The Greek Orthodox Church is urging Christians across Europe to oppose a ban on crucifixes in classrooms in Italy. The ban came as a result of a November 3 ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in France that the presence of crucifixes violated a child's right to freedom of religion. The European Court of Human Rights found that the compulsory display of crucifixes violated parents' rights to educate their children as they saw fit and restricted the right of children to believe or not to believe. Immediately after the ruling, Vatican spokesman Rev. Federico Lombardi said the crucifix was a fundamental sign of the importance of religious values in Italian history and culture and was a symbol of unity and welcoming for all of humanity — not one of exclusion. Perhaps fearing the Italian case could create a precedent, the Greek Orthodox Church will hold a Holy Synod next week to discuss possible actions. In opposing the crucifix ban in Italy, the Greek Orthodox Church joins in a rare act of ecumenism with the Roman Catholic Church. The two have been estranged for 1,000 years. The secular threat to Christian symbols and culture has apparently created common ground. Archbishop Ieronymos, leader of the Greek church, shares Catholic complaints that the court is ignoring the role of Christianity in forming Europe's identity. The archbishop said that majorities enjoy rights, just as minorities do. A colleague, Bishop Nicholas from central Greece, said without the religious icons young people will not have any worthy symbols to inspire and protect them. Celebrities and pop-tarts are poor substitutes, he added. The Greek Church has intervened in this case in response to an appeal by a Greek mother whose son is studying in Italy. But without doubt it is concerned that its omnipotence in Greece is under threat. The Muslim presence is growing in Greece, just as the memory fades of the genocide of Armenians and Greeks at the hands of the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the 20th century. A human rights group called Helsinki Monitor has demanded that Greek courts remove icons of Jesus Christ from above the judge's bench and that the gospel no longer be used for swearing oaths in the witness box. Helsinki Monitor is urging labor unions to challenge the presence of religious symbols in Greek schools. The Socialist government in Greece is also considering imposing new taxes on the Church, even while it is asking for further expenditures of church resources to aid immigrants and the poor. Some experts fear that the decision by the ECHR could result in the removal of all public displays of Christian symbols in public buildings throughout the member countries of the European Union under provisions of the newly-passed Lisbon Treaty. The ruling effectively incorporates the European Convention on Human Rights into European law. According to legal expert Neil Addison of the UK, given the inter-relationship of the ECHR, the Lisbon Treat and the European Convention on Human Rights, “unless the European Court of Human Rights overrules itself on appeal, Italy, and indeed the rest of Europe, has a serious problem.” If an appeal by Italy to the ECHR fails, Italy’s only resort would be an unlikely separation from the EU as a whole. As it stands now, Italy must report back to the court as to its efforts to remove the offending religious imagery from its public classrooms, courts, and other public venues. A majority of Italian politicians has come out against the ruling, citing interference by the EU in Italy’s millennial Christian culture. The Lisbon Treaty’s Declaration 17 says clearly that the EU would have primacy over the laws of member states: “The Conference recalls that, in accordance with well settled case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union, the Treaties and the law adopted by the Union on the basis of the Treaties have primacy over the law of Member States, under the conditions laid down by the said case law.” Some experts fear that the ECHR’s decision could be used to prevent public schools from putting on Nativity plays, and bring about the removal of icons from Greek and Cypriot schools.
President of the Republic of Cyprus Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will meet again Friday in the framework of the ongoing UN-led direct negotiations for a solution to the Cyprus problem, during which they will continue discussion on the chapter of property. The meeting will start at 1000 local time at the UN Protected Area of Nicosia. Alexander Downer, UN Secretary-General Special Adviser on the Cyprus problem had said that during the last meeting, the two leaders held a friendly discussion on the property issue but need more meetings to make progress on the issue as they gradually make progress while getting closer to the end of the process and eventually move to another chapter. Christofias and Talat began UN-led talks in September 2008 in a bid to achieve a mutually agreed solution to the problem of Cyprus, divided since 1974 when Turkey invaded and occupied its northern third. The two leaders have entered the second phase of the talks for the ''second reading'' of the six chapters of the Cyprus problem, namely, governance and power-sharing, property, EU matters, economic matters, territory and security and guarantees.
UN special mediator on the FYROM name issue Matthew Nimetz had a working dinner with Greece's chief negotiator, Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, on Thursday evening (NY time). Earlier, during a private meeting, meeting between the two men, Vassilakis briefed Nimetz on the initiatives of the Greek government regarding the name issue, including Greek prime minister George Papandreou's recent meeting with his FYROM counterpart Nikola Gruevski, and also on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's meetings during his recent visit to Athens. This was Vassilakis' first meeting with Nimetz after the election of a new government in Greece last month. Vassilakis told ANA-MPA that he was in New York at Athens' initiative for the purpose of briefing Nimetz on the new government's "approach and basic pillars" on the FYROM name issue. "The Greek side is taking part in the (UN-brokered) negotiations with full respect for the UN's role and its relevant Resolutions". "We are entering the negotiation with an open mind and constructive attitude. Our positions are crystal clear, and known to all. We seek a definitive solution to this matter. A solution that will free the cooperation prospects of the two countries and their peoples. A name with a geographical qualification for all purposes, erga omnes," Vassilakis stressed. The Greek negotiator further stressed that his visit was for the purpose of briefing Nimetz in-depth on "how we see things". "We speak clearly, so that there will be no surprises, or misunderstandings. Mr. Nimetz expressed his intention of preparing a trilateral meeting in the immediate future," Vassilakis added. "I briefed Mr. Nimetz in a clear-cut way on Greece's publicly declared position: There can be no commencement of accession negotiations for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia with the EU without prior resolution of the long-standing problem," Vassilakis stressed. Nimetz is due on Friday to meet with the FYROM negotiator Zoran Jolevski, in order to assess when he can go ahead with convening a trilateral meeting between himself and the Greek and FYROM negotiators.
