I. FINANCIALMIRROR - Return of Varosha a key element of Cyprus solution
The European Commission believes that the return of the fenced off town of Varosha to its lawful inhabitants will be one of the key elements for the achievement of a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem. A Commission's press release notes that “it is clear that the return of the city of Varosha to its lawful inhabitants is due to be one of the key elements of a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus problem”, adding that it “fully supports efforts to resolve the Cyprus problem”. It also clarifies that ''it fully supports and is ready to assist in any effort to solve the problem that could be agreed between the two leaders of the two communities(in the context of the ongoing negotiations under the auspices of the United Nations) and is agreeable to the principles of the European Union, including the issue of Famagusta / Varosha”. The Commission issued the press release to express its regret for the "misinterpretation of a response given to a Cypriot journalist's question", adding that "our response was not referring to the proposal of President of the Republic of Cyprus". The Cypriot President has announced three proposals on the Cyprus issue. One of them urges Turkey to implement UN Security Council resolution 550, which calls for the transfer of the fenced off area of Varosha (on the east), in Famagusta, now under Turkish occupation, to the administration of the United Nations. Part of this proposal is the opening of the port of Famagusta under EU auspices to benefit the Turkish Cypriots. UN Security Council resolution 550 (1984) considers any attempts to settle any part of Varosha (the fenced off area of Famagusta) by people other than its inhabitants as inadmissible and calls for the transfer of this area to the administration of the UN. The UN - led Cyprus talks resumed in September 2008 between President Christofias and former Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat. Talks continue now with Eroglu, who succeeded Talat in April this year.
II. RADIOSRBIJA - Amnesty warns the EU about return of Roma to Kosovo
Amnesty International has asked of the EU to terminate the forced return of Roma and other minority members to Kosovo. The report reads that the Kosovo authorities have not managed to provide Roma with documents and guarantee them rights to education, health care, employment and housing. Ever since the unilateral proclamation of independence of Kosovo several thousand Roma have been returned there and it is likely that at least half of them will leave Kosovo again, BBC quotes Amnesty, adding that a similar fate awaits thousands of Roma. Amnesty warned EU member-states that they risked breaking the international law by returning people into regions where they are threatened with persecution and that, instead, they should continue giving international protection to Roma and other minorities until it has become safe for them to retun to Kosovo.
Journalists currently in jail in Turkey must be set free immediately, says the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) if the movement towards key changes in the country's constitution is to deliver promises of democracy and freedom. The EFJ has joined its affiliate, the Turkish Journalists Union (TGS), in a call for the immediate and unconditional release of more than 40 journalists jailed in Turkey who they say are in prison for nothing more than doing their job. They made the call after a majority of Turkish citizens voted "Yes" to amending the country's constitution in a referendum earlier this month. "We demand the immediate release of all journalists whose continued detention has only served to show the country's intolerance of real democratic debate," said Arne König, EFJ President, "The vote for changes on September 12 would open the possibility of genuine change and modernization. It is prime time for the Government to show leadership and to end the climate of fear and intimidation which still surrounds the work of Turkish journalists." The Turkish journalists currently in prison are awaiting trial on charges of violating the Turkish penal code or anti-terror laws through their work as journalists. In addition, over 700 Turkish journalists are facing law suits, with the threat of imprisonment. "These journalists are guilty only of doing their job honestly and professionally," said König. "It is unconscionable to be locked up for carrying out their normal journalistic duties." The frustration of European journalists is shared by journalists' leaders inside the country. The TGS has already joined forces with 18 other journalists' organisations to establish the Freedom for Journalists Platform to monitor issues concerning the freedom of journalists on 25 August. A council of law will be set up to review judicial cases concerning press freedom in Turkey. The EFJ calls on its member unions and civil society groups to join the campaign to free jailed Turkish journalists. Please open click this link to sign and send the e-card to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Mr Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Palestinian Authority negotiator Nabil Sha'ath said on Tuesday that the Palestinians are giving the US and Israel four or five days to a week to find a solution to the issue of the West Bank settlement freeze. Sha'ath said that there will not be talks between Israel and the Palestinians until building is frozen in the West Bank. "Maybe the Israelis will examine their stance on the issue and understand the whole world opposes the continuation of building in the settlements," Sha'th continued. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas told radio station Europe 1 that he will stop talks if the settlement freeze is not reinstated, AFP reported on Tuesday. "We don't want to stop the talks, but if the building continues, we will have to put a stop to them," Abbas said. "[Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu must know that peace is more important than settlements... We ask for a moratorium during negotiations, because as long as there are negotiations, there is hope," he reportedly told the radio station in Arabic.
