The Greek Orthodox church of Cyprus has taken Turkey to the European court of human rights over allegedly preventing the 500 Greek Cypriots living in the Turkish north worshipping at religious sites there, a church lawyer said today. The lawsuit concerns 520 churches, monasteries, chapels and cemeteries under Turkish control since Turkey invaded Cyprus in 1974, said Simos Angelides. The north's Greek Cypriot community cannot worship at these sites because they are either derelict or have been converted into mosques, army barracks, stables or nightclubs, he added. The lawsuit will likely further stoke tensions between Turkish Cypriots and the church leader, Archbishop Chrysostomos II. It is unlikely, however, to damage ongoing reunification talks between the Greek Cyprus president, Dimitris Christofias, and Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet Ali Talat. Although critical of Christofias' handling of the talks, Chrysostomos has been careful not to interfere, saying the lawsuit is not linked to the peace process. The church is suing Turkey because the court's past rulings hold that country responsible for the north, where it keeps 35,000-strong military force, Chrysostomos told the Associated Press. The church has "documented proof" of the destruction of religious sites in the north, and will seek unrestricted access to its property there so the faithful can worship freely, he said. The archbishop added that the church was also seeking damages for being denied use of property that should be restored to its pre-invasion condition wherever possible. "It's obvious that the only reason why these aforementioned rights are being violated is because we are Greek Cypriot Orthodox Christians," Chrysostomos said.
Britain urged Turkey on Monday to honour a pledge to the European Union to open its ports and airports to neighbouring Cyprus, saying it would be an important step in Ankara's talks to join the bloc. Turkey has no diplomatic relations with Cyprus, an EU member since 2004, but is under pressure to make good a promise to open its ports to its southern neighbour under a deal which enabled it to start accession talks in 2005. "I urge the Turkish government to honour the commitments that it has already made. We would like to see the ports opened, we'd like to see them making that commitment again and seeing action rather than just words," said British Minister for Europe Chris Bryant. Cyprus was divided in a Turkish invasion in 1974 triggered by a brief Greek-inspired coup. The conflict has slowed Turkey's EU entry talks at the urging of Greek Cypriots, who represent the island in the 27-member bloc. "We don't want (Turkey's accession process) to stop, we don't want to slam the door shut. We think it is really important that the process towards EU accession of Turkey is maintained as a strong possibility," Bryant told reporters in Nicosia, Cyprus's ethnically partitioned capital. Although the peace talks and Turkey's EU membership negotiations are separate processes, a breakthrough on one is likely to have a positive impact on the other. Cyprus is a former British colony and Britain is a guarantor power of Cypriot sovereignty. Britain recently offered to relinquish up to half of the sovereign territory it retained in Cyprus, about three percent of its landmass now used partially for military purposes. The offer is contingent on a peace deal between the two Cypriot sides.
Madrid will not recognize the independence of Kosovo, Spain's Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has stated. Speaking before a European parliament commission about his country's priorities during its EU upcoming EU presidency, Moratinos explained that Kosovo still be allowed to attend the meetings concerning the Balkans, but "in accordance with accepted international frameworks and mechanisms". He also stated, according to the Spanish media, that the Spanish government would maintain contact with the authorities in Kosovo without recognizing its secession from Serbia. "We will not obstruct development and institutional and political stability in Kosovo, but do not ask us to explain why Spain did something that was in accordance with international law," Moratinos remarked. The minister did, however, allow for the possibility of Spain changing its view and recognizing Kosovo, "but only after the UN had done it or after Serbia had come to an agreement with the authorities in the breakaway province". He said that the decision by the International Court of Justice on the legality of Kosovo's independence declaration would be important to Spain, but that Madrid had no intention of opening a diplomatic office in Priština.
Greece, Albania and FYROM will hold an informal meeting on Friday in the Prespes Lakes region in northwestern Greece, at the initiative of Greek premier George Papandreou, to discuss prospects of cooperation in the protection and viable development of the Prespes national park region, which straddles the borders of all three countries. The initiative, according to Greek government spokesman George Petalotis, reflects the "high priority" placed by the government on environmental issues only days ahead of the UN international summit on climate change in Copenhagen. The Lakes Small and Large Prespes in the prefecture of Florina, in the northwest corner of the country, form a unique ecosystem and constitute a natural border between the three countries. The Lakes are home to the Mediterranean's most ancient species of trout, and also the short-horn pygmy cow, both of which are threatened with extinction. The Prespes are also among the 10 most important wetlands of the Mediterranean, while eight of the 11 fish species native to the lakes are endemic and not found anywhere else in the world. According to the UNESCO World Heritage Center, the area is characterized by outstanding natural beauty and has been inhabited without interruption from antiquity (with traces of ancient inhabitation in the area of "Lemos" and on the island of Agios Achilleos) to the present day. The Prespes region contains the highest degree of species biodiversity in a corresponding surface area in Europe. It is also that with the highest biodiversity levels. It begins at an altitude of 850m and contains oak, beech, deciduous, fir and cedar forests. More than 1500 plant species and 12 forest types can be encountered in the area in which 46 mammal species live, including some of the rarest in Europe such as the wolf, bear, wild ibex and otter. Moreover, the area is one of the most important biotopes in Greece with 260 species of birds. The grey goose (Anser anser) and the goosander (Mergus mersander), cranes (Ardeidae), cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) and pygmy cormorants (Phalacrocorax pygmeus) nest here, as well as quite a few species of duck, terns, birds of prey, woodpeckers, etc. It is the only area in Europe other than the Danube Delta and the former USSR where two species of pelican reproduce, the White pelican (Pelecanus onocratulus) and the Dalmatian pelican (Pelecanus crispus). The water meadows surrounding the lakes are home to significant amphibians and reptile populations.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will not attend an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) foreign ministers' meeting in early December in Athens, a Greek Foreign Ministry spokesman said. "Today the U.S. ambassador informed us that Secretary Clinton will not be able to attend the OSCE meeting," spokesman Gregory Delavekouras said Monday, without giving a reason. This will be the second time in a row that Clinton has missed a meeting of foreign ministers from the OSCE, a regional security organization that includes both the United States and Russia amongst its 56 member states. She canceled a trip to an OSCE meeting in Greece in June because of an arm injury. At that gathering, the West assessed Russia's pan-Europe security pact.
