AHI Requests Woodrow Wilson Center to Rescind Public Service Award to
Turkish Foreign Minister

Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: C. Franciscos Economides
May 21, 2010 – No. 37 (202) 785-8430

WASHINGTON, DC – The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) sent a letter
on May 21, 2010, to Mr. Lee H. Hamilton, president and director,
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, requesting the
center to rescind its decision to present Turkish Foreign Minister
Ahmet Davutoglu with the Woodrow Wilson Center’s Public Service Award
in June.

`We strongly contend that Minister Davutoglu is undeserving of the
honor based upon the spirit of the award and the ideals President
Woodrow Wilson championed,’ wrote AHI Executive Director Nick
Larigakis.

In the letter, AHI provides a series of facts since the time Foreign
Minister Davutoglu took office on May 1, 2009, that demonstrates he is
unworthy of the award.

`Under Minister Davutoglu’s foreign policy oversight, leadership, and
direction, Turkey continues to illegally occupy another sovereign
nation in the Republic of Cyprus, an EU member, continues to violate
international law in the Aegean Sea, suppress religious freedom and
minority rights, has taken policy positions regarding Iran, Sudan, and
Israel in opposition to the U.S., and fails to accept responsibility
for the genocide of Armenians, Greek and Assyrian Christians in the
20th century,’ wrote Larigakis.

`A steadfast belief in public discourse, scholarship, and the
extension of the benefits of knowledge in the United States and around
the world’ is among the criteria used by the Woodrow Wilson Center for
presenting the award.

Click here to view the letter to Mr. Hamilton. (1.2 MB PDF file.)

The American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) is a 501(c)(3)
non-profit tax-exempt Greek American think-tank, educational and
research organization. The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) is a 501
(c) (6) non-profit, tax-exempt organization that works to strengthen
relations between the United States and Greece and Cyprus, and within
the Greek American community.

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For additional information, please contact C. Franciscos Economides at
(202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about
the activities of AHI, please see our website at

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress