Senior Turkish military officers had made extensive plans to terrorize non-Muslims in Turkey. In the large Ergenekon[1] scandal recently a well-planned terrorist operation was revealed. The operation which is called "Kafes Operasyonu Eylem Planı", in English meaning "the execution of the cage - operation" was to eliminate the remaining small group of Christians living in Turkey today. The plan was revealed when police arrested Levent Bektas, a major in the Turkish army. The evidence seized reveals more than 27 officers and senior military officers involved in the conspiracy against Christians. In order to identify key persons among the Christians and then kill them, this terrorist network has broken into a Greek Church congregation compound and stolen computers. The purpose of this was to access the congregation’s member lists. "When our office was emptied of computers and files, church members were very concerned. Since the murder of the monk Santoro, the journalist Hrant Dink and the brutal murder of three publishing workers in Malatya, Christians are living in constant fear", said lawyer Kezban Hatemi, representing the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Constantinople (Istanbul). On 28 November 2007, the Syriac Orthodox monk Daniel Savci in Turabdin was kidnapped in southeastern Turkey. The monk resides in the St. Gabriel monastery, which Turkish authorities are trying to confiscate. A few days later the monk was found beaten. Shortly after, the police arrested some village guards, a state-sanctioned militia subordinate to the Turkish army, for the kidnapping. Many people with insight into the situation interpret the kidnapping as a direct threat to the remaining Assyrians in Turabdin. Christians were attacked across the country. To implement the strategic attacks, the country's Christian population was mapped out and 939 key persons from different parts of the country were identified as potential targets. The fully detailed operation consists of four phases: preparation, spreading propaganda, shape opinion and execute. The newspaper Taraf, which has been able to access the information, has published several articles about this. On its website www.taraf.com.tr it is described in detail how the plan to attack the Christians was to be implemented. Below are some points that constitute the plan's main lines: Christians are mapped; Famous and wealthy Christian businessmen kidnapped; Systematic fires and looting of Christian businesses; The Armenian newspaper AGOS be subjected to several explosions; Murder patrols executing attacks against selected individuals; Christian cemeteries subjected to explosions; Churches and institutions belonging to Christians subjected to explosions; Put the blame on imaginary militant organizations. From the late 1980s to the 2000s, thousands of people have been killed, among them there were also many Christians. The perpetrators of the killings have never been found. But officially they have been systematically identified as an organization named "Hizbullah". A military arsenal provides the network with weapons. The police have, after following the tracks, at a house search in Poyrazköy outside Istanbul found a weapon cache to be used in the attacks. Among the weapons were several items, from C4 explosives to Uzi firearms and other sophisticated weapons. According to the newspaper Taraf, major Eren Günay has been arrested for having provided the attackers with arms and ammunition. According to the newspaper there are indications that the plan is sanctioned by the highest Turkish military leadership. For a long time, Christians’ houses, property and businesses in the Christian areas of the cities of Istanbul and Izmir have been labeled, in order to identify them. MP Sebah Tuncel notified the Turkish government with a written question last summer. The question addressed the Ministry of Interior and was about what the government intends to do against the labeling of Christian properties and about Christians being identified. Even today, the government has not replied to this question yet. As long as the attacks were aimed at Christians and other minority groups, the Turkish government acted indifferently. Not until the ruling government party AKP themselves felt threatened they began to act. In recent years the relationship between the government and the military has been strained and on several occasions the military has made attempts to make a coup d'état, without succeeding fully.
The Greek-owned supertanker Maran Centaurus was seized by pirates off Somalia while heading to the U.S., as attackers venture ever farther from shore to hijack merchant ships. It’s the second time Somali pirates have seized an oil supertanker, with the last incident a year ago leading to a record ransom and an increase in Western naval patrols. Today’s hijacking is “probably” the farthest from shore by Somali pirates, said Cyrus Mody, a manager at the International Maritime Bureau in London. His organization has yet to verify details of the attack, he said. The vessel, which can carry 2 million barrels of oil, was taken by Somali pirates in the Somali Basin about 600 nautical miles northeast of the Seychelles, the European Union anti- piracy naval force in the region said on its Web site today. The 28-man crew comes from Greece, Philippines, Ukraine, and Romania. “The range of pirates has increased over that which we would have expected,” Mark Jenkins, an analyst at Simpson, Spence & Young Ltd., the second-largest shipbroker, said by phone. “It does imply there’s a need for greater vigilance to safeguard against these things.” Somali pirates last seized an oil tanker in November 2008 when they took the Saudi supertanker Sirius Star and its 2 million barrels of oil. It was released in January 2009 for a ransom that the U.S. Congressional Research Service estimated at $3 million, believed to be largest ransom paid to Somali pirates at that point. Some press reports said pirates received $3.5 million for the February 2009 release of the MV Faina, a Ukrainian ship loaded with Russian tanks and other weapons.
