Members of AHI’s Delaware, Oregon Chapters Meet with Legislators

WASHINGTON, DC — Members of the Delaware and Oregon chapters of the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) met with members of Congress to discuss policy issues of importance to the Greek American community in June 2011.

“AHI commends the grassroots activity of our members from Delaware and the Pacific Northwest,” said AHI President Nick Larigakis. “The importance of meeting with legislators in their congressional districts cannot be underestimated. We encourage the Greek American community to undertake similar initiatives to educate members of Congress about the issues affecting the community.”

Dr. George Moutsatsos, president, AHI-Delaware Chapter, Spiros Mantzavinos, vice president, AHI-Delaware Chapter, and Archon Constantine Caras, who is chairman of Leadership 100, met with U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) on June 29, 2011. According to the AHI members, Senator Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demonstrated remarkable knowledge about the issues and was well-versed. The senator holds a Master’s Degree in Theology and has studied the New Testament in Greek. Senator Coons expressed particular concern about the plight of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the absolute need for freedom of religious expression in Turkey.   The first-term senator also expressed his commitment to work toward a long overdue resolution to the Turkish occupation of the Republic of Cyprus.

Members of the AHI-Oregon Chapter met with U.S. Reps. Kurt Schrader (D-OR) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) on June 9, 2011 and June 28, 2011, respectively. The AHI members raised H.Res.180, urging Turkey to respect the rights and religious freedom of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, with both legislators. Also in both meetings the issue of Cyprus was discussed, especially the destruction of cultural and religious heritage in the occupied area. The AHI members who met with Rep. Schrader were: Alex Christy, Bill Aspros, and Dr. George Anadiotis. Christy and Dr. Anadiotis were joined by E. John Rumpakis and John Somarakis for the meeting with Rep. Beutler.

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The American Hellenic Institute is a non-profit Greek American public policy center 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 Demetra Atsaloglou at (202) 785-8430 or at pr@ahiworld.org. For general information about the activities of AHI, please see our website at https://www.ahiworld.org.