THE X ANNUAL GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE I.A.O. WAS
REALIZED IN VILNIUS, LITHUANIA
(26-29 June
2003)
The 10th Annual General
Assembly of the IAO for the year 2003 was realised in
Vilnius, with the presence of the President of the Parliament
of Lithuania Mr. Arturas Paulauskas.
The Central subject of the Assembly was ¨War - Poverty. The Orthodox viewpoint¨
Photo of the X IAO annual assembly participants
The President of the General Assembly of the IAO,
Mr. Victor Zorkaltsev, deputy of the Russian Duma,
chaired in the Assembly, while the President of the
Parliament of Lithuania Mr. Arturas Paulauskas declared
the beginning of the Assembly's works and in his addressing
speech he stressed the following:
".... It is Lithuania's
great honour to host such an important event. The decision
of the I.A.O. leaders to choose Lithuania as the venue
implies that you are more than guests in our country.
You are almost at home, as history has it that the first
Orthodox churches were built in Lithuania 800 years
ago.... Lithuania is the country that often used to
be a threshold between the East and West... Therefore,
the notion of a dialogue between civilisations has acquired
a very symbolic meaning in Lithuania, particularly in
Vilnius. I am convinced that the spirit of Vilnius will
guarantee the success of your work during the I.A.O
General Assembly in Vilnius. I believe that this spirit
will assist you in your efforts, as the issues discussed
here are of vital importance to all nations and states
worldwide..."
Metropolite of France,
Mr. Emmanuel,
represented the Ecumenical Patriarch Mr. Bartholomew.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, in his
message to the participants stressed the following:
"... We wish with
all our heart success to this meeting, where a subject
with great impact in our days, will be approached and
discussed from different viewpoints concerning the sufferings
that poverty and infelicity are accumulating through
the fratricide wars between populations. Thus, the Church
of Christ upholds the wise creations by the hands of
the glorious God and our nature, which deteriorates
from our devastating interventions, consents with us,
the sinners and guilty and not only uninterruptedly
wishes for peace around the world, but also through
intellectual ways and means becomes an accessory to
the consolidation of peace and the respect of life and
personality of every person, while considering them
as equivalent and valued children of our Father in heaven.
..."
Respectively, Mr. Valery
Alexeev, advisor to the I.A.O, addressed message
of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Mr. Alexios,
which stressed among others:
¨.... Your Assembly,
which is organized in the historical land of Lithuania,
where Christianity has profound historical roots, is
called to examine while having intense the Orthodox
perception, the present problems caused by the disastrous
military conflicts and the increase of poverty in the
world. We cannot leave unnoticed the evident cross-correlation
between these two devastating phenomena, because the
causes of wars and poverty for entire populations, often
serve the escalation of evil and greed of the rich.
In the present dreary reality, there is lack of human
compassion, hope and faith in justice, increase of pessimism
and uncertainty of tomorrow, weakening of the moral
values, flourishing of unappeased consuming models in
the society, sordid instincts of greed and selfishness
¨
The deputy, Mr. Dimitrios
Alabanos, member of the Greek delegation to the
I.A.O, read welcoming message of the President of
the Greek Parliament, Mr. Apostolos Kaklamanis,
which stressed among others:
¨?. We are called today to approach a big issue,
a political, social and economic phenomenon?. We are
called to send around the world the message of the revealing
truth, that love, acceptance and respect for others,
beyond race or nation, political, religious or other
beliefs, comprise the only way for humanizing the world.
This respect is a characteristic element of the Orthodox
perception and the essence of the Christian concept.
Orthodoxy is called to bring, this humane message, not
only in Europe but all around the world, while projecting
the ideal of peace and the avoidance of violence, the
need for the confrontation of poverty and deprival,
the obligation of healing each plague of man.... ¨
Respectively, Mr. Vladimir
Medvedev, member of the IAO Secretariat, read a
message of the President of the State Duma of the
Russian Federation, Mr. Gennadiy Seleznev, which
stressed among others:
¨?. The subject of the present Assembly touches
upon two serious issues of concern for all mankind.
Unfortunately, the events testify that wars, as well
as, poverty, were always devastating in the process
of state building and only peace establishes conditions
for the stable growth of economy and the struggle against
poverty while, creating future prospects for well-being.
It is not a coincidence that the Church considers as
greatest virtue, the pursuit of peace and the support
of our fellowmen.... ¨
The Secretary General
of the I.A.O, Mr. Stylianos-Angelos Papathemelis
in his inaugural speech stressed:
¨.... In our days,
the world is acquainted with conditions of new savagery.
Since 1989, 61 wars are enumerated, with hundreds of
thousands dead and 17 million refugees, while a dramatic
deterioration of inequalities unfolds in the world.
30 million of people are dying every year from hunger.
800 million are malnourished. Even though, the G7 in
Cologne decided to reduce the debt of the 41 poorest
countries, no one until now, has materialized this decision.
The universal new liberal model has rejected the objective
of complete employment and has substituted it with the
objective of fighting inflation, more privatizations
and even larger deregulation of the markets. All these,
result to an overcharge of the third world, but simultaneously
tragic pockets of poverty within the same developed
and overdeveloped countries. The new geo-political architecture
of the unique superpower, which mutates into an empire
with the newly found dogma of "preventive wars"
by the name of the incredible "right of self-defense",
already causes a chain of international complexity with
the new practices in the inter-country relations and
the circumvention and perfect weakening of the UN. At
the same time, the ecosystem is found to be in utmost
danger. However, another world, in persistence to the
current situations, is feasible. The leaderships should
be activated, as well as, the parliaments, political
parties, trade unions, Media and the new forms of resistance
and action (Seattle, Genoa etc.) should be strengthened
and the forces of good should be synchronized with the
world's vision for a just and more humane world. A world
of justice, love and freedom.... ¨
Finally, the President
of the General Assembly of the I.A.O, Mr. Victor Zorkaltsev,
said the following:
".. The subject of
this year's Assembly is profound and versatile?. The
latest global events confirm how timely the subject
we examine is. In our days, armed combats become such
a usual phenomenon, that there is not enough time to
mourn victims. If we look into our history, we will
not be astonished that during the so called barbarian
times of the past, war acts were more humane, whereas
in our technologically advanced times, people are exterminated
massively?I call you not only to discuss it but also
to prepare proposals for the parliaments and the governments
of our countries. To propose to them the most precious
to us resort, the eternal intellectual experience of
Orthodoxy, which gives answers to all the questions,
which arise in our societies. I have the conviction,
with the collaboration of politics with science and
theology, that we will be able to delimit the constructive
work for the protection of peace, as well as, for the
prosperous existence of all our intellectual - political
community. I consider that we all should be guided by
the following moral rule: the basic means against war
is peace and against poverty is caring for our fellowman....".
Delegations from 15 parliaments
- members of the I.A.O participated in the Assembly:
Greece, Russia, Cyprus, Albania, Australia, Belarus,
Georgia, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Ukraine,. In addition,
delegations from USA, Palestine, Belgium, and Parliament
of Uganda, as well as, a representative from the organisation
" SYNDESMOS" of the Orthodox youths.
The venue for the 11th
General Assembly for the year 2004 was decided to be
Kiev, Ukraine.
The General Assembly elected
the new organs
of IAO and adopted:
RESOLUTION ON THE PALESTINIAN-ISRAELI
ISSUE
RESOLUTION ON THE DRAFT OF THE EUROPEAN
CONSTITUTION |
