Category: Letters

 

Dear Sirs,

Once again I am writing to inquire regarding actions to be taken by UNESCO against the Turkish government in response to the forcible conversions of the Hagia Sophia and Christ the Savior Churches in 2020. In the last letter sent to me by UNESCO dated 17 March 2021, it was explained to me that UNESCO sent missions  in October 2020 and January-February 2021 to collect “necessary information” regarding the aforementioned Christian monuments. It was also explained to me that this matter was to be discussed “at the next session of the World Heritage Committee”. 

I am interested in knowing the outcome of the missions mentioned above and whether the session of the World Heritage Committee has actually met to discuss the outrages undertaken by the Turkish government? As is well known, the former Greek Orthodox Cathedral of Hagia Sophia is in terrible condition as a result of the actions of the Turkish government. 

It is not too late to take action to hold the Turkish government accountable but it is very important that all activity be conducted in a timely manner that does not drag on. There is simply no reason why UNESCO cannot and should not make significant noises to inconvenience the Turkish government and to demand that they restore Hagia Sophia and the Christ the Saviour Churches to the status of museums. I remind you that Greek Orthodox Christians consider the ground upon which these two former Churches stand to be sacred. 

The Turkish government’s actions have resulted in unspeakable violations of hallowed ground. I respectfully ask for an update on UNESCO’s findings regarding Hagia Sophia and what actions will be taken in light of what UNESCO missions found on their visits to Constantinople in October 2020 and and January-February 2021. Time is of the essence.

Thank You,

Theodore G. Karakostas

Dear Congressman Lynch,

The following letter is intended to convey my outrage at the latest act of aggression by Azerbaijan against the peaceful democratic Republic of Armenia. News reports indicate that Azerbaijan has again attacked Armenia. The United States is looking like the hypocrite ofthe world for its refusal to punish Azerbaijani and Turkish aggression. Azerbaijan is Turkey’s stooge in Central Asia.

The United States should cut off all aid unconditionally to Turkey. Turkey is the source for the war crimes and atrocities that Baku has committed against Armenia last year and this year as well. Armenian civilians and prisoners of war have been the victims of war crimes that should be punished under international law. Turkey and its allies like Azerbaijan have been exempt from American retaliation throughout the past century.

It is time to make clear that Turkey and Azerbaijan are not only not American allies, they are threats to international peace, stability, andhuman rights. In addition, the United States must engage Israel as Tel Aviv is a major arms supplier to Azerbaijan. Those who support Azerbaijan are aiding and abetting a country with genocidal ambitions. 

Azerbaijan and Turkey should be considered hostile states, violators of human rights, and sponsors of terrorism by Washington.

Thank you,
Theodore G. Karakostas 

Greetings, 
My name is Theodore G. Karakostas and I have written to you before. I am a Greek American writer and the author of threebooks. Since 2013, I have been active on the issue of Hagia Sophia. I am writing to you in response to the July 23 article on UNESCOand Hagia Sophia. 

I have been in touch with UNESCO since 2013 when Turkey converted the Church-Museum of Hagia Sophia in Trebizond into a Mosque. I have written to UNESCO’s office in New York and spoken with some of their reps over the phone. In March 2015 while on a visit to Paris, I visited UNESCO’s headquarters to discuss Hagia Sophia. 

I raised my concerns over Hagia Sophia based on three particular problems created by the Turkish government. First, they converted the Hagia Sophia of Trebizond into a Mosque in 2013 a sure sign that THE Hagia Sophia would eventually be converted. The Turks also converted tow other Hagia Sophia Church-Museums in Nicea-Iznik and Adrianople-Edirne into Mosques. Many of their politicians at that time openly called for Hagia Sophia to be made into a Mosque and large crowds had gathered in front of Saint Justinian’s Church to pray.

In person in Paris I was specifically told by UNESCO’s chief of Europe and North America that Turkish officials had assured UNESCO that Hagia Sophia would not be converted into a Mosque. Previous to this, their reps from the New York office had told me that in fact Turkey as a sovereign country was entitled to do as they wished with any site within their borders. Furthermore, during the month of Ramadan in the spring of 2016, Koranic prayers were read in Hagia Sophia.

UNESCO had seven years to protest the Turkish conversion of Hagia Sophia but declined to do so. They wrote a letter to Turkish officials in 2020 just a week or so before Hagia Sophia was officially set to be converted. Way too late for them to protest as the Turkish government had fully committed itself to the conversion of Hagia Sophia and was prepared for any and all international criticism.

