I. WSJ - Organ Trafficking Charge Hits Kosovo
A human-rights investigator for the Council of Europe is calling for an international probe into allegations that former Kosovo guerrilla fighters killed some prisoners in order to sell their internal organs on the black market as chaos engulfed the southern Balkans in 1999. There is "compelling evidence" that Kosovo Liberation Army [KLA] members held captives at detention centers in neighboring Albania before singling out "a small, select group" for execution so that their kidneys could be sold, according to a draft report for the council's legislature. The current Kosovo government, which includes former guerrilla leaders, denied the allegations. Bajram Rexhepi, Kosovo's Interior Minister, said the accusations were "unrealistic and stupid." A spokeswoman for Albania's prime minister declined to comment. "These allegations should not be left unanswered. They have to be either confirmed or refuted through proper criminal investigation," Thorbjorn Jagland, secretary general of the 47-nation Council of Europe, said Wednesday. The draft report, which expands on allegations made by former war-crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte, of Switzerland, in a book published in 2008, was prepared by Swiss prosecutor-turned-politician Dick Marty, who also investigated for the council the existence of secret prisons in Europe run by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. Mr. Marty's findings—which are to be discussed Thursday by the human-rights committee of the council's Parliamentary Assembly—could cause trouble for the leadership in Kosovo, a newly independent country that is preparing for negotiations next year aimed at improving relations with its former political master, Serbia. Mr. Marty alleges a wider range of misdeeds, including detainee abuse and score-settling among Kosovo's various Albanian factions. He also says alleged victims include ethnic Albanians and ethnic Serbs. In his report, Mr. Marty alleges that some Kosovo politicians, including prime minister, Hashim Thaci, whose Democratic Party of Kosovo finished first in parliamentary elections Sunday, have links to organized crime. Kosovo's government dismissed that allegation as "slanderous." Renewed international attention to the organ-trafficking allegations "could damage Kosovo's image among international stakeholders," said a diplomat based in Kosovo's capital, Pristina, who added that the "timing is worth noting," coming just days after Mr. Thaci's election victory. Serbian politicians in Belgrade could decide to use the allegations in the report as a reason not to engage in talks with Pristina. Serbia agreed to take part in talks under pressure from the European Union. Serbia's foreign minister, Vuk Jeremic cited Mr. Marty's report during a visit to Moscow Wednesday and said he has "no kind of plans to meet" Mr. Thaci. Kosovo's interim president, Jakup Krasniqi, said in a statement Wednesday that the council report "is clearly biased" and "represents the efforts of certain circles to compare the just and heroic struggle of the people of Kosovo … with the massacres of the Serbian regime of" Slobodan Milosevic. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization [NATO] launched an air war against Serbia in 1999 in an effort to stop reprisals and ethnic cleansing against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo. Kosovo, whose population is more than 90% Albanian, declared its independence from Serbia in 2008 after failed talks aimed at reaching a political settlement between the two sides. Mr. Marty's draft report is critical of the U.S. and other international backers of Kosovo and its government, saying that they have ignored alleged crimes and other abuses by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian politicians in the interest of maintaining stability and creating a functioning state. International organizations in Kosovo have "favored a pragmatic political approach, taking the view that they needed to promote short-term stability at any price," Mr. Marty wrote. But, he said: "There cannot and must not be one justice for the winners and another for the losers." To read more about the KLA and Hashim Thaci on wikipedia, click here and here.
II. BLOOMBERG - Cyprus, Israel Agree on Offshore Territory Boundaries
Cyprus and Israel have agreed to a common boundary for their offshore territories, the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou and Israel’s Minister of National Infrastructure Uzi Landau signed the agreement in Nicosia today, the ministry said in a statement. The demarcation marks “an important step” for bilateral exploitation of oil and gas deposits in the eastern Mediterranean and will spur cooperation in a “tumultuous region,” Christos Iakovou, director of the Nicosia-based think tank Cyprus Research Centre said by phone today. Cyprus, which is close to announcing a second round of oil and gas exploration, has already ratified an offshore boundary agreement with Egypt. An agreement with Lebanon is awaiting ratification.
