The Washington Times Publishes AHI’s Letter to the Editor on Cyprus

AHI Submits Letter to The Washington Post on U.S. Arms Sales to Turkey

WASHINGTON, DC—The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) released two letters to the editor it submitted recently to prominent Washington metropolitan daily newspapers on the topics of the sale of United States weaponry to Turkey and the Cyprus invasion, the latter of which was published by the Washington Times.

AHI Executive Director Nick Larigakis wrote a response to a February 14, 2010 editorial placed in The Washington Post titled “France’s Valentine to Russia.”  The editorial scrutinized France for its sale of a naval vessel to Russia because the latter nation occupied another sovereign nation.  Larigakis contended that a “striking parallel” exists with the United States’ “steady flow of its weaponry to Turkey” which does not receive the same scrutiny by the mainstream media.  He argued that U.S. weaponry to Turkey “enabled Turkey to illegally invade and occupy the Republic of Cyprus for 36 years.”

Larigakis concluded by highlighting President Barack Obama’s request for congressional approval of a $7.8 billion sale of PAC-3 missiles to Turkey in September 2009.  “This is one of the biggest U.S. government-to-government arms sales in years and marks Turkey’s return as a major U.S. arms buyer,” he wrote.

To view The Washington Post editorial, please click here.

The Cyprus “Incursion” Was an Invasion

The Washington Times published Executive Director Nick Larigakis’ letter dated March 5, 2010 in response to James Morrison’s February 23, 2010 Embassy Row column.  Morrison’s column featured AHI’s call for President Obama to recall American Ambassador to Turkey James Jeffrey.

Larigakis expressed appreciation for Morrison’s coverage of AHI’s statement on Ambassador Jeffrey’s unacceptable remarks on Cyprus.  However, he also pointed out misstatements of fact Morrison presented in his column about Cyprus.

“The Turkish military action against the Republic of Cyprus on July 20, 1974 was not an ‘incursion,’ but rather an illegal cross-border invasion of another sovereign nation accomplished with the illegal use of U.S.-supplied arms,” wrote Larigakis.

To view Morrison’s February 23 column, please click here, and Larigakis’ letter to the editor can be found by clicking here.

To view AHI’s letters the editor in full, they are available for download here.

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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 Web site at https://www.ahiworld.org.