U.S. HOUSE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS SET TO CONSIDER H.R. 4347, THE TURKEY CHRISTIAN CHURCHES ACCOUNTABILITY ACT, ON 26 JUNE
Tuesday, June 24, 13:01
With just days to Thursday's vote by the U.S. House Foreign Affairs
Committee on the Turkey Christian Churches Accountability Act (H.R.
4347), the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) has set
Tuesday, June 24th as a day for Congressional calls and social media
activism in support of this bipartisan religious freedom measure,
ANCA reports. Call to Action in support of H.R. 4347
"This Tuesday, please call, post, tweet, and share your support for
Turkey's return of stolen Armenian, Greek, Syriac and other Christian
churches," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "Let your
legislators know you expect them to work for the passage of H.R.4347,
and then take two minutes to tell your friends and family that
you're taking a stand for the bipartisan Turkey Christian Churches
Accountability Act."
The ANCA is asking all supporters of religious freedom to contact their
legislators to support H.R.4347, and then to find creative ways to use
the hashtag #ReturnChurches in their Facebook, Twitter and other social
media posts. A sample phone script and relevant contact information
for legislators is available at http://www.anca.org/returnchurches.
The U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs, under the leadership of
Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA), is set to consider H.R. 4347, the Turkey
Christian Churches Accountability Act, on Thursday, June 26th at 9:00
am EST. The freedom of faith initiative is stridently opposed by the
Turkish Government.
Introduced this March of this year by Chairman Royce along with the
panel's Ranking Democrat Eliot Engel (D-NY), H.R. 4347 would require
that the U.S. Department of State formally report to Congress on an
annual basis about the status of Turkey's return of stolen Christian
churches and properties in Turkey and occupied Cyprus. H.R. 4347
builds on a measure (H.Res.306), spearheaded by Chairman Royce and then
House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Democrat Howard Berman (D-CA),
which was overwhelmingly adopted by the House of Representatives on
December 13, 2011. That resolution set the groundwork for H.R.4347
by calling upon the government of Turkey to honor its international
obligations to return confiscated Christian church properties and to
fully respect the rights of Christians to practice their faiths.
On Dec 13 2011, U.S. House passed H.Res. 306: Urging the Republic of
Turkey to safeguard its Christian heritage and to return confiscated
church properties. In summer of 2011, the U.S. House Committee on
Foreign Affairs paased the resolution with 43 votes "for" and 1 vote
"against." In March 2014, a similar resolution (H.Res 180) was passed
under pressure of the Greek lobby.
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