Tweet
ANCA CALLS FOR APOLOGY FROM AMBASSADOR RICCIARDONE
Panorama
Aug 16, 2011
Armenia
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today called for
an apology from U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone over
his recent written response to a Senate inquiry falsely claiming that
"most of the Christian churches functioning prior to 1915 are still
operating as churches."
The August 15th letter from ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian to Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton reviewed the facts surrounding the Ambassador's
offensive and inaccurate comment whitewashing the vast destruction
of Christian holy sites, noting that the Ambassador's remarks reflect
"his eagerness to embrace the government of Turkey's false and hateful
genocide denial narrative, at lengths beyond even the Administration's
longstanding and shameful complicity in Turkey's denials of the
Armenian Genocide."
The ANCA letter specifically calls for three actions: an official
statement by Ambassador Ricciardone and the Department of State
retracting his response; a full and formal correction affirming
that the vast majority of Christian churches on the territory of
present-day Turkey were desecrated, destroyed or stolen by the Ottoman
and Republican Turkish governments, and that any surviving churches
and all religious properties should be returned to their rightful
Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Syriac, Pontian and other Christian church
and lay ownerships; and an apology from Ambassador Ricciardone.
Panorama
Aug 16, 2011
Armenia
The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today called for
an apology from U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone over
his recent written response to a Senate inquiry falsely claiming that
"most of the Christian churches functioning prior to 1915 are still
operating as churches."
The August 15th letter from ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian to Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton reviewed the facts surrounding the Ambassador's
offensive and inaccurate comment whitewashing the vast destruction
of Christian holy sites, noting that the Ambassador's remarks reflect
"his eagerness to embrace the government of Turkey's false and hateful
genocide denial narrative, at lengths beyond even the Administration's
longstanding and shameful complicity in Turkey's denials of the
Armenian Genocide."
The ANCA letter specifically calls for three actions: an official
statement by Ambassador Ricciardone and the Department of State
retracting his response; a full and formal correction affirming
that the vast majority of Christian churches on the territory of
present-day Turkey were desecrated, destroyed or stolen by the Ottoman
and Republican Turkish governments, and that any surviving churches
and all religious properties should be returned to their rightful
Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, Syriac, Pontian and other Christian church
and lay ownerships; and an apology from Ambassador Ricciardone.