Supreme President George G. Horiates led a contingent of Ahepans who participated at a protest of Turkey held at the Embassy of Turkey in Washington, DC, August 14, 2020. The Hellenic Cultural Center organized the protest.
The peaceful protest took an ugly turn when counter-protestors exhibited Turkish propaganda and physically blocked access to the public sidewalk in front of the Embassy of Turkey which is located on Massachusetts Avenue, NW. Supreme President Horiates, in cooperation with the U.S. Secret Service and Metropolitan DC police personnel, resolved what was becoming a tense situation.
“We sincerely thank the organizers of today’s protest, the Hellenic Cultural Center, and we appreciate the law enforcement officers, George Marafatsos from the HCC, and Capitol District 3 Lodge officers for their involvement and participation,” Supreme President Horiates said. “We also thank the District of Columbia for permitting the protest to take place, allowing us to exercise our First Amendment rights to raise awareness of the egregious provocative acts of Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as the violation of the universal value of the UNESCO-protected Hagia Sophia, which status has now been changed to a mosque by the Erdogan regime.”
AHEPA Continues to Press the Administration to Sanction Turkey
In addition, AHEPA sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump to convey the Order’s alarm and grave concern about Turkey’s aggressive acts in the Aegean and urged President Trump to encourage Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to send a strong message to Turkey to stop its hostile behavior in the region.
Moreover, in the letter, Supreme President Horiates asked the Administration to 1) condemn Turkey’s actions and 2) to impose sanctions on Turkey for its violation of U.S. law.
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Founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, on the principles that undergirded its fight for civil rights and against discrimination, bigotry, and hatred felt at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, AHEPA is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 chapters across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
AHEPA’s mission is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.
For more information, please visit www.ahepa.org.