AHI Requests Presidential Campaigns to Issue Statements to Greek American CommunityWASHINGTON, DC —The American Hellenic Institute (AHI) sent letters to the presidential campaigns of President Barack Obama [352KB PDF] and Governor Mitt Romney [347KB PDF] requesting that the two campaigns each issue a campaign statement to the Greek American community on issues of importance to the community. “We are presenting each presidential campaign with an opportunity to convey its support to the Greek American community, which is a strong and vibrant community especially in many tight battleground states,” said AHI President Nick Larigakis. “We expect each campaign to take advantage of this opportunity. We look forward to sharing their positions on Greek American issues with the community.” A condensed version of AHI policy statements on Greek American issues addressing five policy areas accompanied each letter to the candidate. These issue areas were: 1) importance of southeastern Europe and eastern Mediterranean, 2) Greece, including the FYROM name-recognition issue; 3) Cyprus, 4) religious freedom for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, and 5) Turkey. Also included with the letters were examples of campaign statements issued by previous presidential candidates of the same political party. The Greek American community’s presence in battleground states is significant, added Larigakis. “For example, in 13 states that are considered battleground states there is a total of 191 Greek Orthodox Churches,” he said. “Our community can make a difference.”
The American Hellenic Institute is an independent 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.
### For additional information, please contact Georgea Polizos 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. |
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AHI Requests Presidential Campaigns to Issue Statements to Greek American Community
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