Remembering St. Vitus Day, Vidovdan 2000 (Jun 28, 2000)

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TiM GW Bulletin 2000/6-12

June 28, 2000

"Collateral Damage," New Documentary on NATO’s War and “Peace” Plus...

Remembering St. Vitus Day, Vidovdan 2000

Some Reactions to Our Stories on Greece… Biggest-ever Demonstration! Greek Church Is Right to Resist; Putin Meets Greek President, Calls for Demilitarized Kosovo

PHOENIX, June 28 - Today is St. Vitus Day, Vidovdan 2000, the 611^th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. Those who are interested in learning more about this epic battle, and in a historical perspective of this holy day for every Serb, should go to the TiM web site - home page, and then click on either the Kosovo Girl painting, or on the Serb cross from the 16^th century (left, the TiM editor is standing next to it).

The original cross, roughly a man’s size (left photo), is on exhibit at a museum in Sentandreja, Hungary , about 20 miles north of Budapest, one of the northernmost Serb settlements established in the late 17^th century. A pillar from Prince Lazar’s palace in Kosovo can also be seen in this picturesque little town on the banks of the Danube. Those were among the many religious and cultural artifacts the Serbs carried with them for hundreds of miles, on ox carts or on foot, during the so-called Carnojevic Migration (Seoba Srba). Arsenije Carnojevic was the Serb bishop who led his people away from the Ottoman Empire’s oppression.

WASHINGTON, June 27 - “Collateral Damage,” a 53-minute documentary about NATO’s war and “peace,” filed last year in Serbia after the bombing ended by the Cato Institute’s analysts, Gary Dempsey and Aaron Lukas, is now available on the Internet.

“Six months after NATO ended its air war against Yugoslavia, two of Washington's new breed of hands-on policy analysts, Gary Dempsey and Aaron Lukas, flew to the Balkans to document the "unintended consequences" of NATO's bombing campaign.

Equipped with the latest in mini-digital camera technology, they traveled through the region, filming patrols in Kosovo cities where NATO troops are stationed, inspecting bombed-out industrial complexes in Serbia, and interviewing Macedonians, Romanians and Bulgarians who have suffered because of the war. "Collateral Damage: The Balkans After NATO's Air War" is a record of their findings.”

To which we can add that we’ve found the “collateral damage” to the economies of Serbia’s neighbors particularly interesting. These stories - how the New World Order and its military alliance managed to hurt the lives and economies of its supposed Balkans allies - is one of the grossly under-reported aspects of NATO’s war against Serbia.

The Dempsey-Lukas film also provides some interesting statistics about popular sentiments in Bulgaria and Romania about the NATO war. As in Greece, where you saw in yesterday’s TiM Bulletin published testimonies about 99% of the Greeks being “fiercely opposed” to NATO’s bombing, yet its socialist government playing along with NATO anyway, two-thirds of Romanians, and over 60% of Bulgarians were also against the war. Yet their governments, just as Athens, nonetheless obediently toed the alliance’s line despite a significant human pain and economic damage that NATO had caused to these Balkan countries.

Greece, Bulgaria, Romania… just as the EU’s Haiderbash in Austria earlier this year, are all examples of a European “Demo Farce,” a state-socialist plutocracy, complementing a similarly sad state of “democracies” in America, Canada, Australia, for example (you can search our web site for a “demo farce” of your choice J).

(you must have either a RealPlayer or a Windows Media multimedia software installed, both of which are available FREE on the Internet).

Plus, Some Jewish-Americans, Not Only the EU, Meddled in Greek Internal Affairs (ID Cards)

ATHENS, June 27 - The number of demonstrators, according to the Church, was (about) 800,000. I was there and estimated this must be true - and of course don't wait from the police, that says they were 130,000-200,000, to give an accurate number... While private TV channels covered the demonstration, state TV channels showed almost nothing, because never before was there so big a demonstration in Athens. The demonstrators held mostly Greek flags and Byzantium flags, and not "crucifixes" as the New York Times says.

