Tweet
U.S. ENVOY SAYS TURKEY'S RETURN OF CHURCHES 'IMPORTANT PRIORITY'
September 23, 2014 - 10:32 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Advocating full respect for the rights of Turkey's
ethnic and religious communities, including restoring ownership of
religious property, will be a very important priority for me and my
staff, U.S. ambassador to Turkey John Bass explained to Senator Mark
Kirk (R-IL) in response to a series of questions posed by the Illinois
legislator in the days leading up to the Ambassador's confirmation
last week by the U.S. Senate, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA).
Senator Kirk's inquiries to ambassador Bass related primarily to U.S.
policy regarding Armenian Genocide reaffirmation and Turkey's return
of confiscated Armenian, Greek and Assyrian religious properties.
Ambassador Bass, complying with instructions given to him by the
White House, avoided any direct mention of the Armenian Genocide,
noting that "the specific terminology the Administration uses
to refer to this tragedy is a policy determination made by the
President." While acknowledging, within the bounds of Administration
policy, the historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred
or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, he
conspicuously dodged Senator Kirk's simple factual question regarding
the actual party responsible for perpetrating these murders.
Consistent with recent State Department messaging, ambassador Bass
placed the onus on Ankara to come to terms with its past, stating:
"If confirmed as ambassador, it would be my duty to urge Turkey to
achieve a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts of what
occurred in 1915."
Noting that the Turkish "government seized thousands of properties
belonging to Christian and Jewish religious foundations between 1936
and 2011," ambassador Bass listed several specific actions he would
take to help secure their return, including "working with both the
national government and local governments to replicate the success of
projects like the restoration of the St. Giragos Armenian church in
Diyarbakir, which was restored and reopened as a church in 2011." The
Turkish government has attempted to secure international praise for the
reconstruction of several Christian churches, including the Holy Cross
Church on Akhtamar Island, which has been turned into a state-run,
secular museum and, until recently, was not even properly identified
as Armenian. St. Giragos is the only Armenian Church renovated in
conjunction with local authorities and returned to the Armenian
Patriarchate in Istanbul as a functioning place of worship.
"We would like to thank Senator Kirk for so ably and effectively
exercising the Senate's advise and consent powers and, more broadly,
for ensuring meaningful Congressional engagement and oversight of an
increasingly complex and contentious U.S.-Turkey relationship," said
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "While disappointed that the
Administration, on the eve of the Armenian Genocide centennial, chose
not to send Ambassador Bass before the U.S. Senate with a clear and
uncompromising mandate to tell the truth, we do welcome his expression
of American solidarity with the Armenian people, and also note that
his responses bring an added clarity to the evident, but too often
unarticulated, fact that President Obama bears responsibility for
determining the specific terminology the U.S. government uses to
refer to the Armenian Genocide."
Asked about whether the State Department is following the ongoing U.S.
lawsuits calling for compensation from insurance companies and banks
related to genocide-era assets, ambassador Bass responded that they
"continue to follow developments closely," and noted that "we recognize
current and potential future cases are more than just legal claims
for the heirs of victims and survivors; they represent a deep and
passionate search for resolution of one of the worst atrocities of
the 20th Century."
Sen. Kirk's inquiries were follow ups to written questions submitted
by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA).
The Senate leadership delayed the vote on the ambassador nominee
until last week, when he was approved by a vote of 98 to 0.
September 23, 2014 - 10:32 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Advocating full respect for the rights of Turkey's
ethnic and religious communities, including restoring ownership of
religious property, will be a very important priority for me and my
staff, U.S. ambassador to Turkey John Bass explained to Senator Mark
Kirk (R-IL) in response to a series of questions posed by the Illinois
legislator in the days leading up to the Ambassador's confirmation
last week by the U.S. Senate, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA).
Senator Kirk's inquiries to ambassador Bass related primarily to U.S.
policy regarding Armenian Genocide reaffirmation and Turkey's return
of confiscated Armenian, Greek and Assyrian religious properties.
Ambassador Bass, complying with instructions given to him by the
White House, avoided any direct mention of the Armenian Genocide,
noting that "the specific terminology the Administration uses
to refer to this tragedy is a policy determination made by the
President." While acknowledging, within the bounds of Administration
policy, the historical fact that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred
or marched to their deaths in the final days of the Ottoman Empire, he
conspicuously dodged Senator Kirk's simple factual question regarding
the actual party responsible for perpetrating these murders.
Consistent with recent State Department messaging, ambassador Bass
placed the onus on Ankara to come to terms with its past, stating:
"If confirmed as ambassador, it would be my duty to urge Turkey to
achieve a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts of what
occurred in 1915."
Noting that the Turkish "government seized thousands of properties
belonging to Christian and Jewish religious foundations between 1936
and 2011," ambassador Bass listed several specific actions he would
take to help secure their return, including "working with both the
national government and local governments to replicate the success of
projects like the restoration of the St. Giragos Armenian church in
Diyarbakir, which was restored and reopened as a church in 2011." The
Turkish government has attempted to secure international praise for the
reconstruction of several Christian churches, including the Holy Cross
Church on Akhtamar Island, which has been turned into a state-run,
secular museum and, until recently, was not even properly identified
as Armenian. St. Giragos is the only Armenian Church renovated in
conjunction with local authorities and returned to the Armenian
Patriarchate in Istanbul as a functioning place of worship.
"We would like to thank Senator Kirk for so ably and effectively
exercising the Senate's advise and consent powers and, more broadly,
for ensuring meaningful Congressional engagement and oversight of an
increasingly complex and contentious U.S.-Turkey relationship," said
ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "While disappointed that the
Administration, on the eve of the Armenian Genocide centennial, chose
not to send Ambassador Bass before the U.S. Senate with a clear and
uncompromising mandate to tell the truth, we do welcome his expression
of American solidarity with the Armenian people, and also note that
his responses bring an added clarity to the evident, but too often
unarticulated, fact that President Obama bears responsibility for
determining the specific terminology the U.S. government uses to
refer to the Armenian Genocide."
Asked about whether the State Department is following the ongoing U.S.
lawsuits calling for compensation from insurance companies and banks
related to genocide-era assets, ambassador Bass responded that they
"continue to follow developments closely," and noted that "we recognize
current and potential future cases are more than just legal claims
for the heirs of victims and survivors; they represent a deep and
passionate search for resolution of one of the worst atrocities of
the 20th Century."
Sen. Kirk's inquiries were follow ups to written questions submitted
by Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA).
The Senate leadership delayed the vote on the ambassador nominee
until last week, when he was approved by a vote of 98 to 0.