ACTION ALERT – Turkey guilty of kidnapping Antiochian Greek Archbishop of Aleppo

For Immediate Release – July 4th, 2014
In a recently released video on YouTube, the Grand Sunni Mufti of Syria, Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun named the Turkish government, as the guilty party behind the kidnapping of both the Greek and Syriac Orthodox Archbishops of Aleppo. As per the Grand Mufti, Turkey’s motive seems to be connected to the issue of confiscated Christian properties, and the possibility of the Syriac Church returning its Patriarchate seat back to the city of Antioch.
Abducted last April, outside the village of Kfar Dael, the Antiochian Greek Archbishop Boulos Yazigi and Assyrian Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim remain missing. In the video, Mufti Hassoun says, “…if I wanted to historically judge, I will judge both Erdogan and Davutoglu that they are the kidnappers of the Archbishops”. He claims that the Turkish government used a Chechen Terrorist organization connected to the Turkish Intelligence Services, to abduct the two Archbishops.
SEE FULL VIDEO BELOW
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoREhyp26Ts&feature=youtu.be
This is not the first time reports of Turkish involvement in the Kidnapping of Aleppo’s Archbishops have come to light. The question, however, is what if anything will happen with this new information? The Greek-American Lobby is just coming off a major legislative victory with its allies, the Armenians. Operation Antioch is proud to say that all three leading Greek-American organizations (AHEPA, HALC, and AHI) advocated hard to pass the Turkey Christian Churches Accountability Act (HR 4347).
The bill, which was recently passed by the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, requires the United States monitor the return of confiscated Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian properties in Turkey and Occupation Northern Cyprus.
Operation Antioch, therefore, asks all Hellenes to contact these organizations. Congratulate them on their recent victory and tell them to continue their good work. Ask our lobby to lead the way, and campaign for the release of both Archbishops. An opportunity awaits us, to not only build stronger relations with Assyrian America, but also a chance to show Antiochian Greeks that Hellenism has not forgotten them.
Contact Information
AHEPA (The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association)
(202) 232-6300
ahepa
HALC (The Hellenic American Leadership Council)
(312) 262-5902
contact
AHI (The American Hellenic Institute)
(202)-785-8430
Georgea Polizos, Legislative Director
georgea
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