Posted on 12/15/2014 6:17:38 AM PST by marshmallow
Moscow, December 15, Interfax - The Imperial Orthodox Palestinian Society (IOPS) has announced the creation of a White Book on crimes against Christians in the Middle East, which will be presented at the United Nations Human Rights Council in February 2015.
"We are working to compile the so-called White Book, containing a sorrowful list of names of the slain and tortured Christians, instances of churches and shrines being destroyed, and eyewitness accounts. We would like to present this book at the UN HRC at its next session in late February - early March," IOPS Vice President Yelena Agapova told a general meeting of IOPS members.
The book will be available in Russian, Arabic and English.
"We will present it for judgment to the global community, and in making this book we are being helped by human rights campaigners from Syria and from Lebanon, including the world-famous human rights campaigner, the Catholic nun Mother Mariam el-Salib, whom we are expecting at the IOPS literally in a few days," Agapova said.
The IOPS will also continue providing humanitarian aid to the Christians in the Middle East, which is especially urgent now that the winter upon us and people often do not even have heating devices, she said.
The IOPS was founded in 1882 on the order of Russian Emperor Alexander III. The Society's principal goals and objectives are: to organize trips for Russian pilgrims to holy places (Palestine, Athos, Bari), to assist Russian Church services abroad, to conduct cultural and educational activities for population in the Middle East and academic research into the historical legacy of the Holy Land.
I wonder how it is “Imperial” when the emperor and empire are long since dead.
Maybe it was originally IHOPS (Imperial Holy Orthodox Palestinian Society), until IHOP threatened to sue unless they dropped the H.
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