An exceptional fortification structure surrounding the ancient city of Vergina, located in northern Greece, was recently discovered by archaeologists from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. According to the university’s announcement, cited by the www.ana-mpa.gr website, the architectural elements of the enclosure indicate that it dates back to the reign of Cassander, in the early third century BC, a period when Macedonia was plagued by major turmoil, including civil wars and attacks from the outside. The finding, according to the publication, is of remarkable importance because the wall is preserved in perfect condition. In addition to the structure, the university’s archaeological team also discovered a large number of artefacts, charred seeds and food, dating to the second and first centuries BC. Vergina is a small town in northern Greece, located in the prefecture of Imathia, Central Macedonia. The town became internationally famous in 1977, when Greek archaeologist Manolis Andronikos unearthed what he claimed was the burial site of the kings of Macedon, including the tomb of Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. The finds established the site as the ancient Aigai, which was once the royal capital of ancient Macedon, ruled by the Argead dynasty from about 650 BC onwards.
More than a hundred ethnographic, archaeological and historic pieces from the Republic of Cyprus, as well as compact discs and books that give account of culture in that nation, were donated to the National Museum of Cultures (MNC) to be included in the halls that to present undergo remodeling, which did not count on with Cypriot items. The donation will enrich mainly the Ancient Cultures Collection of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) precinct, integrated until now with pieces from Greece, North Africa and Arab countries. Among donated pieces outstands a historical map from the 19th century that illustrates the 3rd journey of Saint Paul through Cyprus, one of the most important points of the trips he carried on during the early 1st century to convert inhabitants. Other pieces donated are 4 replicas of cruciform idols dated from 3000-2500 BC, as well as 2 silver reliefs that represent Saint George. From ethnographic objects, 4 traditional garments from different parts of the island outstand, 2 women’s, from Phafos and Nicosia, and 2 men’s. The official donation act took place at the National Museum of Cultures, with the presence of the Ambassador of Cypriot Republic, Vasilis Philippou, who handed over the objects to Leonel Duran and Luis Felipe Crespo, director and sub director of the museum. Vasilis Philippou remarked his interest to fulfill his diplomatic task in Mexico; delivering these objects is part of it, considering the importance of the exhibition of Cypriot objects at the National Museum of Cultures for the good relations between both countries. The diplomatic pointed out that it is an opportunity for Mexican public to discover history, writing and religion of his nation. In his opportunity, and in the name of Alfonso de Maria y Campos, general director of INAH, Leonel Duran thanked the sign of friendship from Ambassador Philippou. “This donation confirms that the National Museum of Cultures has a key role in cultural relations of Mexico with other fellow countries, generating a spirit of international communication, cooperation and exchange”. Duran recalled that during the restructuring process of MNC, a complete conceptual revision has been carried out, representing Mediterranean Civilizations in an integral way, a perspective that the prior museography lacked. The MNC director mentioned that the heap of the museum is integrated by 17,000 objects, which places it between the largest ethnographical collections in Mexico. The fact that most of these objects have been donated by fellow countries to Mexico gives account of the good relations kept with other nations. Other important pieces donated by Cyprus are an amphora decorated with a bird dated from 850-700 BC, representative of Classic Greece pieces; a Virgin and Christ icon; a flute; a small ceramic bowl decorated with 2 women and an archaeological symbol manufactured in silver. The collection includes several books about history and religion in Cyprus, a literature magazine and 3 compact discs.
The International Court of Justice is likely to rule in Serbia's favor that Kosovo's unilateral declaration of independence is illegal, a Serbian official says. Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic says the ICJ, which is set to consider Kosovo's move starting Dec. 1 in The Hague, will probably opt to rule it was a secession, buttressing Belgrade's claims that Kosovo's Provisional Institutions of Self-Government broke international law, the Serbian news Web site B92 reported Monday. "We have reason to believe that the court will base its opinion solely on legal merits and will make a decision that ... the unilateral proclamation of independence by the temporary institutions on Feb. 17, 2008, was an ethnically motivated effort of secession which represents a violation of international law," Jeremic told B92. The Web site said officials from 28 countries and the Kosovo authorities will all make presentations at the non-binding ICJ hearing, which is set to last until Dec. 11. "This will be a historic process," he said. "There have never been more countries signing up to participate in a public debate, and never all five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council."
