01/18/2023
AHEPA Opposes Administration's Plan to Sell F-16s to Turkey
WASHINGTON, DC - Supreme President Jimmy Kokotas has issued the following statement:
The Biden administration’s plan to seek congressional approval for the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey is unacceptable.
The United States justifiably and legally imposed sanctions on Turkey after it purchased Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems, which is in direct violation of U.S. law. The Administration must be reminded that, under the Erdogan regime, Turkey has compiled a history of provocative acts and inflammatory rhetoric directed at the United States and NATO alliance members along with U.S. allies and strategic partners in the region. Turkey breaks U.S. law each time it violates Greece’s airspace with American-made aircraft as it did 11,000 times in 2022 alone. Turkey cooperates and supports entities the U.S. considers to be some of the world’s most malign actors while they have stymied the ascension bids of Finland and Sweden into NATO by using their veto power as a bargaining chip. The United States must not proceed with any form of weapons upgrade to Turkey’s F-16 fleet that can potentially be used to further destabilize U.S. and NATO interests. Furthermore, Turkey’s abysmal human rights violations, journalistic censorship and democratic suppression remains among the worst in the world.
We applaud the bipartisan outcry from members of Congress in response to the Administration’s proposed request. As previously demonstrated, we will work with like-minded organizations and our champions in Congress to address the Administration’s disconcerting request as we strive to promote the rules based system and world order.
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Founded in 1922 in Atlanta, Georgia, on the principles that undergirded its fight for civil rights and against discrimination, bigotry, and hatred felt at the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, AHEPA is the largest and oldest grassroots association of American citizens of Greek heritage and Philhellenes with more than 400 chapters across the United States, Canada, and Europe.
AHEPA's mission is to promote the ancient Greek ideals of Education, Philanthropy, Civic Responsibility, and Family and Individual Excellence through community service and volunteerism.
For more information, please visit www.ahepa.org.