Alternate Foreign Minister Dimitris Droutsas on Thursday had a working lunch with Russian Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Vladimir Titov, who is visiting Athens. The two men earlier had a meeting that covered bilateral relations, Russia's participation in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) pact, cooperation on issues concerning the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and issues of Greek interest, such as the Cyprus issue, the name dispute with the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), the Balkans and their European perspective and cooperation on energy issues. Afterwards, Droutsas said Athens looked to further improving bilateral relations between Greece and Russia, while Titov said that the close cooperation between the two countries "was very important" and would peak when Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov participated in the OSCE ministerial meeting that will take place in Athens at the beginning of December. During the foreign ministry's regular press briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras had noted Greece's desire to play a major role in European energy security by providing alternative pipelines, routes and sources of oil and natural gas, such as the Burgas-Alexandroupolis pipeline, the TGI and Southstream natgas pipelines and the connection between the Greek and Bulgarian natgas networks.
Once again, US President Barack Obama has demonstrated his intention of "putting light" between America and Israel. His hostility toward Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu during the latter's visit to Washington this week was breathtaking. Ahead of Obama's meeting with Netanyahu, The Wall Street Journal reported that Obama was effectively attempting to blackmail the Israeli premier by conditioning the meeting on Netanyahu's willingness to make tangible concessions to the Palestinians during his speech before the General Assembly of the Jewish Federations of North America. Although the report was denied by the Obama administration, if it was true, such a move by the White House would be without precedent in the history of US relations with Israel. And if untrue, the very fact that the story rings true is indicative of the wretched state of US relations with Israel since Obama entered office. Obama's hostility was evident as well during his meeting with 50 Jewish leaders at the White House this week. In an obvious bid to split American Jewry away from Israel, Obama refused to discuss Israel or Iran with the concerned American Jewish leaders. As far as Obama was concerned, all they deserved from him was a primer on the brilliance of his economic policies and the worthiness of his plan to socialize the American healthcare industry. His foreign policy is none of their business. The ironic thing about Obama's nastiness toward Netanyahu and his arrogant treatment of the American Jewish community is that while it has made him the first US president to have no credibility among Israelis and has caused a 14 percent drop in his support among American Jews, it has failed utterly to earn him the trust of the Muslim world. Today the Fatah movement is in disarray. Last week its leader, Mahmoud Abbas, announced his intention to retire and has placed the blame for his decision on the Obama administration as well as on Israel. As for the larger Muslim world, a report this week in The New York Times stated that the US's key Arab allies, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, have been perilously weakened since Obama took office. Their diminished influence has been accompanied by the rapid rise of Iran and Syria. Both of these rogue states have been on the receiving end of continuous wooing by Obama administration officials who seem ready to do just about anything to appease them. The fact that Obama's policies have all failed so spectacularly presents a unique opportunity for Israel to move its policies in a bold new direction. Many commentators and policy-makers have claimed that it falls on Israel to help Obama succeed where he has failed.
Kosovo has come under fire for failing to create conditions for the return of refugees who left the disputed territory ten years ago. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which has been closely involved with building institutions in the partially-recognised state, has published a damning report, accusing the Kosovo Albanian authorities of lacking political willpower and refusing to provide sufficient funding.Each year several thousand are forcibly repatriated from neighbouring countries. The report claims the returnees are not provided with housing, and school places, not to mention financial assistance and work opportunities. The problem is particularly serious for ethnic minorities. Those wishing to return may find that the communities where they belonged to no longer exist. Due to continuing tension with Kosovo Albanians, the remaining Serbian population is now concentrated in a few enclaves. Elsewhere, Serbian–language schools have shut down, and even access to basic medical care is patchy. “We urge central and local authorities to reach out to these vulnerable groups by allocating necessary funding, increasing coordination and information-sharing, as recommended by the report,” said Werner Almhofer, Head of the OSCE Mission in Kosovo. The OSCE calls for greater financing, and more officials to be specially trained to deal with returnees. So far, the government in Pristina has not responded to the report.
VII. Cuba: Religious Life
In Havana recently, we visited the cathedral of Our Lady of Kazan, donated to the Russian Orthodox Church by Cuba. Located on the waterfront overlooking Havana Bay in a central part of the old city, its golden domes are visible from afar. Inside, magnificent icons impregnate the space with serenity. The same can be said for the Greek Orthodox Cathedral a few blocks away. Richly adorned with the images of holy saints, stepping inside the brick and stone chapel is like stepping into another world. A tiled baptismal font, with a backdrop of colorful mosaic images, is set into a corner of the tranquil gardens decorating the property. The keys to this church, St. Nicholas of Mira, were handed from Fidel, representing the people of Cuba, to His Eminence Patriarch Bartholomew in a ceremony in 2003. Known as the Green Patriarch, the message of His All Holiness was that it is the duty as Christians to care for and protect the gifts of nature with which God has blessed.