Iran can take legal action if Russia refuses to fulfill its commitments to deliver an advanced missile defense system to the Islamic Republic, a senior military official said on Tuesday. Iranian officials have voiced growing irritation at Russia's failure so far to supply the S-300 missile system, which Israel and the United States do not want Tehran to have. "The Russians, surely under the pressure of the Zionist lobby and America, refuse to fulfill their commitments," the official IRNA news agency quoted Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan Mansourian as saying. "And because this is an official agreement it can be pursued through international legal bodies," said Mansourian, who is deputy head of Iran's air defenses. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton praised Russia last month for not providing the S-300 to Iran. Like Israel, Washington has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the row over Iran's nuclear program. The West suspects Iran is seeking to build nuclear bombs. Tehran says it only seeks to generate electricity. The truck-mounted S-300PMU1, known in the West as the SA-20, can shoot down cruise missiles and aircraft. It can fire at targets up to 150 km (90 miles) away.
Only a few days after a religious extremist shot 13 people on an American Army base, another extremist shot and killed a priest at his church in Moscow. This was not the first priest who has been killed in Russia in recent years. In fact, in the last two decades, at least 26 Russian clergy have been killed and many others wounded in failed murder attempts. Of course, not all of these murders were motivated by religious beliefs; some were committed by criminals who did not believe in much of anything at all. Yet, many murderers claimed to have been acting in the name of Satan, Krishna, or Allah. The latest victim in a string of murders motivated by religion appears to have become Priest Daniil Sysoev, the rector of the Apostle Thomas church in Moscow. Father Daniil was known for saving human souls from the grips of various sects and destructive ideologies. He tirelessly worked to expose the lies by which totalitarian sects lure ignorant people into their assemblies, and led theological polemics with various other religions, including Islam. It appears that a theological arsenal was not enough for some of Father Daniil’s opponents, and they decided to resort to firearms. The investigation into the murder of Father Daniil has not been completed yet, but it is becoming increasingly clear to many that he was killed for his faith in Christ, his defense of the Church, and his preaching of the truth. And if we are to learn a lesson from Father Daniil’s death, it must be that not all religions are created equal. Enough self-deception and false tolerance! May those who continue to repeat that all faiths believe in the same God be ashamed and may their mouths be silenced before the casket of a 35-year-old priest who was killed by someone who believed in a very different god from that preached by Father Daniil. Here in the West and increasingly in Russia, we are told not to question beliefs, to tolerate difference, and to respect any kind of nonsense or crazy idea that anyone chooses to proclaim as their “theology.” I believe it is time people began to use their God-given brains to take a closer look at their faith, to carefully examine its history and foundations, to question its principles and learn from where those principles came, and to familiarize themselves with the lives and teaching of the founders and leaders of their religious bodies and assemblies. It is also time for us to examine our Orthodox faith—the faith for which Father Daniil gave his life. We believe that human life is sacred because it is a gift from God, and those who murder people in the name of their god, do not believe in the same God as we. We believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, true God of true God, and those who reject His divinity do not believe in the same God as we. We believe that Christ came to save all who will accept His Gospel, regardless of color, gender, or nationality; and those who believe that one nation is better than another, or that one language—be it Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, or Slavonic—is more pleasing to God than another, do not believe in the same God as we. We believe that Jesus Christ established His Church—the ark of our salvation—through His Apostles, and that this Church has persevered and has not been overcome by the gates of hell from the days of Christ’s earthly ministry even until this day. We believe that the Holy Spirit of God guides the Church in the teachings and lives of the saints, and gives it life in the Holy Eucharist—the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Saviour. We believe that salvation is in this Body, and those who do not believe this, do not believe in the same God as we. Let us not fool ourselves: there are many demons and many idols, and not everyone who worships something that is spiritual in nature necessarily worships the one and only true God. “Not everyone who says…, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of [the] Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 7:21). Let us be vigilant and discerning in spiritual matters—our salvation depends on this. Let us “not be led away by diverse and strange teachings” (Heb. 13:9), and let us warn others of their danger. And let us remember in our prayers those who lost their lives for their belief in the true God at the hands of those who worship a very different “deity.” Please remember in your holy prayers the murdered, newly-reposed Priest Daniil; may God give him a peaceful repose and strengthen other pastors who will continue the work in His vineyard. Remember also Father Daniil’s wife and his orphaned children, and pray for the all-merciful Saviour to give them comfort and strength as they deal with this terrible loss.