MURDER OF MINISTER IN MADAGASCAR ILLUSTRATES CRISIS GETTING WORSE THERE ~ SYNOD DELEGATION MEETS WITH AMBASSADOR AT THE UN

With a renewed concern due to the killing of a pastor while on retreat with others last May, a small delegation from the Synod of the Northeast visited with Ambassador Rick Barton, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, on June 3, 2010. While we wanted to share that we thought the United States’ State Department had its heart in the right place in its support for the African Union’s plan to bring Malagasy political factions together in the restoration of constitutional processes, we were concerned that there not been much movement towards the desired return to constitutional democracy in the last fourteen months, and that in the time since, significant human rights violations were being committed by the de facto Rajoelina government, including what appears to be persecution of leaders of the FJKM, the Church of Jesus Christ in Madagascar. Help us beat the drum for the church there.

Ambassador Barton heard our concerns, but encouraged Christians with an interest to “increase the drum beat” for Madagascar so that the plight of the country would be known, with increased pressure being put on the defacto government.
Who might partner to raise the visibility of the country? Can you identify allies, outside the church, who, beyond matters of faith, would share a concern for what is being lost in Madagascar? What individuals and groups might we convince to join us out of a concern for human rights violations by the Malagasy army, including 1) the killing of a church leader, 2) the imprisonment of journalists, 3) pastors going into hiding for fear of their lives; 4) the ecological losses to a unique bio-diversity in the country whose resources are threatened because the government is too distracted and incompetent to deal with those more concerned with profit than with the stewardship of the country’s resources.

Who will raise a voice for the vulnerable? Can you join the chorus of voices? What environmental justice groups might you encourage to join in the outcry? Do you know journalists who would be interested in the fate of journalistic colleagues who have lost their freedom? How might the loss of constitutional democracy, through violence and its threat, impact the African continent, and in fact the world, in the next half century?

For a more complete description of the delegation’s visit with Ambassador Barton, click here.