USCIRF Condemns Anti-Armenian Attacks in Istanbul
On June 3, the United States Commission on International Freedom (USCIRF) issued a statement via twitter, condemning the attacks on Armenian Churches in Turkey and threats of violence against the Hrant Dink Foundation. Citing a source from Al-monitor, the USCIRF expressed their concerns of recent events causing fear among minority groups in Turkey.
USCIRF is concerned by reports of attacks on Armenian churches, threats against the Hrant Dink Foundation (@HrantDinkFnd), and other incidents contributing to a sense of fear and insecurity among religious and other minorities in #Turkey.https://t.co/tgjkWEWk5F
— USCIRF (@USCIRF) June 3, 2020
While we are heartened that the USCIRF is monitoring the ongoing situation in Turkey, we ask that the United States enact more stringent measures to protect the ethnic and religious freedoms of the people living in Turkey. With these recent events, Erdogan’s regime has sparked a hightened level of intolerance, fear, and terror within the region. The current level of xenophobia in Turkey is stronger than it has ever been since the Armenian Genocide of 1915.
The United States has been an exemplary nation in preserving and upholding the virtues of democracy and equality throughout the world, and as such, we urge the State Department to take proactive measures to ensure that the civil liberties and freedoms of all people, including minorities in Turkey, are not infringed upon through violence, censorship, oppression and other inhumane acts.
The Armenian Council of America is committed to promote the civic and civil rights interests of the Armenian American community, and to champion the causes and concerns of the Armenian-American community within local, state, and federal governments.
