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ANCA PRESSES ADMINISTRATION ABOUT TURKEY’S ROLE IN KESSAB ATTACK
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014 | Posted by Contributor
Smoke over the Kessab after the invasion by Al Qada-linked terrorists
in March
Seeks Transparency and Accountability for Depopulation for Armenian
Town by Terrorist Group
WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
continued to press the Obama Administration for straight answers about
Turkey’s role in a March 21st cross-border attack by extremists
that depopulated the historically Armenian town of Kessab, Syria.
In an exchange of letters with the Department of State, ANCA Chairman
Ken Hachikian has stressed that Armenian Americans remain “very
troubled by the Administration’s continued reluctance to
provide a simple answer to a straightforward question: ‘Is it
the considered judgment of the U.S. government that the Republic of
Turkey aided, abetted, facilitated, or otherwise played a role in
the March 21st attack on Kessab?’”
The ANCA’s May 15th letter, addressed to Assistant Secretary of
State Victoria Nuland, noted that: “As Americans, citizens of
a nation bound to Turkey by our NATO treaty obligations, we deserve
to know if this U.S. ally has conspired with extremists - officially
designated by our government as terrorists - in a cross-border attack
against a peaceful population. If our government’s investigation
has found that Turkey played no role in this attack, the Administration
should make this view known, challenging widespread media accounts
of Ankara’s complicity. If, however, our government’s
investigation has confirmed a Turkish role, the Administration should
forcefully and publicly confront Turkey for conspiring with an al
Qaeda-linked group to drive thousands of civilians from their homes. In
either case, we ask the Administration to cooperate with all relevant
Congressional investigations.” Congressman Brad Sherman has
played a pivotal role in ensuring that Members of Congress have been
briefed by Administration officials concerning the attack on Kessab.
In a May 2nd State Department letter to the ANCA, which came in
response to an ANCA meeting with Administration officials following
the March attack, Assistant Secretary Nuland commented indirectly
about Turkey, noting that: “We have reminded Turkey of its
responsibilities for protecting civilian populations along the border
and for ensuring that armed groups are not able to use Turkish
territory for actions against civilians.” Despite extensive
evidence of Ankara’s facilitation of this assault, Assistant
Secretary Nuland passed along the Turkish government’s denial,
without any critical commentary: “Turkish authorities have stated
that they had no involvement in the displacement of the population
of Kessab and did not allow armed groups to cross the border into
Syria.” In this letter, Assistant Secretary Nuland underscored
the U.S. government’s position regarding “the importance
of ensuring that Armenian Christians can continue to live and flourish
in the land of their ancestors, and we understand that the situation
in Kessab is particularly fraught.”
Read ANCA’sletter to Assistant Secretary Nuland.
http://asbarez.com/123714/anca-presses-administration-about-turkeys-role-in-
kessab-attack/
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014 | Posted by Contributor
Smoke over the Kessab after the invasion by Al Qada-linked terrorists
in March
Seeks Transparency and Accountability for Depopulation for Armenian
Town by Terrorist Group
WASHINGTON-The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
continued to press the Obama Administration for straight answers about
Turkey’s role in a March 21st cross-border attack by extremists
that depopulated the historically Armenian town of Kessab, Syria.
In an exchange of letters with the Department of State, ANCA Chairman
Ken Hachikian has stressed that Armenian Americans remain “very
troubled by the Administration’s continued reluctance to
provide a simple answer to a straightforward question: ‘Is it
the considered judgment of the U.S. government that the Republic of
Turkey aided, abetted, facilitated, or otherwise played a role in
the March 21st attack on Kessab?’”
The ANCA’s May 15th letter, addressed to Assistant Secretary of
State Victoria Nuland, noted that: “As Americans, citizens of
a nation bound to Turkey by our NATO treaty obligations, we deserve
to know if this U.S. ally has conspired with extremists - officially
designated by our government as terrorists - in a cross-border attack
against a peaceful population. If our government’s investigation
has found that Turkey played no role in this attack, the Administration
should make this view known, challenging widespread media accounts
of Ankara’s complicity. If, however, our government’s
investigation has confirmed a Turkish role, the Administration should
forcefully and publicly confront Turkey for conspiring with an al
Qaeda-linked group to drive thousands of civilians from their homes. In
either case, we ask the Administration to cooperate with all relevant
Congressional investigations.” Congressman Brad Sherman has
played a pivotal role in ensuring that Members of Congress have been
briefed by Administration officials concerning the attack on Kessab.
In a May 2nd State Department letter to the ANCA, which came in
response to an ANCA meeting with Administration officials following
the March attack, Assistant Secretary Nuland commented indirectly
about Turkey, noting that: “We have reminded Turkey of its
responsibilities for protecting civilian populations along the border
and for ensuring that armed groups are not able to use Turkish
territory for actions against civilians.” Despite extensive
evidence of Ankara’s facilitation of this assault, Assistant
Secretary Nuland passed along the Turkish government’s denial,
without any critical commentary: “Turkish authorities have stated
that they had no involvement in the displacement of the population
of Kessab and did not allow armed groups to cross the border into
Syria.” In this letter, Assistant Secretary Nuland underscored
the U.S. government’s position regarding “the importance
of ensuring that Armenian Christians can continue to live and flourish
in the land of their ancestors, and we understand that the situation
in Kessab is particularly fraught.”
Read ANCA’sletter to Assistant Secretary Nuland.
http://asbarez.com/123714/anca-presses-administration-about-turkeys-role-in-
kessab-attack/