III. HERALDSUN - Macedonia and Greece in [identity, language] row
[FYR] Macedonia and Greece are embroiled in a dispute about the former's name. Although Macedonia is willing to compromise with Greece in a dispute about its name it has said it would not accept any solution that affected Macedonian identity and language, President Gjorge Ivanov said on Tuesday. Greece has a northern province called Macedonia and claims the use of the name by the country implies Skopje has a claim on the Greek territory. "It is not acceptable to discuss a solution that touches upon Macedonian identity, Macedonian language and the Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia," Ivanov warned. "As long as I am president of the republic of Macedonia, I will not allow this to happen," he added in his annual address to parliament. Macedonian media have reported that Athens insists not only that the republic change its name but also objects to its language being called Macedonian and its inhabitants being identified as Macedonians. Macedonia, independent since 1991, was recognized by the United Nations in 1993 under the name Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). UN-led negotiations on the name row have been fruitless and Greece has used it to block Macedonia's entry into both the European Union and NATO. Ivanov said Macedonia was ready to overcome its differences with Greece. "We stand ready to bridge the differences in a European manner. We are citizens of a European country and we require Greece, being a member of the European Union, to use a European approach towards us," Ivanov said. More than 120 nations, including Russia and the United States, have recognized the landlocked Balkan country under its constitutional name Republic of Macedonia.
IV. RIANOVOSTI - North Korea warns South over "madcap" drills
North Korea warned South Korea on Friday over plans to hold live-fire drills on Yeonpyeong Island, saying its response would be "deadlier" than shelling in November that killed four people. South Korea said on Thursday that it would hold what North Korea has dubbed "madcap naval firing exercises" between December 18-21. North Korea said its response to its drills would be more serious than the November 23 shelling of the island "in terms of the powerfulness and sphere of the strike." The message was sent to South Korean military officials earlier on Friday. Pyongyang does not recognize the sea border between the countries, drawn up by the United States at the end of the 1950s Korean War. The drills will be observed by officials from the Military Armistice Commission of the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) to ensure that it is carried out in accordance with the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War, the JCS spokesman said. Some 20 U.S. soldiers will also take part in the exercises by providing medical and communications support, he said. Residents on Yeonpyeong will be advised to leave the island before the drill starts, and those who want to stay will be taken to shelters, the spokesman told Yonhap. South Korean officials have warned the North it will retaliate harshly if Pyongyang attacks the South's territory again.
Russia praises the statements made by the presidents of Abkhazia and South Ossetia that the Caucasian republics are ready to assume commitments on the non-use of force against Georgia, a diplomatic source in the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday. “We welcome the position taken by Abkhazian and South Ossetian partners. We believe that it gives an opportunity to settle the vital problem discussed at the Geneva consultations on stability and security in the Transcaucasia – to fix in the full legal form the regime of non-use of force between Tbilisi and Tskhinval, Tbilisi and Sukhum,” the diplomatic source said. On Monday, Sergei Bagapsh and Eduard Kokoity have made official statements that they will not use the force or a threat of force against Georgia under the international law. These commitments were assumed in the wake of the recent statement of Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili in the European Parliament, where he stated that he will never use the force “to restore the territorial integrity and sovereignty.”
VI. WASHINGTONPOST - Report warns EU losing influence in U.S.
A European Union report warns that the United States is increasingly looking to partners in other parts of the world because Europe is no longer its main strategic priority. In her first report to EU leaders, foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton says that to achieve its objectives with Washington, Europe needs to show unity because the U.S. "will continue to want a strong and capable EU." Ashton says the U.S. needs help in achieving its global objectives, and it expects the EU to "manage its own neighborhood." The foreign policy report comes after repeated warnings that EU influence is waning. Earlier this year, U.S. President Barack Obama canceled a meeting with top EU officials - brief talks were instead held last month on the sidelines of a NATO summit.
