FREAKY DEAKY FRIDAY: _F2

The Horrors Continue on Mt. Athos:

Esphigmenou Monastery – Mt. Athos

As of November 2007, the horrors faced by the elderly monks of the Esphigmenou Monastery located on Mt. Athos are still on going. In a continuation of the Greek government’s official campaign of harassment, the Greek government has concocted new charges against the monks. They sent three individuals to the monastery supposedly to “inspect” the antiquities at the monastery, on behalf of the Greek government. When these individuals appeared at the monastery gates, the monks asked to see their official identifications to verify that they were in fact government officials. The men refused and left, so the government has filed charges against Hegumen Methodios, the abbot of the monastery, for “refusing entry” to Greek government officials. But, this was a “catch 22” situation for the monks, because if they had allowed entry and access to the antiquities without having asked to see identification, the Greek government of Ms. Dora Bakoyannis, the Foreign Minister, would have prosecuted the monks for improper care of antiquities.

The Greek Government of Mt. Athos, under the administration of Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, is continuing the blockade of all humanitarian deliveries to the elderly monks of Esphigmenou Monastery. As the monks continue to lose weight and become ill from the lack of food and medicine, and Ms. Bakoyannis continues to prohibit the visitation of doctors to the monastery to provide medical care. These monks are citizens of the EU and citizens of Greece, which happens to be a NATO ally. As death hovers over these poor frail monks, Ms. Bakoyannis does nothing to lift the land and sea embargo enforced by the Greek Police and the Greek Coast Guard which are under her control, not even for humanitarian reasons. And this woman hopes to become Prime Minister someday. God forbid.

The following are items under embargo:

All food deliveries:

Medical Supplies:

Physician’ visits are prohibited (some of the monks are diabetic and some are heart patients):

All fuel for heating and cooking are prohibited.

Other inhumane actions by Ms. Bakoyannis’ Greek Government:

The monastery fishing boat has been denied fishing rights and they have been threatened with seizure by the Greek authorities;

The monastery phone lines have been cut to prevent the outside world from learning of these human rights abuses;

Electricity in the monastery’s small dairy farm has been cut off;

The monastery’s farm tractor which was used to till the land was seized by the Greek Police.

Greek Special Forces Police in numbers of over 200 men were deployed, on two separate occasions, to violently remove the monks (who are in their 70’s, 80’s and 90’s)from the monastery, but both times the plans were foiled when the world was alerted through the Esphigmenou website

The Greek Chief of Police of Mt. Athos has yet to arrest any of the well known marauding gang of sledgehammer wielding men who TWICE attacked the unarmed elderly monks of Esphigmenou Monastery, with crowbars and sledgehammers, sending seven of the with severe injuries to the hospital. Instead of arresting those responsible, who are under the blessing Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, the Greek Government has prosecuted the victim, the monks, and sentenced them to two year prison terms.

All of this has come about because the monks had spoke out against Patriarch Bartholomew’s meeting with the Roman Catholic Pope and starting negotiations toward a possible reunion between the Greek Orthodox Church and the Church of Rome, an act which violates all Orthodox Church Canons. In retaliation, Bartholomew, in direct violation of the Mt. Athos Charter, created an imposter brotherhood with the same name “Esphigmenou” The imposter brotherhood continues to try and confuse the outside world by writing letters informing the general public and foreign governments that all is well at Esphigmenou Monastery. The letters are signed by the imposter and illegally elected Abbot Chrysostomos.

All of the above are very glaring violations not only of the Mt. Athos Charter, but also numerous Articles of the U.N. Charter on Human Rights, the European Union Charter on Human Rights and a number of International Treaties dealing with basic human rights, to which the Greek government is a signatory, and is now violating. But worst of all, the actions of Patriarch Bartholomew are a violation of all that is Orthodox and Christian.