This latest statement on the part of UNESCO expressing “deepest regret” and “intense concern” is weak. UNESCO should be adopting a much harsher stance especially since news reports indicate that Turkey is no longer providing for the upkeep of Hagia Sophia since Justinian’s Church is filthy and there are cables all over the place. It is only a matter of time before the Erdogan government destroys the magnificent and divinely inspired iconography that serves to glorify Christ! 

UNESCO should be thinking of imposing sanctions of some kind on Turkey. Their statements should be criticized for failing to recognize and acknowledge the Greek Orthodox origins of the Great Church. As I told UNESCO’s Chief of Europe and North America in 2015, Hagia Sophia is a product of the Gospel and Orthodox theology. UNESCO has handled the issue of Hagia Sophia very poorly but can still do the right thing by documenting the mistreatment of the Great Church today and raising real protests with a much harsher tone than the weak statement that it has just released.
 

Theodore G. Karakostas 

Dear Sir, 

One of the most admirable aspects of the foreign policy of the Trump administration was the former President’s willingness to challenge the Islamic State. That murderous organization was responsible for the genocide of the Christians of Syria and Iraq. The fates of the Christians of Syria and Iraq occurred one century after the Turks perpetrated genocide against millions of Christian Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians in Anatolia. Prominent American officials during that time documented the genocide of the Christians. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau who served in Constantinople was very active in condemning the slaughter of the Christians, as were other American officials such as the American Consul to Smyrna George Horton. Horton wrote a book about the Genocide of the Christians called “The Blight of Asia”. 

Other prominent Americans of the time included Edward Hale Bierstadt who wrote a book called, “The Great Betrayal” documenting how western foreign policy betrayed the Christians and colluded with the murderous Turkish Army of Mustafa Kemal. Horton himself who served in the city of Smyrna documented the deliberate policy of the Turkish Kemalists to massacre the Christian populations. This is important for America today because there is still an opportunity to rescue American foreign policy interests from the Turks who have way too much influence over the foreign policy establishment. 

Turkey is clearly emerging as the jihadist power in the Middle East and is gradually becoming the successor to the now defeated “Caliphate”. Turkey is now directing other jihadist states such as Azerbaijan in its war of aggression against Armenia. The Azerbaijani war against Armenia last year resulted in the occupation of Armenian territory and subsequent atrocities against Armenian soldiers and civilians alike. The rise of both Turkey and Azerbaijan diminishes the defeat of the Islamic State as new jihadist entities are arising in their stead. 

Turkey has been using Syrian jihadists to fight on the Azerbaijani side against the Armenians. This makes Turkey a sponsor of jihadist terrorism. Previous to this, Turkey was a supporter of the Islamic State. Columbia University in New York published an entire report detailing the support that Ankara gave to the Caliphate at the height of its murderous reign. Turkey has also been using Syrian terrorists as proxies in Libya. The latest news on Turkey is that it is using child soldiers in its various military campaigns. Child soldiers have been used repeatedly by jihadist movements including Islamic State and the Taliban. 

In addition to posing a threat toward the Christian nation of Armenia, Turkey poses a significant threat to Greece and Cyprus. Turkey has openly claimed the islands of Greece which have been populated by ethnic Greeks since classical times. In the territories of Cyprus which Turkey has occupied since Ankara invaded that island Republic in 1974, over 200,000 Greek Cypriots were ethnically cleansed and over five hundred and fifty Greek and Armenian Churches and Monasteries have been destroyed. 

The foreign policy establishment has always supported Turkey and continues to back Ankara despite its proven record as a jihadist supporter of terrorism. American foreign policy reform is long overdue. American foreign policy should emphasize the human rights of Christians living in the Near East as well as the security of Christian countries such as Armenia, Cyprus, and Greece. American diplomacy was once served by honorable men such as Henry Morgenthau and George Horton who were advocates for oppressed Christians under the Islamic rule of the Turks. Unfortunately, their moral voices lost out to the anti Christian interests of the establishment which remain in effect up to the present day. 
America has an interest in the survival of Christian communities and homelands from the increasingly aggressive designs of jihadist Turkey and Azerbaijan. 
                           

Theodore G. Karakostas 

Senator Warren and/or members of her staff,

My name is Theodore G. Karakostas and I am writing to express my outrage at the silence from the world toward the aggressive and expansionist designs of Azerbaijan (with the backing of Turkey) which occupies the Armenian town of Susha. All the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh belongs to Armenia. Azerbaijan and Turkey are aggressive and expansionist promoters of terrorism and genocide. 