VII. PRAVMIR - The Orthodox Church of Finland
The “Scandinavian countries[1],” are usually thought of as being Lutheran, and this holds true when speaking of the nation of Finland, which has just over 80%[2] of its inhabitants professing the Lutheran faith. It usually comes as no surprise that Lutheranism is an official state religion. What often does come as a surprise however is the fact that Finland has a second state religion. Orthodox Christianity is also an official religion of Finland, although The Finnish Orthodox Church claims just over 1% of the population, around 60,000 adherents. How did this relationship between Orthodoxy and Finland come to be? Christianity came to Finland in the 13th century, both from the Roman Catholic West (Sweden) and the Orthodox East (Novgorod), although recent archaeological evidence has pointed to the earliest Christian influence coming from the East[3]. The Orthodox mission was centered chiefly in the region known as “Karelia,” a strip of land that extends from the White Sea Coast to the Gulf of Finland. The Orthodox influence resulted in the establishment of two monasteries, Valamo (or Valaam in Russian) and Konetvitsa, both on different islands in the large Lake Laatokka (Ladoga in Russian). Valamo was traditionally thought to be founded in 992, although modern research has made the window of late 12th to late 13th cent more likely. It was founded by Saints Sergius and Herman. Sergius is said to be an Athonite monk, who brought hesychastic style of spirituality and monasticism to North Western Europe. Less is known about Herman, who was either a contemporary and partner, or a spiritual heir. He preached the Gospel throughout Karelia and was either a Greek, or of Karelian descent himself.[4] What is known, is that Valamo became an important center for both spirituality and mission; sending missionaries to such faraway places as Alaska. Konetvitsa Monastery, founded on the island bearing the same name, was begun by St. Arseny, who was a Russian Monk, but who had spent at least some time on Mount Athos, bringing the Hesychast tradition from there to Karelia. Like Valamo, it too became a place of spiritual pilgrimage. There was also mission work in the far north among the Skolt Sami (sometimes referred to as “Laplanders”) by St. Trifon in the 16th century. Between 1533 and his death in 583 he established the Monastery of Petsamo, and planted the Orthodox faith in the region. The monasteries, particularly Valamo would become very important in the history of the Orthodox Church in Finland. But the next centuries were not to prove to be peaceful. Caught between the two powers of Roman Catholic Sweden and Orthodox Russia, Finland would become the battleground of East and West, Orthodoxy and Catholicism. There were two crusades out of Sweden into Finland in 1239 and 1293, which resulted in most of Finland converting to Roman Catholicism. The middle of the 13th century would prove to be important, as Western expansion was halted and Russia would have dominion in Karelia for years to come. But by 1400 there were seven well organized parishes in Karelia.[5] The first bishop was appointed for Karelia in 1595, but did not make that big of an impact at first as the bishops would dwell in Novgorod, thereby stunting their ability to lead. It wouldn’t be till the beginning of the 20th century that the Karelian church would be governed by a local bishop; the new see of Viborg.[6] In the 17th century the situation changed, as Sweden, which had recently dropped their Catholicism in favor of Lutheranism, occupied Finland and attempted to drive Orthodoxy out of Karelia. The Swedes burned Valamo and Konevitsu to the ground, and any monks (or peasants) who did not flee, were killed. The Swedes inacted restrictions, that did not allow them to receive priests from Russia, and the people were forced to learn Lutheran theology. About two thirds of the Karelian population escaped these persecutions by fleeing to Russia. Those who were left survived much persecution and pressure, but as time went on, the Swedes became more and more tolerant. Most of Karelia was captured by Russia under Peter the Great in the 18th century, and by 1809 the entirety of Finland, which was organized as a Russian Grand Duchy. This not only gave the Orthodox Church freedom, but reestablished ties with the mother church in Novgorod. Valamo was reestablished in 1719, and a new church consecrated. Konetvitsu experienced the same rebirth. The Czars themselves paid for much of the rebuilding of the burned out parishes. During the 19th century the Orthodox population of Finland grew to ten times its size. But there was more struggle