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South Africa
Plea for Palestinians
Bishops ask halt in arms sales
Because Christians, Jews, and Muslims see the Middle East as the Holy Land, the South African bishops’ conference (SACBC) called for renewed peace talks to end the conflict there.
Archbishop Wilfrid Fox Napier of Durban, the SABCBC president, said, “The present impasse in the peace process needs a fresh concerted international effort to re-establish trust between the parties to the conflict. The restoration of a climate of trust is crucial to the resumption of dialogue.” The SACBC urged governments to seek international mediation involving countries or persons acceptable to the parties in the Middle East, in order to restore confidence in the peace process.
Moreover, the bishops demanded that the South African government cease approving arms sales to the Middle East. “As an honest broker, the government cannot promote peaceful negotiations on one hand, and make weapons available to the warring parties on the other,” they said. The group Human Rights Watch recently issued a report entitled, “A Question of Principles: Arms Trade and Human rights,” in which it denounced South Africa for announcing restrictions on the arms trade, but failing to enforce those directives.
The bishops of South Africa concluded with a call for an end to the use of “excessive force by the Israeli military,” withdrawal from the occupied territories, and recognition of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination. They also asked the Palestinian authorities to recognize the right of Israel to exist within secure borders and in terms set out by the United Nations.
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