WASHINGTON, DC –
AHEPA commends bipartisan congressional action to urge the U.S. Department of State to hold the Republic of Turkey accountable for its role in supporting and facilitating the operations of Hamas, announced Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos.
Congressional Hellenic Caucus Co-Chairs U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and Chris Pappas (D-NH) led the effort to secure the support of 45 colleagues on a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that requests the State Department demand the Turkish government to act on six measures pertaining to Hamas. One of those measures is to formally designate Hamas as a terrorist organization.
“We commend the leadership of Congressmen Bilirakis and Pappas and sincerely thank the legislators who supported it,” Supreme President Tsivicos said. “Turkey is a failed NATO ally in many ways, one of which is evidenced by its cozy relationship with Hamas. The letter demonstrates the extent of this relationship in excellent detail. We call upon Secretary Blinken to take the appropriate steps to hold Turkey accountable per the measures presented by the lawmakers.”
“We further encourage the community to share the letter with their elected representatives,” Tsivicos added.
The letter comes in the wake of Turkish President Erdogan’s refusal to acknowledge Hamas as a terrorist organization.
AHEPA also applauds a joint bipartisan congressional caucus condemnation of Turkish President Erdogan’s remarks on Hamas, announced Supreme President Savas C. Tsivicos.
The co-chairs and vice co-chairs of the Hellenic Caucus, Armenian Caucus, Israel Allies Caucus, and the Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance Caucus (Rep. Gus Bilirakis, Rep. Brad Schneider, Rep. Chris Smith, Rep. Frank Pallone, and Rep. Doug Lamborn, Rep. Chris Pappas, Rep. David Valadao, Rep. Brad Sherman, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, Rep. Adam Schiff, and Rep. Dina Titus), issued the following statement of condemnation on Oct. 27:
“Today, as bipartisan co-chairs and members of four Congressional caucuses – the Hellenic Caucus, Armenian Caucus, Israel Allies Caucus, and Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance Caucus – we join together to roundly condemn Turkish President Erdogan’s refusal to call Hamas a terrorist organization and instead describing it as “a liberation group, ‘mujahideen’ waging a battle to protect its lands and people.” Hamas is a terrorist group committed to murdering Jews and destroying Israel and any suggestion otherwise is appalling. Erdogan’s comments on Hamas continue the deeply concerning trend of Turkey under President Erdogan’s leadership undermining the peace and security of its democratic neighbors. We call on the international community to hold Turkey accountable for these antisemitic words, as well as for its longstanding belligerence towards Armenians, Hellenes, Kurds, and other communities in the region. As the United States’ NATO ally, Turkey should be held to a higher standard and these actions are unacceptable.”
