There is a political storm raging in Turkey over the release of the leaders of a radical islamic Kurdish group from prison. Called Hizbullah, the group is blamed for the torture and killing more than 100 people in its battle with the Kurdish separatist organization the PKK. When the leading members of Hizbullah were sprung from jail in early January, their release caused shock around Turkey. "They killed so many people, seen as sympathetic of PKK, especially lawyers, teachers, some civil societies people," said journalist Rusen Cakir, an expert on the group. "And in the beginning of 2000 security forces discovered so many people killed by people by Hizbullah after having being tortured by Hizbullah. So it maybe most terrifying political organization of Turkish republic." Hizbullah, unrelated to the Lebanese Hezbollah, is believed by many to be responsible for the deaths of hundreds of people during the mid-1990s, the worst years of the conflict between the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, and Turkish government forces. Hizbullah came to prominence in the late 1980s in southeastern Turkey. Some experts say its aim is to destroy the secular order and spread “true Islam” throughout the country, by force if necessary. However, strong claims have surfaced over the years that it was the state itself that established the organization to fight the PKK through illegal means, such as summary executions. Rusen Cakir believe the state did use Hizbullah for this purpose: "Public enemy of number one for the state was PKK," said Cakir. "So sure that Hizbullah by fighting PKK were encouraged, supporters or sponsored by different status apparatus." But when Hizbullah starting targeting government officials, Turkish security forces killed its leader and arrested the remaining Hizbullah leadership. In the wake of the arrests, Hizbullah began moving away from violence and set up numerous organizations providing charity for the Kurdish poor. At the same time, members began advocating its radical Islamic agenda. The group now is believed to be one of the most powerful organizations in the predominately Kurdish southeast. In early January, Hizbullah leaders were leased from jail allegedly due to a law limiting the arrest period for unconvicted people. Their release comes as the government suffered several electoral defeats in the predominately Kurdish southeast to a resurgent Kurdish nationalist movement... Analysts say the predominantly Kurdish southeast is a key area for the ruling AK party in the June election. But with a rejuvenated Kurdish nationalist opposition, they may have a uphill battle. Cakir says the release of the Hizbullah leadership is a major moral boost to the organization. And, if Hizbullah decides to enter the elections in the key predominantly Kurdish southeast, its powerful grass roots movement could be key to determining the Turkish prime minister's votes there.
II. RIANOVOSTI - Russia warns against outside pressure on Egypt
Russia is against putting external pressure on the Egyptian leadership and people and believes that the country has to decide itself how to resolve the current political crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday. "Egypt is our strategic partner and a key country in the Middle East region. That it why we are not indifferent to what is happening there and are interested in Egypt being a stable, prosperous and democratic state and want today's socio-economic and political problems to be peacefully solved as soon as possible," Lavrov said during a meeting with his Lithuanian counterpart Audronius Azubalis in Moscow. It is up to Egyptian politicians and the people to decide how to do this, he added. "We do not consider it useful to produce any recipes from outside or deliver ultimatums - it is political forces in Egypt who should speak out," Lavrov said. Anti-government protests, which saw hundreds of thousands of demonstrators demanding long-serving President Hosni Mubarak's resignation, broke out in Egypt last week. The unrest, which is seen by many analysts as a major threat to repressive governments in the region, has already claimed the lives of at least 300 people and injured several thousand. The United States, which views Egypt as a major regional ally, has made several statements calling on the Egyptian authorities to refrain from violence against protesters and launch political reforms to assure an "orderly transition" to democracy. U.S. President Barack Obama said on Tuesday that reforms in Egypt "must begin now," stopping short of calling for Mubarak to leave office. The statement came after Mubarak's announcement that he would not run in presidential elections due in September, suggesting the veteran president was planning to stay in power for eight more months.
III. FINANCIALMIRROR - Museums on high alert for ancient Egyptian loot
International museums are on high alert for looted Egyptian artefacts and some archaeologists have even offered to fly to the country to help safeguard its ancient treasures, museums said on Wednesday... The spectre of the fall of Baghdad in 2003 looms large in the minds of Egyptologists, when thousands millennia-old artefacts were stolen or smashed by looters in the chaos following the fall of Saddam Hussein. "The situation during the fall of Baghdad is the worst case scenario, but we think that's not going to happen because there is such a movement to protect the antiquities," said Karen Exell, chairwoman of Britain's Egypt Exploration Society and curator of the Egypt collection at the Manchester Museum. Egyptologists have been heartened by the reaction of ordinary Egyptians to chaos and lawlessness. In Cairo hundreds of people formed a chain around the museum to protect it after looters broke into the museum on Friday and destroyed two Pharaonic mummies, officials said. Western museums are still urging vigilance. "All of us who are friends of Egypt can help the efforts to stop looting of archaeological sites, stores and museums, by focusing on the international antiquities trade," London's Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology said in a statement. Exell said an international alert had gone out to watch for looted items, as well as offers of help. One had been posted on a global Egyptologist electronic bulletin board by a team of Spanish archaeologists, offering to help catalogue artefacts. Egypt is home to one of the world's greatest ancient civilisations, which is also a major source of tourist income. The British Museum, home to one of the world's top collections of Egyptian antiquities, including the famed Rosetta Stone, called for more protection of the country's heritage. "It is a matter of the greatest concern that these irreplaceable objects should be fully protected to ensure their safety and survival for future generations," the museum said. Many key ancient Egyptian works were allowed to leave the country in previous centuries and are stored in international museums. Some critics say this is because authorities did not recognise their true value when they were unearthed. Exell said this is not the case now. "It's been really heartening that ordinary people are protecting sites closest to them, they understand their value ... People do feel very proud of their heritage."