Other Orthodox Churches (Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Serbia, Alexandria, etc.) either sent representatives, or took the side of the Greek church with epistles sent to the Greek Holy Synod.

The "recent poll publicized by Eleftherotypia" is a hoax, as are many other things this newspaper has publicized. This particular newspaper, allegedly a "leftist" one, blindly supports the government which is "socialist" in name ONLY.

The Greeks who oppose (prime minister) Simitis' decision about ID cards are far more than 46%, while those who support it are less than 40% for sure. Just keep in mind that 30% of Greeks did not vote in recent elections, while PASOK was elected with 44% of the 70% who voted. But many PASOK supporters participated in the demonstrations organized by the Church, because they don't like this particular decision of the party they voted for.

Moreover, not only the Church of Greece oppose this governmental decision. Many leftists who have nothing to do with the Church (G. Karabelias, D. Haritopoulos and others), most anarchists, as well as the Communist Party of Greece, oppose the decision too. Some of them joined the demonstration, mostly without flags. Archbishop Christodoulos never called the Greek PM a "dictator". Another metropolitan, Ambrosios of Kalavryta, used this characterization.

The Greek law says that personal info must not be included in ID cards, unless if the owner of the ID card wants to. Now the government bans everyone from this lawful right misinterpreting the law and "protects" us from fantastic "discriminations" against our will!

Interestingly, the minister that interprets the law in this wrong way (Mr. Stathopoulos) is NOT elected, but appointed. He is a person that wants the removal of Christ's icons from the courtrooms and schools, as he says in a book published some years ago. He wants the "civic" wedding to be obligatory and the religious one only optional, while Greeks avoid "civic" wedding and only a small percentage gets married this way. He also wants the frontispiece of our constitution to be removed, since it says "In the name of the Holy and Consubstantial and Indivisible Trinity".

This removal is totally ridiculous: The minister says that "this was made in times where there were not human rights", but does not say that the American, as well as the German Constitution also invoke God in their frontispiece. Such changes are against the will and the psyche of the vast majority of Greeks. Even the atheists here are not disturbed by Christ's icons. Most "Roma" are also Christians; and the few Muslims really do not care about icons - while some of their representatives are against the removal of religion from ID cards.

Concerning human rights, yeah, sure, we know about them! We can ask the bombed Serbs for more information.

As a PASOK ex minister stated, if PASOK had revealed its plans concerning ID cards before the elections, it would not be elected. "Religious minorities" don't face problems in Greece. This country is of the most tolerant in the whole world, though 99% are Orthodox Christians. Only some pseudo-religious cults like Scientology face problems with the law because of their illegal activities (proselytism, financial exploitation of members, blackmails, spying etc). Other EU members are more severe with Scientology; in Germany it is banned while its members are not allowed to work in state posts.

Interestingly enough, some of the fervent supporters of this wrong interpretation of the ID law also supported Scientology in the Court; some certain Eleftherotypia journalists, included in the cults' "list of friends", (revealed by the inquiry made by the District Attorney), have publicized articles sent by the cult's headquarters, as it was proven later.

As far as I know, the EU does not care about national ID cards, but only for the common EU ID-passport that will be ready in two years. It will not cancel the national ID cards but will exist in parallel with them. Maybe some people won't like this, but it is the Jewish Council of USA which insists that religions should not be included in ID cards. [emphasis added by the author-Dimitriadou, TiM Ed.] On 10.5.1999, Archbishop Christodoulos announced that not only he had long correspondence with this Council, but its representatives also had visited him, as well as the Greek PM - on the same day.

There is also another great problem with the new ID cards: they will include a magnetic "strip" which the ID owner will not be able to read, while the policemen - and others - will. The church opposes both the strip and the 666 number that is said to be included in it. Non-religious people oppose the strip because they don't want to carry information hidden from them, information that can be either false or quite personal.

