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ANCA WELCOMES NEW U.S. PRESSURE ON TURKEY TO RETURN STOLEN RELIGIOUS PROPERTIES
asbarez
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Secretary Clinton offers written assurance to the ANCA that the
U.S. government is pressing the Turkish government to restore
confiscated properties
WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America has welcomed
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first-ever public assertion that
the U.S. government is actively pressing the highest levels of the
Turkish government to restore confiscated properties to religious
communities.
Secretary Clinton's acknowledgment of Washington's pressure on Ankara
came in a written response to an August 15, 2011 ANCA letter in which
the organization's national chairman, Ken Hachikian, shared with her
the Armenian American community's objections to U.S. Ambassador to
Turkey Francis Ricciardone's serious mischaracterization regarding
the number of Christian churches that escaped Ottoman and, later,
Republican Turkey's campaigns of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and
cultural destruction.
Secretary Clinton, in her response, stated: "We continue to stress
the importance we attach to religious freedom in Turkey with
Turkish leaders. We also continue to raise our concerns regarding
the restoration of previously confiscated properties to religious
communities with Turkish authorities at the highest levels. In
this regard, we will be following closely the implementation of the
Government of Turkey's August 27 decree to return all confiscated
immovable property belonging to 162 officially recognized non-Muslim
religious community foundations in Turkey."
The letter from Secretary Clinton, coming less than two months
after the near-unanimous July 20th vote by the U.S. House Foreign
Affairs Committee calling on the State Department to pressure Turkey
to return stolen Christian churches, reflects the growing momentum
of the "return of churches" movement among Armenian Americans, other
Christian groups persecuted by Turkey, and, more broadly, by advocates
of religious freedom. The controversy over Ambassador Ricciardone's
mistaken response, which was viewed widely as a bid to appease Ankara,
delayed his confirmation by the U.S. Senate until October 4.
In the ANCA's response to Secretary Clinton's letter, Hachikian noted
that: "We welcome your commitment to the restoration by Turkey of all
confiscated religious properties, and look forward to your leadership
in producing concrete results in support of our nation's policy on this
matter. Your powerful words - stated in no uncertain terms - provide
reassurance that we, as Americans, are on the side of justice on this
issue of fundamental fairness and religious freedom." He added that:
"The Armenian American community will stand in solidarity with you -
as will all concerned Americans - as you pursue this matter with the
Turkish government in the months to come. We respectfully ask you,
Madam Secretary, to stay firm in this diplomacy. We ask, as well,
that you appropriately dismiss superficial and token acts by the
Turkish government, including isolated restorations and conversions
of churches into museums, designed to distract attention from the
pressing need for Ankara's acceptance of a comprehensive resolution
of the vast theft and destruction of religious properties."
Hachikian also reviewed for Secretary Clinton the Armenian American
community's profound disappointment over the legacy of U.S. complicity
in Turkey's campaign to block a truthful and just resolution of the
Armenian Genocide, stating: "Our diplomatic record shows that American
leaders have repeatedly caved in to Turkish government pressure,
effectively allowing the most extremist and intolerant domestic
constituencies within Turkish society to dictate American policy on
the Armenian Genocide and other vital issues concerning justice,
religious freedom, and human rights. Our ill-advised appeasement
of such irrational and hateful views continues to undermine the
small, but growing, element of civil society within Turkey that has
shown tremendous courage in demanding that their government speak
truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and behave justly with the
Armenian people."
The ANCA concluded its letter with its traditional request that
Secretary Clinton hold a meeting with the broad-based collective
leadership of the Armenian American community.
Visit the ANCA Web site for additional information on this subject.
asbarez
Thursday, October 13th, 2011
Secretary Clinton offers written assurance to the ANCA that the
U.S. government is pressing the Turkish government to restore
confiscated properties
WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America has welcomed
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's first-ever public assertion that
the U.S. government is actively pressing the highest levels of the
Turkish government to restore confiscated properties to religious
communities.
Secretary Clinton's acknowledgment of Washington's pressure on Ankara
came in a written response to an August 15, 2011 ANCA letter in which
the organization's national chairman, Ken Hachikian, shared with her
the Armenian American community's objections to U.S. Ambassador to
Turkey Francis Ricciardone's serious mischaracterization regarding
the number of Christian churches that escaped Ottoman and, later,
Republican Turkey's campaigns of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and
cultural destruction.
Secretary Clinton, in her response, stated: "We continue to stress
the importance we attach to religious freedom in Turkey with
Turkish leaders. We also continue to raise our concerns regarding
the restoration of previously confiscated properties to religious
communities with Turkish authorities at the highest levels. In
this regard, we will be following closely the implementation of the
Government of Turkey's August 27 decree to return all confiscated
immovable property belonging to 162 officially recognized non-Muslim
religious community foundations in Turkey."
The letter from Secretary Clinton, coming less than two months
after the near-unanimous July 20th vote by the U.S. House Foreign
Affairs Committee calling on the State Department to pressure Turkey
to return stolen Christian churches, reflects the growing momentum
of the "return of churches" movement among Armenian Americans, other
Christian groups persecuted by Turkey, and, more broadly, by advocates
of religious freedom. The controversy over Ambassador Ricciardone's
mistaken response, which was viewed widely as a bid to appease Ankara,
delayed his confirmation by the U.S. Senate until October 4.
In the ANCA's response to Secretary Clinton's letter, Hachikian noted
that: "We welcome your commitment to the restoration by Turkey of all
confiscated religious properties, and look forward to your leadership
in producing concrete results in support of our nation's policy on this
matter. Your powerful words - stated in no uncertain terms - provide
reassurance that we, as Americans, are on the side of justice on this
issue of fundamental fairness and religious freedom." He added that:
"The Armenian American community will stand in solidarity with you -
as will all concerned Americans - as you pursue this matter with the
Turkish government in the months to come. We respectfully ask you,
Madam Secretary, to stay firm in this diplomacy. We ask, as well,
that you appropriately dismiss superficial and token acts by the
Turkish government, including isolated restorations and conversions
of churches into museums, designed to distract attention from the
pressing need for Ankara's acceptance of a comprehensive resolution
of the vast theft and destruction of religious properties."
Hachikian also reviewed for Secretary Clinton the Armenian American
community's profound disappointment over the legacy of U.S. complicity
in Turkey's campaign to block a truthful and just resolution of the
Armenian Genocide, stating: "Our diplomatic record shows that American
leaders have repeatedly caved in to Turkish government pressure,
effectively allowing the most extremist and intolerant domestic
constituencies within Turkish society to dictate American policy on
the Armenian Genocide and other vital issues concerning justice,
religious freedom, and human rights. Our ill-advised appeasement
of such irrational and hateful views continues to undermine the
small, but growing, element of civil society within Turkey that has
shown tremendous courage in demanding that their government speak
truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and behave justly with the
Armenian people."
The ANCA concluded its letter with its traditional request that
Secretary Clinton hold a meeting with the broad-based collective
leadership of the Armenian American community.
Visit the ANCA Web site for additional information on this subject.