Letter of April 1st 1999 from Jacques Gaillot
	The tragedy of the Kurds New book: A virtual church	Happy easter Past letters:

		THE TRAGEDY OF THE KURDS   Are the Kurds really too much on our planet? Are they under a curse? The establishment of a Kurd country has always been postponed since 1920. Are there other people in the world of which ndependence has been so neglected? Turkey is set on harming these people to a point of annihilation. They are victims of State terrorism from 20 years: 4000 destroyed villages, two millions people displaced. Torture is systematic. Today 25 millions of Kurds spread over Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. Germany has the most important number of Kurd immigrants of the European Union (almost 600, 000) and 80% of them are from Turkey. Almost 100, 000 live in France. The capture of the Head of Kurd separatists, Ocalan, has made the front page and has broken the silence about the Kurd people. Many are finding out that the Kurds exist, have an history, and are determined to struggle for independence. Imprisonment of this leader reminds us that a fair world order will not exist if the rights of the people to determine their future is consistently put down. Not a single European country has accepted to receive Ocalan. He was handed over the Turkish Authorities. It is a scandal, but Turkey has powerful Allies, it belongs to NATO and has a strategic position in this part of the world. How can we not care for this country and close our eyes on such an unfair situation? Too bad for the Kurds, great Nations ignore them. But there is still a Kurd problem. It will be still there next century, there is no way to stop the destiny of these people.
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		HAPPY EASTER   The sun of the Resurrection has shed its light upon our unstable lives to spread the rising sap and to flood the deserted lands with love. All that Jesus has lived and all the suffering that Jesus endured has ended in failure and loneliness. He was innocently condemned, a victim of injustice. And God did not do anything. But at Easter, God did not let Jesus in the power of death. He reinstates Jesus in his rights in front of the world. He gives ground to his struggle to free us from all bonds of servitude.   Jesus' Easter is also ours. It is the source of our hope, we discover the young spring shoot which liberate vital forces. See this letter from Setif in Algeria: "In every day life we see an enormous ability for resistance among the small people. How mothers have to struggle for the lives of their children, to send them to school! In society, Associations and Unions are powerful helper to mobilize the people. The lowering of the price of oil, 10 US dollars a barrel, will force us to rely on more diversified industrial goods instead of only oil sales. Innovation abilities do exist but confidence in future falls short and the lack of security does not allow foreign investments. I underline the courage and tenacity of an independent Press too much ignored by the Western world. Thanks to this Press, every thing is put forward and discussed " the system" as we say is shaken and some of its "keepers" had to be dismissed from their position. The Press has succeeded in getting over many attempts to stop it. The long march towards democracy is still going on. But more important is what is going on in one's own heart and conscience.   The usual land marks of religion, tradition do not work as well. Many have to rely on their own conscience. What does it means to be Algerian? to be a Moslem? How to prepare our future? In this search, with these questions, we reach our deep personality..." Have an happy Easter!
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		Mgr Jacques Gaillot EGLISE VIRTUELLE EGLISE DE L'AN 2000 Un évêque au royaume d'Internet In January 1995 Jacques Gaillot abruptly received his resignation from his office at Evreux. In a rather surrealist way, this eviction was transformed in an appointment at an ancient and fictitious see, Partenia in Algeria. This made him a kind of virtual Bishop of which his potential parishioners were spread all over the planet... A year later, he decided to take the institution at its word, he opened a web site to dialogue with every body in the world. It was immediately successful: thousands of Internet users from all over France, Canada, Australia and dozens of countries, laymen or clerics, Christians or non Christians, for or against, conversed on many various subjects. This book accounts for the site of Partenia 2000 as an extraordinary way of exchanging, it is an indication of the Church to be in which the geographic divisions of the dioceses, inherited from the Middle Age, do not mean much. Assembled by Philippe Huet and Elizabeth Cocquart, Jacques Gaillot presents messages about exclusion, racism, death penalty and many other passionate matters. Dreaming of a Church in harmony with the evolution of the world, evocation of revolts and hopes of a whole generation, this collection of testimonies, faithfully received by the Bishop, opens a "pastorale" of a totally original kind.
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		Past letters: Letter of March 1th, 99, PACS: at issue Letter of February 1th, 99, New Year Mail Letter of January 1th, 99, Let us be subverted for the Jubilee Letter of October 1th, 98, the Forum Letter of September 1th, 98 Letter of August 1th, 98 Letter of July 1th, 98 Letter of June 1th, 98 Letter of May 1th, 98 Letter of April 1th, 98 Letter of March 1th, 98 Letter of February 1th, 98 Letter of January 1th, 98 Letter of December 1th, 97 Letter of November 1th, 97 Letter of October 1th, 97 Letter of September 1th, 97 Letter of July 1th, 97 Letter of June 1th, 97 Letter of May 1th, 97 Letter of April 1th, 97 Letter of December 1st, 96 Letter of April 1st, 96 Letter of January 13th, 96
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