V. RIANOVOSTI - NATO discussing its new strategic concept
NATO Council envoys have begun to discuss a new strategic concept for the military alliance, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said on Tuesday. The so-called group of wise men, headed by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, released on May 17 a 46-page report with their recommendations for NATO's strategic goals for the next decade. The 2010 Strategic Concept will replace the 1999 concept. The report, titled "NATO 2020: Assured Security: Dynamic Engagement", recommends that NATO engage dynamically with countries and organizations that are outside the Euro-Atlantic region. There is also a proposal to incorporate NATO forces into the larger UN military structure, allowing NATO to conduct operations all over the world, possibly in partnership with other countries (Russia, China). The new concept is expected to be approved at the alliance's summit in Lisbon in November.
A government official in Greece says authorities are inspecting a cargo ship suspected of carrying weapon parts from North Korea to Syria. The official says inspectors on Tuesday searched freight containers looking for possible "dual use" materials that would violate a United Nations arms embargo on North Korea. The official gave no other details and asked not to be named, pending a formal announcement on the results of the inspection. Greek state-run media says the inspection is taking place at the country's main port of Piraeus, near Athens.
VII. INTERFAX - No breakthrough accomplished in Orthodox-Catholic dialogue
The Moscow Patriarchate has denied media reports claiming that a breakthrough has been accomplished in the Orthodox-Catholic dialogue at a meeting of the Joint International Commission for Theological Dialogue in Vienna last week. "Contrary to media reports, no 'breakthroughs' were accomplished. The entire meeting was devoted to the role of the Bishop of Rome in the first millennium. The Coordinating Committee had drafted a report, which was discussed in Cyprus last year. The raw copy of this document was leaked to the media and was published," Metropolitan Hilarion, the head of the Department of External Church Relations, said in a statement. "It was thought that the discussion of this document would be finished in Vienna, he said. "But this did not happen and much time was spent on a discussion of the status of this text. The Orthodox participants had been arguing from the start that the 'Cretan document' (updated later in Cyprus - IF) cannot be officially published on behalf of the commission, or signed by its members. In our opinion, this document is in need of thorough editing. But even after editing, it may only have the status of a 'working' document. i.e., the status of 'instrument laboris' which can be used to prepare subsequent documents. But by itself it cannot have any official status," he said. Metropolitan Hilarion said that the document drafted in Crete is of "purely historical character," which, while elaborating on the role of the Bishop of Rome, almost does not mention bishops of other local churches in the first millennium, which creates a wrong understanding of how powers were distributed in the ancient Church, he said. In addition to this, the document carries no clear assertion that the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome in the first millennium did not extend to the East. Metropolitan Hilarion said that these blank spaces would hopefully be filled in the edited text. Following a long-lasting discussion, the commission agreed that the draft needs to be edited and that the decision on its final status will be announced at the next plenary meeting, in about two years. A new document, which will look at the same problem from a theologian point of view, is expected to be drafted by the same time. It is clear for the Orthodox participants that the jurisdiction of the Pope of Rome only extended to the West in the first millennium, Metropolitan Hilarion said. In the East, the territories were divided between the four Patriarchates of Constantinople, Alexandria, Antiochia and Jerusalem. The Bishop of Rome "had no direct jurisdiction over the East," even though in individual instances Eastern hierarchs would turn to him as an arbiter in theologian disputes, he said. "These instances were not systematic and cannot in any way suggest that the Bishop of Rome was seen in the East as the possessor of supreme authority over the Universal Church," the Metropolitan said. The Catholic side will hopefully accept this position at subsequent sessions - a position which is being confirmed by numerous historical evidence.