I. EUOBSERVER - Greece blasts EU "hypocrisy" for opposing Turkey wall plans
Athens on Sunday (9 January) has slammed the "hypocrisy" of unspecified EU member states criticising its plans to erect a wall at the border with Turkey, while at the same time denouncing its incapacity to stem irregular migration. "It is hypocrisy when some who denounce Greece for failing to guard its borders under the Schengen Treaty also criticise us... for seeking to strengthen the watch on our borders," Christos Papoustis, the minister for citizen protection told the Real News daily. The European Commission last week said: "walls and barriers are short-term measures" that cannot solve immigration problems in a long-term manner. The UN's refugee agency, which has constantly slammed Greece for its poor detention conditions for irregular migrants, also warned against the plans. Speaking in parliament on Friday, the minister defended his government's plans to build a US-style fence on its land border with Turkey. "Greece cannot handle more illegal migrants on its territory and is determined to take all necessary measures to protect the borders, including the construction of the fence along a stretch of its land border with Turkey in Evros prefecture. At the same time, the goal set is that no illegal migrant will be left in the country," he said... Meanwhile, Turkey has raised no objections to the plan, despite the negative image the EU may project erecting a wall on the border of a candidate country. "To call this a wall would be wrong. It is only a barrier. We discussed the issue and we have full confidence in each other," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after meeting his Greek counterpart on Friday. Mr Erdogan said he was impressed to learn that Greece currently hosted about one million irregular immigrants, most of whom reached the country through Turkey. "The figures are very, very high and they influenced my opinion," he said. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, for his part, stressed that the barrier plan did not target Turkish citizens.
II. KATHIMERINI - Cyprus president seeks momentum
Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias yesterday sought to capitalize on the pledges for rapprochement made by Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and the latter’s Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the weekend to push forward flagging peace talks on the island. Apparently inspired by an exchange of messages of peace and friendship between Erdogan and Papandreou, who both called for movement on Cyprus negotiations in their talks over the weekend, Christofias appealed to both communities on the divided island. “I just want to give out a message of love and reconciliation, a message of friendship to the Greek Cypriots and to our Turkish-Cypriot compatriots,” he said. Christofias added that he was prepared to do everything “to reunify Cyprus on the basis of certain principles, to bring an end to the occupation [of the Turkish-held north of the island] and for us to all return to our homes.” The last point is a reference to islanders driven from their villages following Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus in 1974. Christofias’s comments came a day after those of Papandreou during a visit to the eastern Turkish city of Erzurum. Addressing an audience of diplomats in a joint press conference with Erdogan, Papandreou remarked, “You cannot become a member of the European Union as long as the occupation of Cyprus continues.” Christofias is tomorrow expected to meet in Nicosia with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the first German head of government to visit the Cyprus capital. Christofias, whose talks with Turkish-Cypriot leader Dervis Eroglu have produced little progress, heralded the visit as “of great weight and huge significance” for the latest United Nations-mediated peace initiative.
III. B92 - Croat officials react to war crimes list
Croatian Justice Minister Dražen Bošnjaković said that he had a phone conversation with his Serbian Justice Minister Snežana Malović. It came in order to determine if there is another list of Croatian war veterans wanted for war crimes, in addition to the one Serbia handed over earlier... "We have no list other than the one we have been given," Bošnjaković said on Croatian state television Sunday night, reiterating that the list is made up of 40 names. Reacting to the list of 340 people allegedly wanted for war crimes by Serbia, which was published on Politika.com, the minister said he does not know how the names got on the list and where it came from... Bošnjaković said that Croatian veteran Tihomir Purda, who was arrested last Wednesday, was not on the list of 40 indictees, and that his arrest came as a surprise to Croatia. The Bosnia-Herzegovina police arrested Purda at the border crossing with Croatia, on an Interpol warrant issued by the Serbian Interior Ministry. He is wanted for war crimes against civilians in 1991 in the eastern Croatian city of Vukovar.
