I. GREEKREPORTER - Turkish [Forces] Steal Christmas, Stop Holiday Liturgy [in occupied Cyprus]
Turkish forces in the occupied area of Karpasia in [n]orthern Cyprus have presented a new challenge regarding the celebration of Christmas by Christians living in the territory. For the first time in 36 years Christians trapped in the occupied area were forbidden from celebrating Christmas. On Christmas morning, Saturday 25 December 2010, Father Zacharias and a large number of people went to the Church of Saint Sinesios in Rizokarpaso (photo) to begin Matins for Christmas. Meanwhile men of the occupied forces rushed to the church, interrupted the service, urged the priest to remove his vestments, and ordered everyone leave the church. When everyone had left, the doors were sealed. The same happened in the Church of the Holy Trinity where Father Konstantinos was serving. Archbishop Chrysostomos of Cyprus was saddened by the provocative attitude of the occupied forces.
Israel has once again rejected a demand from Turkey that it apologize for its attack on a Turkish ship last May that killed nine people. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman told a gathering in Jerusalem on Sunday that it is Turkey which needs to apologize to Israel for "supporting terror." The ship, the Mavi Marmara, was sailing to the Gaza Strip with aid supplies when it was boarded by Israeli commandos. Israel said Turkey was breaking a Gaza blockade and that its troops opened fire in self-defense... On Saturday Turkey's foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu called on Israel to apologize for the attack and pay compensation in order for diplomatic relations to resume. Turkey responded to the attack on the ship by withdrawing its ambassador from Israel. Turkish and Israeli diplomats held "fence-mending talks" in Geneva earlier this month, but the talks failed to end the diplomatic standoff.
Huge gas fields discovered recently under the Mediterranean seabed have raised high hopes in Israel, a small, high-consumption country seeking alternative energy resources and a greater degree of independence from imports. In a different geopolitical reality, the discovery could benefit the whole region — if it was on speaking terms. Everyone wants to tap natural resources — but this one taps into standing regionalsquabbles. Israel and Lebanon, for example. The deposits extend into areas controlled by Lebanon, and it has accused Israel of moving in on its natural resources. Not so, says Israel, which maintains that the fields lie between its territory and Cyprus. Israel's minister of national infrastructures, Uzi Landau, even said Israel would "not hesitate to use force" to protect the fields and uphold international maritime law. Then there's the Lebanese militia, Hezbollah. Israeli officials have expressed concern that gas rigs off its northern coast would make an attractive target for rockets and terrorist attacks. Maritime borders are a fluid affair. There are several methods for calculating these in lieu of a direct bilateral agreement, which is not an option for Israel and Lebanon. Israel had neglected to sort this out with Cyprus, which "owns" the other end of the Mediterranean. Now the two countries have divvied up the roughly 200 nautical miles between them and the maritime border was demarcated in a recent agreement signed in Nicosia by Cypriot Foreign Minister Markos Kyprianou and Landau. Israeli diplomats say the agreement should secure Israel's economic interests in the Mediterranean. Cyprus says this doesn't conflict with a similar agreement signed with Lebanon, still awaiting ratification in parliament. Now Egypt is watching, to ensure the agreement doesn't infringe on Egyptian maritime territories and its interests. It too has signed a deal with Cyprus. Agreement in the region is a short blanket; cover one side, and someone else's feet stick out. Now Turkey is angry. Although Turkey has no claim to the area demarcated with Israel, the Turkish foreign ministry fiercely criticized the agreement saying it didn't consider "Turkish Cypriot" rights and jurisdiction over the maritime areas of the island. Turkey's 1974 takeover of northern Cyprus remains internationally contested, as Israeli commentators were pleased to point out when Turkish officials slammed the agreement. Turkey has gall to demand rights based on its occupation of northern Cyprus, Israeli diplomatic sources said.
IV. RIANOVOSTI - EU in "no rush" to scrap visa regime with Russia
A senior Russian senator said on Monday the European Union is showing no rush to lift visa requirements for Russia despite Moscow's readiness for the move. The Kremlin has made visa-free travel between Russia and the EU a foreign policy priority. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has repeatedly declared his country's readiness to scrap the visa regime with the EU. However, the European Union has been deadlocked over the thorny issue amid concerns that a visa-free regime could lead to a rise in crime and illegal immigration. Mikhail Margelov, who heads the upper house's international affairs committee, said Brussels cited the notorious corruption in Russia as a main obstacle for scrapping the visa regime. "We understand well that this is one of our priority tasks, but nothing can be done within 24 hours," the senator said. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has launched a wholesale reform to clean up corruption. However, he recently admitted that his crusade has so far yielded few practical results. Russia has slipped to the 154th place in Transparency International's 2010 Corruption Index, down 8 from last year. "Our partners in Europe do not understand the main thing. Abolishing visa requirements for Russia has a great importance for domestic policy. This is a blow to isolationists who still exist in Russian politics and want to separate us by an iron curtain from the rest of the world to build 'something special' in this country," Margelov said. "There are no special states. A state can be either a part of the world civilization or stay outboard. I want my country to become a normal European country. And we are making great efforts to indeed become part of Europe," he said.
