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Questioning the Turkish rule of Constantinople

Questioning the Turkish rule of Constantinople

On 26 December, Donald Trump's special advisor on governance and strategy, Steve Bannon posted a photograph. He published the photo in the US media himself holding a T-shirt that says "Free Constantinople", stating that he raises the issue of sovereignty of Constantinople.

On the same exact day, the former Pentagon official, specializing in the Middle East and executive of the American Enterprise Institute, Michael Rubin, in an article in the Middle East Forum, speaks out against Erdogan's extreme rhetoric, which covets... Jerusalem. In fact, he does not hesitate to speak about the current regime in Constantinople! Running through Turkish atrocities, genocides, and ethnic cleansings against the Greek and Armenian elements in Constantinople and Anatolia, Michael Rubin concludes: “As Erdoğan seeks to raise questions of sovereignty in Jerusalem, he sets a precedent that every freedom-seeking country should seize to question Turkey’s stewardship of Istanbul and to study openly the city’s status and Turkey’s sovereignty.”

He went on to state that this year, Erdogan’s regime desecrated the Byzantine Church of the Savior in Chora, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, by converting it into a mosque. Rubin proposes recognizing Constantinople as an “international city” and creating independent diplomatic entities by the US and Europe in the region, similar to how they treat Jerusalem or Hong Kong. The Turks are naturally a little numb. And although they always present Western statements against Turkey's policy to confirm in their own public opinion the conspiracy of foreigners against their country, they do not know how to handle this specific matter because it goes beyond them. It is the point of the crime that the murderer avoids passing. The issue was only raised in the pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak.

Coast Guard officer injured in chase with traffickers

Coast Guard officer injured in chase with traffickers

At midday on Thursday, a Coast Guard patrol boat, which was on a scheduled patrol, spotted a speedboat disembarking foreign passengers in the sea area of ​​Agrilia, Lesvos. The speedboat then developed high speed heading towards the Turkish coast. The Coast Guard boat attempted to stop the speedboat using light and sound signals, with negative results.

How the Diaspora righted a misconception concerning Santa Claus

How the Diaspora righted a misconception concerning Santa Claus

In western countries they have Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts on Christmas eve. The popular conception of Santa Claus originated from the tradition surrounding the 4th century Christian Bishop called Saint Nikolaos. But there was a "misconception" that was righted by the Diaspora, which the Greek Genocide Resource Center reminds us of
Nikolaos is of course an ancient Greek name meaning "victory of the people" (Niki means Victory, and Laos means People in Greek).
Saint Nikolaos (270-343) was born to a wealthy family in the village of Patara, Lycia in Asia Minor (today Turkey). At the time, the area was Greek. He died Dec 6, AD 343 - well before any Seljuk Turkish presence was in that region.
He was one of the youngest men to become a Christian priest and later a Christian Bishop. He was one of the key participants of the First Council of Nicaea (today Iznik). He distributed his inheritance in accordance to Jesus's teachings to "...sell what you own and give your money to the poor..."
Saint Nikolaos would provide funds for dowries to poor young women who otherwise could not be wed as well as to the sick and the suffering. He is revered as The Protector and Patron Saint of Seafarers, and of many others.
In December 2000, The History Channel in the US aired a Christmas program which described Saint Nikolaos as an "austere Turkish Bishop." When members of the American Greek community learned of the wrongful identification of the beloved Christian Saint, they immediately mobilised. Many wrote letters to the channel complaining about the false title, but the channel ignored them.
It was then that a lady by the name of Sofia Kontogeorge-Kostos (who incidentally has edited a book on the Greek Genocide titled, Before the Silence) became involved.
She along with 72 scholars from around the world including Greeks, Armenians and Assyrians wrote and signed a letter and sent it to history Channel CEO, Nicholas Davatzes. Another 175 signatures were collected from parishioners at the St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral. A Greek school principal also offered to collect signatures. Letters were also sent to the channel by a notable historian of Byzantine, Ottoman and Balkan history, a priest and a poet.
This intensive letter writing campaign lasted 4 months after which the History Channel's CEO offered an apology and corrected the mistake.
A corrected copy of the program was sent to the signatories which included the program describing Saint Nikolaos as a "Greek Orthodox Bishop." The corrected program aired on Dec 2001.
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