to come. By the end of the 19th century, there was a great struggle in Karelia and Finland to nationalize the Church. They began to celebrate the Liturgy in Finnish and translated not only liturgical texts, but spiritual works into the Finnish language. In 1892 a separate administration for the Finnish church was set up under the diocese of St. Petersburg, which very shortly became the Orthodox diocese of Finland. After the Russian revolution of 1917, The Finnish state declared independence; thus the Finnish Church effectively became autonomous and officially so declared by Patriarch St. Tikhon in 1921. In 1923 the Orthodox synod of Finland petitioned to be taken under the protection of the Ecumenical Patriarch, which was granted making it an autonomous archbishopric under the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Throughout the history of Finland, most of its Orthodox Christians were located in Karelia. But during WWII and after, many Karelian residents fled deeper into Finland as Karelia became a battleground, and then most of its territory was conceded to the Soviet Union. Valamo, once counting over 1,000 monks in its brotherhood, was abandoned as all of Lake Laatokka came under Soviet control, and an estate near Heinävesi was established as “New Valamo.” Eventually the monks were joined by monastics from Konetvitsa and Petsamo. New Valamo along with its sister Convent of Lintula, which is located nearby, have become important institutions in the modern Church in Finland. Because of the migration, Orthodox churches sprung up all over Finland, resulting in the Church being divided into two dioceses in the 1950s. The Church of Finland experienced a decline in members and attendance after the War, but in recent years has experienced much of resurgence, as modern Finns search for something lasting and meaningful, as Finnish society deals with life in the modern consumerist age. The diocese of Oulo was added in the late 1970’s to the two existing dioceses: Kuopio in the Finnish Orthodox heartland of Karelia, and the Capital district of Helsinki. The Finnish Church was very optimistic that it would receive autocephaly when the book Orthodoxy in Finland: Past and Present came out in 2nd edition in 1982. Unfortunately they are still waiting for it. Currently the Church is headed by Archbishop Leo the bishop of Karelia and all Finland, He is assisted by an auxiliary, Bishop Arseni of Joensuu. Metropolitan Ambrosios of the Diocese of Helsinki and Metropolitan Panteliemon of the Diocese of Oulu sit on the Holy Synod with Archbishop Leo. They are assisted in governing the Church by a body known as the “central synod” or “Church Assembly,” which includes not only the bishops, but 11 rectors, three cantors and 18 laymen and women. The Orthodox Church, by virtue of its being a “state church,” can levy taxes on those who live in a particular parish and identify themselves as “Orthodox.” The Finnish Orthodox Church not only celebrates its “fixed feasts” on the Gregorian (or “new calendar”) as many Western countries do, it is unique among Orthodox churches in the world by the fact that it celebrates all the moveable feasts according to the Western Paschalion. For 70 years the Church of Finland had a full-fledged seminary (1918-1988), but since 1988 those preparing to serve the Church have been largely trained at the University of Joensuu, which has a department of Orthodox theology. The seminary that is attached to the Archbishops chancery in Kuopio, does provide the liturgical training and spiritual direction, under the guidance of the archbishop. Along with the seminary, there is a Finnish Orthodox Church Museum attached to the Church’s headquarters there in Kuopio. Finnish Orthodoxy is a gold mine waiting to be explored. There is unfortunately a dearth of reading material in English on the subject. The best book on the subject, Orthodoxy in Finland: Past and Present, a collection of essays edited by Viekko Purmonen, is outdated, its most recent edition being 1984. Among the many topics that could be explored: the Orthodoxy of the Skolt Sami people whose Orthodoxy dates to the early 16th century, the ramifications of Orthodoxy in Finland being a “state church,” the synergy of the Orthodox faith lived out within the unique culture of the Finns. The Finnish Orthodox Church has faced a lot in its history. At present it is an “official state church;” it’s a pretty independent autonomous church in the patriarchate of Constantinople; they have a monastery with a rich heritage; they are not subject to “cross jurisdictions” (two little Moscow Patriarchate churches in Helsinki don’t count.) Perhaps it is time for autocephaly.