V. UPI - Russia, France seal deal on Mistrals
After long and arduous negotiations, Russia has decided to buy at least two of France's Mistral-class helicopter carriers in an unprecedented military deal between the Kremlin and the West... The multimillion-dollar deal was announced by the Kremlin and the Elysee Palace in Paris. "It marks the first time in modern history that Russia has made such a major defense acquisition abroad, illuminating a fast-evolving relationship with former Cold War enemies," The Washington Post reported. That rapidly evolving relationship, the newspaper reported, was best illustrated at a NATO summit last month, when Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed to work with NATO on ways to cooperate with the U.S.-led alliance in setting up a missile defense system for Europe. Designed to attack the shore from the sea, the Mistral class is viewed as an ideal weapon for Russia against possible uprising by nearby countries. The price tag for each vessel is estimated at around $380 million and the building venture will be a 50-50 project. The Mistral amphibious assault ship can carry 16 heavy or 35 light helicopters, dozens of tanks, 450 personnel and up to 70 armored vehicles, including 13 battle tanks. Defense News reported that the first Mistral-class shipped is to be completed within 36 months once Russia makes an advance payment scheduled for January... Medvedev and French President Nicolas Sarkozy hail the realization of the unprecedented cooperation, which will benefit industry and employment in our two countries, and which illustrates the will and capacity in France and Russia to develop large-scale partnerships in all areas, including defense and security," the Elysee said. At its inception, the deal drew strong concern from NATO allies who were apprehensive of the transfer of Western naval technology to their former Cold War foe. The sale was also opposed by Georgia, "whose leaders said it would be interpreted as a benediction of Russia's role there during a brief war in the summer of 2008 and the stationing of Russian troops on territory still considered part of Georgia by NATO nations, including France," The Washington Post reported. Russia owns only one Soviet-built aircraft carrier, which is much smaller than its U.S. counterparts and is considered outdated. With its cutting edge technology, the Mistral is prided as the most powerful asset of the French fleet.
VI. B92 - Daily: Albanian PM trafficked arms
Sali Berisha, who is currently Albania's prime minister, was one of the chief arms smugglers during the war in Kosovo. This is according to a report in Belgrade's Politika newspaper this Monday. The daily writes that four ethnic Albanians from Kosovo mentioned Berisha in this context. Their testimonies are part of the Serbian War Crimes Prosecution's investigation into the human organs smuggling case. The case, filed as 33-08, cites statements that said the center for arms trafficking was in Berisha's house in the village of Prifc near Tropoja, in northern Albania. At the time, Berisha was an opposition politician and former Albanian president, during whose time in office military barracks in that country were robbed of weapons and ammunition, with several hundred thousand pieces gone missing. Most of those arms ended up in the hands of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army, writes Politika. The four witnesses are former members of the KLA arrested by Serbia's security forces during the war in the province. One of them is an ethnic Albanian from the area of the town of Đakovica, formerly a member of the KLA group led by Ramush Haradinaj, who said that it was on Haradinaj's orders that he illegally traveled to Albania in March of 1998 to buy weapons. Another witness, who came from Dečani, said that a group of ten members was organized to go shopping for arms in Albania after they received training under Haradinaj's supervision. The next witness is a Kosovo Albanian from Prizren who had spent many years working in Germany, to return to the province in 1998 in order to join the KLA. He said that in February of that year, he collected 5,800 German marks to buy arms. The last document that mentions Berisha is witness testimony from a Kosovo Albanian from the village of Glođane near Dečani who told investigators that he attended a meeting where Haradinaj told the locals that they must organize to travel to Albania in order to bring in weapons, and that organized attacks on police must start. The war in Kosovo started a year later, in the spring of 1999, and a recent report said that the KLA kidnapped Serbs and other civilians during that year and 2000, imprisoned them and had their organs removed in northern Albania, to sell the prisoners' body parts in the black market.
The newly-elected Bishop of Raska and Prizren Teodosije was enthroned in the reconstructed St George's cathedral church in the southern Kosovo city of Prizren, the seat of Diocese of Raska-Prizren and Kosovo-Metohija, on Sunday. The Divine Liturgy was served by Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC) Irinej. Addressing Bishop Teodosije and congregation, the patriarch spoke about the suffering experienced by Prizren, the SPC and Serbs in Kosovo-Metohija. “This is a great day, the day of the enthronement of a bishop who should help the SPC pursue its history and existence in Kosovo-Metohija, and instill people with a new hope,” Patriarch Irinej said. He pointed out that the Church has chosen a man in whom it has complete confidence and whom it believes will be able to live up to the tasks of the difficult and dreadful time the Kosovo Serbs live in. Bishop of Raska-Prizren Teodosije, who had previously served as the head of the Visoki Decani Monastery, noted that the 19 years he has spent in Kosovo have been his best school of life. The enthronement ceremony was attended by representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church and monks from Mount Athos, representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, a number of monks and nuns and around 1.500 believers, mostly from Kosovo-Metohija. The enthronement of Bishop Teodosije and the reception hosted in the new Diocese building in Prizren were also attended by Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic, president's envoy Mladjan Djordjevic, Minister for Kosovo-Metohija Goran Bogdanovic and Minister of Religions Bogoljub Sijakovic. The ceremony was also attended by representatives of the Muslim community in Kosovo, the Roman Catholic and the Evangelist Church, as well as representatives of KFOR, UNMIK, EULEX and European offices in Pristina, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.