U.S. Congressman: we want Turkey to acknowledge Armenian Genocide

U.S. Congressman: we want Turkey to acknowledge Armenian Genocide
December 17, 2011 - 09:46 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - A growing number of Members of the House of Representatives have praised the passage this week of a landmark resolution calling upon Turkey to return the Christian church properties it stole through genocide, and to end its repression of the surviving members of the vast Christian civilizations that once represented a majority in the territory of the present-day Republic of Turkey, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

Following the December 13 adoption of H.Res.306, Members of Congress including Rep. John Sarbanes (D-MD), Janice Hahn (D-CA), Michael Grimm (R-NY), Shelley Berkley (D-NV), Robert Dold (R-IL) and Joseph Crowley have added their voices to the call for expanded religious freedom in Turkey.

House Members spotlighted Turkey's decades of repression of the Christian communities within modern-day Turkey's borders, with many urging the Turkish government to recognize the genocide against the Armenian, Greek, Assyrian, and Syriac communities which served as the basis for confiscation of the vast majority of Christian churches.

“Religious tolerance has long been a problem for Turkey, which has yet to remedy the desecration of the religious properties of over 2 million Armenians and Greeks and Assyrians and Syriacs over the last 100 years,” Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) said.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) commented: “We want Christian communities in Turkey to enjoy the same rights and privileges that religious minorities enjoy in this country... We want Turkey to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. This is not too much to ask.”

“Turkey which has such a profound connection with the birth and growth of Christianity, has today expropriated church properties, harassed worshipers, and refused to grant full legal status to some Christian groups,” Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) said.

Rep. Janice Hahn (D-CA) noted: “For too long, the U.S. has allowed Turkey to elude responsibility for the destruction of Armenian churches. With this resolution, Congress sends a stern message to Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan - the United States will not tolerate Turkish assaults on Armenian heritage and religious freedom.”

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