MASSACHUSETTS, June 27 - Regarding the Church issue, Archbishop Christodoulos and the Church are right in resisting pressure from the government of Greece and the European Union. Greece is a sovereign state and no other country has the right to impose its own views on Greece or any other country. Interesting that the article preceding this one used the word "Balkanization". The Balkan people's have a noble history in preserving their independence from evil rulers from the Ottomans to the Nazis.

The elitist Europeans and westerners should remember that it was a modern European country that gave the world Aushwitz and Dachau. Communism was also a western import to Russia and the Balkans. The twentieth century's three totalitarian movements (Fascism, Nazism, and communism) were all of western European origin as were both World Wars.

If the Church of Greece loses this battle, it will be a defeat for the right of nations to govern themselves and a victory for internationalism. I believe that prominent among the reasons why the western media are criticizing the Church of Greece is that Archbishop Christodoulos denounced the NATO bombing of Serbia and President Bill Clinton. Articles critical of the Archbishop have neglected to mention that upon being selected as Archbishop two years ago, he has moved to appeal to young people to return to the Church, has visited AIDS clinics and prisons to minister to prisoners, and has condemned racism and anti-semitism.

The Greek War of Independence of 1821 was started by the Church which preserved the faith, language, and national consciousness of Greece for centuries. The Europeans intervened in the internal affairs of the Church of Greece in the nineteenth century as they are doing now. When Greece became independent, the Europeans promoted the formulation of an autocephalous Church free from the Ecumenical Patriarchate. Supposedly, this was to make Greece free of Turkish influence but in reality it was to split Greece from Russia.

The Patriarchate of Constantinople had warm relations with Russia and was assisted financially by the Russians. The European powers believed Russia would have an influence on Greece if an autocephalous Church was not formed. The Russians had opposed taking away Ecclesiastical territory from the Patriarchate. In any case, the Europeans are meddling in matters that are not their concern, again. If the Church prevails, it will be a victory for the right of self determination from internationalism and the NWO Eastern Orthodox nations should all unite for their own survival.

Regarding Nick Burns… To my knowledge, the Ambassador was referring to my friend Phillip's piece. I am not aware if he was critical of my letter, but if he was, that is his problem. The US government and the media are all slamming Greece for supposedly being a "terrorist" country. Editorials in the American and British press cite almost by instinct, the anti-war demonstrations in Athens last year and those against Clinton on his visit to Athens.

The media has moved from their traditional bias against Greece as a country, to the Greek people. The people of Greece are being called terrorist sympathizers because they demonstrated against NATO's bombing of Serbia. That conclusively illustrates that NATO is an anti-democratic institution. Demonstrate against NATO or dissent from the insane policy of bombing Serbia, and one is a "terrorist". The media have made clear there is no legitimate reason to protest against NATO or the Clinton administration. So much for the right to demonstrate, or for free speech.

MOSCOW, June 26 - Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said in talks with his Greek counterpart on Monday (June 26) that Yugoslavia's Kosovo province must be demilitarized, according to an Associated Press report from Moscow. Putin also called for greater cooperation in Europe to bring stability to the region.

Putin toned down recent Russian support of Slobodan Milosevic, saying that even though the Yugoslav president should be involved in Kosovo affairs, ''that doesn't mean that the world community should accept all that happens in that region,'' the Interfax news agency reported.

A delegation of Yugoslav military officials, led by air force chief Col. Gen. Spasoje Smiljanic, also arrived in Moscow on Monday to discuss defense issues and the training Serbian officers in Russia, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported.

Putin and Stephanopoulos also discussed Russia's proposed anti-missile defense system, which is a response to American proposals to amend the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty so it can build a limited national missile defense system. Stephanopoulos said Greece ''takes most seriously Russia's proposal for creating a pan-European anti-missile system,'' Interfax said.