The AHEPAN - Spring 2015 - 22

CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY

Supreme President Visits Capitol Hill
Developments Abroad, Domestic Programs on Agenda
Supreme President Phillip T. Frangos
visited Capitol Hill for a series of
meetings with members of Congress,
January 27 to 29, 2015.
"As the 114th Congress gets underway, we wanted to personally congratulate the champions of the American
Hellenic community in Congress on
their re-election and thank them for
their continued support as well as
introduce ourselves to a few new
faces," Frangos said. "We wished them
all the very best in the new Congress
and pledged AHEPA's ongoing assistance as a community resource."
Over the course of three days,
Frangos met with: U.S. Reps. David
Trott (R-MI), member, House Foreign

Affairs Subcommittee on Europe,
Eurasia, and Emerging Threats; John
Sarbanes (D-MD), Niki Tsongas (D-MA),
Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), co-chair,
Congressional Hellenic Caucus; Sander
Levin (D-MI), ranking member, House
Committee on Ways & Means; Dina Titus
(D-NV), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), co-chair,
Congressional Hellenic Caucus and
Congressional Hellenic Israel Alliance;
and Ed Royce (R-CA), chairman, House
Committee on Foreign Affairs; and U.S.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
A range of topics were covered in
the meetings, including: Greece's recent
election, increased tensions in the
eastern Mediterranean due to Turkey's
incursion into Cyprus' Exclusive

U.S. Rep. Bilirakis with Executive Director
Mossaidis and Supreme President Frangos.

Economic Zone (EEZ), religious freedom, and domestic programs of interest
to the AHEPA family and its mission.
Executive Director Basil N.
Mossaidis accompanied the supreme
president.

Senator Menendez's Floor Speech Demanding Turkey to
Withdraw from Cyprus' EEZ Applauded
AHEPA applauded a resolute speech
given by then Chairman of the Senate
Committee on Foreign Relations,
Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), on
the floor of the U.S. Senate, Dec. 16,
2014, that demanded Turkey to withdraw from the exclusive economic
zone (EEZ) of the Republic of Cyprus.
Sen. Menendez stated that Cyprus
settlement talks are on hold because
of Turkey's "bullying practices," and
he called for an "immediate forceful
response" to the recent anti-Western rhetoric of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Sen. Menendez stated:
"For peace talks to resume, Turkey
must immediately withdraw its ships
operating in and around Cyprus. The
international community has been
abundantly clear in supporting Cypriot
22

THE AHEPAN · Spring 2015

President Nicos Anastasiades
in recognizing Cyprus's right
to explore the resources within
its Economic Zone and in condemning Turkey for this blatant
violation...
"These statements-along
with Turkey's illegal actions in
Cyprus's Exclusive Economic
Zone-are a dramatic escalation of
Turkey shifting away from democracy
and its partners in the West. And - in
my view - it requires an immediate and
forceful response."
Sen. Menendez utilized a map
to demonstrate how Turkey has
encroached on Cyprus' EEZ with its
ships. He also stated Cypriot leaders
"deserve credit for being an ally and
advocate of American interests."

"We vigorously applaud Senator
Menendez's floor speech," Supreme
President Phillip T. Frangos said. "We
concur with his demand that Turkey
withdraw its ships from Cyprus so that
settlement talks may resume and echo
his call for the Obama Administration
to continue with its engagement on the
reunification of Cyprus and for the restoration of human rights for all Cypriot
citizens."
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The AHEPAN - Spring 2015

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