American Hellenic Institute

 

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ACTION ALERT

TO:

AHI Chapter Presidents, Congressional Contact Team Leaders, Members and Friends

FROM: Nick Larigakis, AHI Executive Director
DATE: September 8, 2010
Re:

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PBS AFFILIATE, ASK THEM TO AIR AHI FOUNDATION-SPONSORED DOCUMENTARY “CYPRUS STILL DIVIDED: A U.S. FOREIGN POLICY FAILURE”

BACKGROUND:

The American Hellenic Institute Foundation (AHIF) sponsored the production of a Cyprus documentary titled, “Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure.”

In the summer of 1974 Turkey launched a two-phased invasion of the Republic of Cyprus, using U.S.-supplied arms and equipment to grab nearly 40 percent of Cyprus’s sovereign territory and force 170,000 Greek Cypriots from their homes and property.

Many observers believe the United States had the knowledge and power to prevent the Turkish invasion and later to compel Turkey to withdraw it troops, but Washington did neither of those things. Today, more than 35 years later, the Turkish army continues to occupy the northern third of Cyprus in violation of international law, and Turkey has illegally settled occupied Cyprus with more than 180,000 Turks from Anatolia.

Why did the United States fail to act? The answer, according to the new documentary
“Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure,” lies in a tangled web of domestic politics, the realpolitik of Henry Kissinger and repeated refusal of successive U.S. presidents to demand that the rule of law and fundamental human rights be upheld in Cyprus.

The documentary reveals a recently declassified 1974 State Department memorandum in which then Secretary of State Kissinger wrote: “There is no American reason why the Turks should not have one-third of Cyprus.”

STATUS:

The documentary will air on Detroit’s PBS affiliate on Monday, September 13, 2010.

However, all PBS stations will receive the feed for the documentary on Sunday, September 12, 2010, at 11am.

    • NOTE: PBS stations preview documentaries, or other programming, via a feed first to decide whether or not to air a program.

    ACTION:

    We urge you to contact your local PBS affiliate and strongly encourage it to view the feed for “Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure” on September 12, 2010 at 11am and to place on its programming schedule.

    1. Find your PBS affiliate(s) by visiting http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.htmlAn affiliate’s contact information, including an email address, should be made available once you input your zip code.

    2. Contact your affiliate.  Advise them that you are a loyal viewer (and supporter if appropriate) of public broadcasting programming.

    3. View the feed.  Advise them that “Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure” is a one-hour documentary that will air on Detroit’s PBS affiliate and that a feed to view the documentary will be available on September 12, 2010.

    4. Schedule an air date.  Request that “Cyprus Still Divided: A U.S. Foreign Policy Failure” is worthy of being aired locally and that there is significant interest among your peers and friends to see it on the programming schedule.

    5.  Please notify AHI Foundation, info@ahiworld.org, that you have contacted your PBS affiliate so that we may follow-up, if necessary.

    QUESTIONS?

    For further information about the documentary, please visit http://www.ahiworld.org/2010_Cyprus_Still_Divided/AHIF-CYPRUSSTILLDIVIDED.pdf

    For other inquiries, please call (202) 785-8430.

    Copies of the documentary are available for purchase by contacting the AHI Foundation.