The governments of Russia and Serbia are in negotiations to build a nuclear power plant in Serbia, the Russian ambassador to Belgrade says. "The construction of a nuclear power plant in Serbia is being given serious consideration," Aleksandr Konuzin was quoted as saying this Monday. He stated that Serbia wishes to export electricity, and added that the country has the resources to do so. "Russia is prepared to help Serbia with this intention through partnership and joint investments," the Radio-Television of Vojvodina (RTV) reported. Konuzin reminded that Serbia had recently reached agreements to build hydro plants with Germany and Italy, that Russian experts are currently working on modernizing the Đerdap 1 (Iron Gate) plant on the Danube, and that Russia is also ready to build more hydro power plants in Serbia. The ambassador also noted that the construction of several natural-gas heating plants has already been agreed.
As Abraham, Isaac and Jacob could tell you, being a patriarch isn’t easy.Leading your people through the desert is a task filled with trials and tribulations. It requires enduring patience and a clear vision of the goal at the other end. Of all the leaders of the world’s 15 Orthodox Churches, none bore a stronger resemblance to his titular namesakes than Patriarch Pavle of Serbia, who recently reposed at the biblical age of 95. The future patriarch was born on a tightrope. The first World War began just months before he entered the world, and by the time he reached adulthood, another broke out. He survived the Croatian Fascist genocide of 800,000 of his countrymen and labored to rebuild his shattered country as a construction worker after the war. Despite the anti-religious climate of Titoist Yugoslavia, he became a monk. His intellectual gifts led to post-graduate studies and a teaching position at the Orthodox seminary in Prizren, Kosovo (now abandoned as a result of the “cleansing” of that city’s Serbs). For the 33 years preceding his election as patriarch, he was bishop of the diocese encompassing Kosovo. There he earned the moniker of “the walking saint” because he never owned an automobile. Said he: “I will not purchase one until every Albanian and Serbian household in Kosovo and Metohija has an automobile.” He even made his own shoes. In 1989, a mob of Muslim youths so severely beat the then-75-year-old Pavle that he was hospitalized for three months. In spite of such persecution, both of himself and his flock, he never acquiesced to the nationalistic machinations of Serbia’s communist leaders. Having forsaken God, Slobodan Milosevic and his cronies forsook their own humanity. With a prophetic voice, the patriarch called for Milosevic’s ouster. He participated in marches and rallies, even breaking through a police cordon at one point. Pavle saw communism rise and fall. But as with his biblical predecessors, one trial followed another. Having successfully branded the Serbs as the Balkan bad guys, our Western intelligentsia now dismisses their suffering as “reverse” ethnic cleansing. Pavle didn’t submit to this double standard, and aggressively denounced NATO’s failure to protect Kosovo’s Serb minority. He pointed to the refugees, to the murdered Serbs, to the more than 150 Orthodox churches and monasteries destroyed by NATO’s de facto Muslim allies. He dared to say that one evil does not justify another. In denouncing the hypocrisy of the West, he was labeled as anti-Western. I was disappointed but not surprised to see this distorted image reproduced in a two-paragraph Associated Press feed that The Chieftain ran on Pavle’s death. The blurb said Pavle, “failed to openly condemn extreme Serb nationalism.” The falsehood of this statement was demonstrated by the condolences that flowed not just from other Orthodox potentates, but from the Vatican and leaders of Serbia’s Jewish and Islamic communities – many of whom were among the 500,000 mourners at his funeral. Pavle’s real crime was denouncing all nationalisms. That, and refusing to go silently away. As for Pavle’s likely successor, Metropolitan Amfilohije, he was similarly written off in the AP blurb as “a hard-liner known for his anti-Western and ultra-nationalist stands.” This description fits an ignorant, bloodthirsty Neanderthal, not the gentle and intelligent man I met five years ago in Belgrade. “Anti-Western” is a hard label to pin on someone with Amfilohije’s pedigree of post-graduate classics studies in Rome and Switzerland, and years of teaching at a Parisian seminary. Pavle’s likely successor is fluent not only in Serbian, Russian and Greek, but Italian, French and German. As I discovered, his English also is passable. Let’s save the “anti-Western” stereotype for those who actually want to destroy Western civilization, not those who stand in their way. Like Pavle, Amfilohije shares another enduring characteristic of the biblical patriarchs: tenacity. You’ve got to respect the stubborn endurance of a patriarch, even if he proclaims truths that are inconvenient.