IV. AFP - Synagogue torched in Tunisia
Arsonists set fire to a synagogue in the southern Gabes region of Tunisia, a leader of the local Jewish community said Tuesday. "Someone set fire to the synagogue on Monday night and the Torah scrolls were burned," Trabelsi Perez told AFP, criticising the lack of action by the security services to stop the attack. "What astonished me was that there were police not far from the synagogue," added Perez, who is also head of the Ghriba synagogue on the island of Djerba, the oldest synagogue in Africa. Twenty-one people were killed, including 16 European tourists, when Al-Qaeda bombers attacked Ghriba in April 2002.
V. B92 - Swiss MPs back Marty, seek probe
The allegations presented the Marty report should be looked into by an international commission, concluded the Swiss National Council Foreign Affairs Committee. The report on human organ trafficking in Kosovo and northern Albania was submitted by by Swiss politician and Council of Europe (CoE) Special Rapporteur Dick Marty. The Committee called on the Swiss government to support such an investigation, adding that the Council has made the decision unanimously. Previously, Marty warned the Commission about the background and the consequences of his report, including violation of human rights and illegal organ trafficking in Kosovo. The Committee and Swiss Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey considered Switzerland's possibilities to call for an international investigation. The report served as basis for last month's PACE resolution that also called for a probe to be launched. The report names members of the so-called Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) as perpetrators of kidnappings of Serb civilians in Kosovo and trade in their vital organs.
The NATO Secretary General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, concluded a successful two-day visit to Washington D.C. where he received strong US endorsement for his plans to turn the Lisbon Summit agreements into action in 2011, including the start of transition in Afghanistan, enhancing Alliance partnerships and following through with NATO Reform. The Secretary General met with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and Defence Secretary, Robert Gates, as well as with other senior members of the US Administration, to discuss NATO priorities in 2011 and how this work will culminate in the next NATO Summit, to be held in the United States in the first half of 2012. On Afghanistan, the Secretary General expressed his appreciation for the continuing US support for the transition process towards Afghan security lead. "There is a shared sense of commitment," said Rasmussen. "NATO Allies and partners in the ISAF coalition provided nearly 10,000 additional troops over the last year, at the same time that President Obama decided to send an extra 30,000 troops to Afghanistan. Now, together with our Afghan partners, we are on track to launch transition this spring, in order to build on the momentum we are seeing on the ground." The training of Afghan security forces remains the ticket to transition and the Secretary General stressed that the NATO training mission in Afghanistan was a great success. "From now until transition is complete," Rasmussen said, "we will continue to need more trainers." Discussions also revolved around NATO's global partnerships and ways to enhance cooperation with influential countries and organisations interested in promoting security and stability around the globe. "Enhancing our partnership engagement is a priority and we agreed that Russia in particular is an important partner to both NATO and the US", said the Secretary General. "In 2011 we want to turn our political agreements with the Russian Federation into more practical cooperation including in Afghanistan and in fighting terrorism, as well as in coordinating our missile defence systems.” The Secretary General also recognized the tough financial decisions the US and other Allies are facing this year. "Despite all the economic pressures, the US continues to show great leadership in its ability to reduce defence spending, while investing for the future. I have received strong US support for our NATO reform agenda, which must start to deliver efficiencies this year to continue to improve our effectiveness as an Alliance.” The Secretary General wrapped up the visit by outlining the sequence of NATO ministerial meetings, in March, April and June, which will take these and other Alliance priorities forward towards the 2012 Summit in the United States. During the visit, he also discussed NATO's priorities at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
VII. GOARCH - Presentation of Our Lord and Savior in the Temple
When the most pure Mother and Ever-Virgin Mary's forty days of purification had been fulfilled, she took her first-born Son to Jerusalem on this, the fortieth day after His birth, that she might present Him in the temple according to the Law of Moses, which teaches that every first-born male child be dedicated to God, and also that she might offer the sacrifice of a pair of turtle-doves or two young pigeons, as required by the Law (Luke 2:22-24; Exod. 13:2; Lev. 12:6-8). On this same day, a just and devout man, the greatly aged Symeon, was also present in the temple, being guided by the Holy Spirit. For a long time, this man had been awaiting the salvation of God, and he had been informed by divine revelation that he would not die until he beheld the Lord's Christ. Thus, when he beheld Him at that time and took Him up into his aged arms, he gave glory to God, singing: "Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, O Master. . ." And he confessed that he would close his eyes joyfully, since he had seen the Light of revelation for the nations and the Glory of Israel (Luke 2:25-32). From ancient times, the Holy Church has retained this tradition of the churching of the mother and new-born child on the fortieth day and of the reading of prayers of purification. The Apodosis of the Feast of the Meeting in the Temple is usually on the 9th of February. This, however, may vary if the Feast falls within the period of the Triodion. Should this occur, the Typicon should be consulted for specific information concerning the Apodosis of the Feast. To read more about this feast - The Presentation of Christ in the Temple - in the Orthodox Church, please click here.