Hellenic News of America
April 30 2006
Greek American Membership Organizations’ 2006 Policy Statement on
Compensation to Turkey’s Victims
Greek American Membership Organizations’ 2006 Policy Statement on
Compensation to Turkey’s Victims
WASHINGTON, DC– American Hellenic Institute president Gene Rossides
announced today that the major Greek American membership
organizations endorsed the 2006 policy statement on Compensation To
Turkey’s Victims. Prepared by the American Hellenic Institute, it is
part of the 2006 Greek American Policy Statements. The major
membership organizations are: the Order of AHEPA, the Hellenic
American National Council, the Cyprus Federation of America, the
Panepirotic Federation of America, the Pan-Macedonian Association of
America, the PanCretan Association of America, the Pan-Pontian
Federation of U.S.A. and Canada and the American Hellenic Institute.
The endorsed statement follows:
Compensation To Turkey’s Victims
We cite the compensation paid by the government of Germany to
holocaust victims and to the state of Israel and the government of
Japan to the victims of its actions in Asia before and during World
War II. We call on the U.S. government to press Turkey to pay
compensation:
* to the victims of Turkey’s illegal invasion of Cyprus of 1974;
* to the owners of property in Cyprus illegally taken, occupied and
used by the Turkish authorities and individuals since 1974;
* to the victims of the September 1955 Turkish pogrom against its
Greek citizens in Istanbul. The Turkish government at the time said
it would pay compensation to those victims but it has failed to do
so;
* to the victims of the Turkish genocide against the Pontian Greeks
in the 1920’s;
* to the victims of the Turkish massacre of the Greek and Armenian
populations of Smyrna (now Izmir) in 1922 under Kemal Ataturk’s
orders; and
* to the victims of Turkey’s Armenian Genocide in 1915.
Turkey, under threat of expulsion from the Council of Europe, finally
complied with the ruling of the European Court and paid the judgment
of the European Court of Human Rights which awarded $1.3 million in
damages to Titina Loizidou for the violation of her property rights
in the occupied area in connection with Turkey’s illegal invasion of
Cyprus in 1974 and its continuing illegal occupation. It demonstrates
that forceful action regarding Turkey will bring results. We call for
payments to all similarly situated Greek Cypriots and other owners of
property in the occupied area, including American owners.
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