The AHEPAN - Fall 2016 - 7


AHEPA FAMILY NEWS

AHEPA Dismayed as NBC Olympics
Botches History
AHEPA expressed profound dismay with the producers of NBC Olympics
for the egregious misappropriation and botching of historical facts about
Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great presented by during the
Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, announced Supreme
President Andrew C. Zachariades.
NBC's commentators essentially rewrote history, claiming Alexander
the Great came from the nation of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia (FYROM) and won medals in the ancient Olympic Games. NBC
Olympics also failed to properly reference FYROM as the International
Olympic Committee does-as FYROM-and instead opted to recognize the
nation as "Macedonia."
"It is unacceptable and irresponsible of NBC to convey such egregious
historical inaccuracies to a global audience," Zachariades said, who also
sent a letter to NBCUniversal CEO Stephen Burke requesting meeting.
"NBC's research department clearly did not do its due diligence and
botched its work. We urge Hellenes to call all upon NBC, and specifically,
the producers of NBC Olympics, to correct the record at a point during the
balance of its Olympic coverage when it will have its largest audience."

www.ahepa.org

Turkey's Decision to
Prohibit Religious
Service at Historic
Monastery Denounced
AHEPA denounced, in the strongest terms, the
Turkish government's decision to prohibit a
religious service at the historic Panagia Soumela
monastery in Trabzon, Turkey, in celebration
of the Feast Day of the Virgin Mary, announced
Supreme President Andrew C. Zachariades.
The religious service, which is officiated by His
All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
I, had resumed five years ago and has been held
every year since then on August 15. According
to a press report, this year, the license to hold
the religious ceremony had been revoked due to
"renovations taking place inside the monastery"
thereby cancelling the liturgy.
"After taking a step forward five years ago,
Turkey now takes two steps back. This act is yet
another example of how the Turkish government
routinely restricts religious freedom or belief
for all religious minorities and is exactly the
reason why the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) continues to place Turkey in a 'Tier 2' category in its
annual report," Zachariades said. "The very fact
that a license must be obtained from the Turkish
government to hold a religious service is itself
an outrage and an egregious restriction upon
religious freedom."
He added, "Religious freedom is a fundamental human right. America has a proud tradition
of championing religious freedom around the
world, and the Order of AHEPA was founded on
the principle of fighting discrimination, including
religious discrimination. Therefore, we call on
the U.S. government to address the issue with
Turkey and to adopt and implement all of the
policy recommendations set-forth by the United
States Commission on International Religious
Freedom in its 2016 report on Turkey."

Fall 2016 · THE AHEPAN

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http://www.pappaspost.com/nbc-commentators-rewrite-history-opening-ceremony-coverage-claiming-alexander-great-slavic-nation/ http://www.pappaspost.com/turkish-government-cancels-historic-celebrations-panagia-soumela-monastery/ http://www.uscirf.gov/sites/default/files/USCIRF_Tier2_Turkey.pdf http://www.ahepa.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The AHEPAN - Fall 2016