IV. EMG - Witnesses are being murdered in Kosovo
After the Swiss Council of Europe (CoE) Special Rapporteur Dick Marty’s report that revealed several horrifying facts on organ trafficking in Kosovo, the Monaco CoE Rapporteur Jean Charles Gardetto assessed in his report the situation in Kosovo as alarming, underscoring killings of witnesses and insecurity. Gardetto stated there is no adequate witness protection in Kosovo and that those who decide to come forward risk much, even their lives. The report is to be debated by the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly in Strasburg on January 26, 2011, only a day after Marty’s report. In his report entitled "The protection of witnesses as a cornerstone for justice and reconciliation in the Balkans" claimed that local newspapers have frequently revealed the identities of protected witnesses, and that “witnesses are seen as traitors by the community where they testify. This discourages witnesses to come forth with their testimonies. Furthermore, many people don’t believe they have a moral and legal duty to testify over criminal issues," he said in the report. Monaco CoE also underscored that without international community, no witness could be protected in Kosovo and that Kosovo police do not have enough capacities.
V. RIANOVOSTI - Spain's Basque separatists [ETA] declare "permanent" ceasefire
Spain's Basque separatist group ETA declared on Monday a permanent ceasefire, Basque regional newspaper Gara has said. "ETA has decided to declare a permanent and general ceasefire which will be verifiable by the international community," the group said in its statement. The Basque nationalist group said the move signals its "firm commitment toward a process to achieve a lasting resolution and toward an end to the armed confrontation." In the statement, ETA calls on Spain to "end all repressive measures" and vows to continue "struggle and efforts to promote and bring to a conclusion the democratic process." ETA, founded in 1959, is recognized as a terrorist organization by the European Union and the United States. The group is known to have killed over 850 people in the past 50 years while fighting for an independent Basque state. ETA has broken several ceasefires in the past, most recently in 2006 with a deadly bomb attack at the Madrid Barajas international airport. The latest statement is a confirmation to the ceasefire announced by the group in September 2010, in which it said it wished to use "peaceful, democratic means" to achieve its aims but failed to specify whether it was permanent.
D.C. residents hold the title of the nation's most well-read, but an annual study finds some worrisome trends. The Central Connecticut State University study looks at the literacy of 75 major cities in 2010. It focuses on six key indicators of literacy. They are newspaper circulation, number of bookstores, library resources, periodical publishing resources, educational attainment and Internet resources. The study looks at whether people actually do read, not whether they are able to read. Most Literate Cities: 1) D.C. 2) Seattle 3) Minneapolis 4) Atlanta 5) Pittsburgh 6) San Francisco 7) St. Paul 8) Denver. The study finds people are reading more things that have less depth. Researchers find that declines in newspaper circulation and book-buying, as well as little growth in educational attainment, are not being offset by people consistently going to the library and by more Internet usage. In 2009, Washington ranked No. 2 behind Seattle. In 2008, D.C. was No. 3.
VII. USCIRF - U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom Faults Turkish Cypriot Authorities for Closing Church on Christmas
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) today expressed concern that Greek Orthodox Christians were refused the right to celebrate a Christmas Liturgy service in the village of Rizokarpaso, in the area of the Republic of Cyprus under the control of Turkish troops and administered by Turkish Cypriot authorities. Turkish Cypriot police entered the Church of Saint Sinesios and demanded that worship activities cease because the local Turkish Cypriot authorities had not granted the congregation permission for the service. “It is wrong and a symbol of religious intolerance and repressive policies of the Turkish Cypriot authorities supported by Turkey’s occupation troops to require such a small church community to seek permission to hold Christmas Liturgy,” said Commission Chair Leonard Leo. “Requiring such permission is simply a bureaucratic ploy that violates the universally protected right to freedom of religion and belief. The Greek Orthodox population has declined steadily in the area of Cyprus under the control of the local Turkish Cypriot authorities and Turkey’s occupation troops. The Turkish Cypriot authorities’ suggestion that such a small religious community would require advanced crowd control planning is not credible. We urge the U.S. government to press Turkish Cypriot authorities to remove any hurdles imposed on Greek Orthodox Christians that prevent them from freely practicing their faith.” In 1960, the Greek Orthodox population in Rizokarpaso was estimated at 3,000 and was part of approximately 180,000 Greek Orthodox living in the northern part of Cyprus. Today, there are approximately 350 Greek Orthodox adherents enclaved in Rizokarpasso. According to State Department reports, the church was one of seven religious sites in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots where religious services could be performed on a regular basis without receiving advanced permission. The denial of the Christmas service runs counter to those claims. USCIRF is an independent, bipartisan U.S. federal government commission. USCIRF Commissioners are appointed by the President and the leadership of both political parties in the Senate and the House of Representatives. USCIRF’s principal responsibilities are to review the facts and circumstances of violations of religious freedom internationally and to make policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State, and Congress.