ‘rebels’ by the government of President Laurent Gbagbo, which holds sway in the south.”
The Protestant Methodist Church of Cote d’Ivoire is a full member of the US-based United Methodist Church. According to the UMNS, the former autonomous Cote d’Ivoire church approached the UMC’s Board of Global Ministries several years ago to become a part of a “worldwide church rather than continuing as a national body.”
Currently, 6,000 UN peacekeepers and 4,000 French soldiers have been trying to maintain the peace in a buffer zone between the mostly-Muslim north and the mostly Christian south.