The United States should seek to punish Azerbaijan and to demand a withdrawal of every inch of territory that it has seized in the Armenian territories of Nagorno-Karabakh. Furthermore, Turkey should be punished for supporting Azerbaijan and the various other acts of aggressions and provocations it engages in which include threats to Greece and Cyprus. Turkey has demanded the demilitarization of the Greek islands whichare off the coast of Asia Minor. 

Greece does not dare demilitarize the islands because it would leave them and their Hellenic populations to the mercy of the murderous and genocidal Turkish military. The likelihood of a Greek-Turkish war increases with the passage of time as statements and threats made by Turkish officials become more brazen and more irrational. The world has a problem with a country that is a member of NATO and a fake “ally” of the United States. 

Before the United States tries to lecture other countries, perhaps it could begin the process of defanging Turkey, a country that it has appeased for over a century. Turkey and its ally in Azerbaijan are major violators of human rights. As of this writing, the government of Azerbaijan is preparing a sham trial of fourteen Armenian prisoners of war. Azerbaijan must be condemned for its human rights violations and must be pressured to return the land that it has seized from Armenia. 

Likewise, Turkey must be pressured to withdraw all troops from the occupied territories of Cyprus. Cyprus has been occupied since 1974 and now Turkey must be held responsible for the crimes it has committed in that land. American claims of democracy, international law, and human rights cannot be taken seriously until Turkey and Azerbaijan are forced to reverse their acts of aggression and crimes against humanity.

Theodore G. Karakostas 

Greetings, 

I am once again writing to you regarding the ongoing issues pertaining to the Great Hagia Sophia Cathedral of Constantinople and the Church of the Savior at Chora. I am writing again because it appears the Turkish government continues without hindrance to make changes to the Great Church of Hagia Sophia that was established by the EmperorJustinian the Great between the years 531 and 537 AD. The latest changes to Hagia Sophia indicate that the danger to the Byzantine Greek Orthodox iconography is growing with the continued changes to Justinian’s Cathedral. 

The Turkish government has placed an electronic sign between the minarets of Hagia Sophia which is yet another serious blow to the character of Hagia Sophia. I am writing to you to express the hope that UNESCO will condemn this latest attack on the Christian character of Hagia Sophia. In your last letter to me, I was informed that UNESCO officials paid two visits to Hagia Sophia in October 2020 and January/February 2021 to collect information for an examination. 

I respectfully seek to inquire how that is coming along? Considering that the activities of the Turkish government  within Hagia Sophia continue unabated It appears that the very existence of Hagia Sophia’s religious, historic, and cultural foundations are at risk and that Hagia Sophia’s future is in a state of crisis. I remain appreciative for the attention that you are giving to Hagia Sophia and remain certain that you remain sensitive not only to the historic and cultural significance of Hagia Sophia, but to the great spiritual significance that Hagia Sophia holds for Greek Orthodox Christians. 

I look forward to your response, 

Thank you 
Theodore G. Karakostas 

My name is Theodore Karakostas and I am a Greek American writing to protest the statements of former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw who advocated the recognition of the occupied territories of Cyprus. The Republic of Cyprus remains the only legitimate authority on the whole of Cyprus. It is generally well known that the Turks invaded Cyprus in 1974 and pursued a policy of ethnic cleansing which resulted in the murders, rapes, and ethnic cleansing of the Greek Cypriots. 

It is indicative of how utterly contemptible a man that Mister Straw is. The Turkish government has over the past century been responsible for repeated crimes against humanity against a variety of religious and ethnic groups. The Turkish leaders of both the Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic were responsible for the genocide of millions of Christian Armenians, Greeks, andAssyrians and were assisted by unscrupulous statesmen from America and Europe. 

In more recent years, Turkey was an ally of the Islamic State even while the latter were actively involved in genocide against the Yazidis, Christians, and Shi’ite Muslims. Turkey purchased oil from the Islamic State and permitted psychopathic volunteers fromAmerica and Europe to pass through its territory to serve this genocidal group. Turkey has also actively supported Syrian jihadist groups actively affiliated with Al Quada. 

In response to this, supposed statesmen such as Mr. Straw seek to deliver the Cypriots to the bloody hands of the present day Turkish jihadists. This comes of course after the western world remained indifferent to the murderous and aggressive policies of the psychopathic leaders of Azerbaijan against the Armenians of Artsakh where numerous crimes against humanity were perpetrated by Baku with the assistance of Ankara. 

The Republic of Cyprus has sovereignty over the whole of Cyprus. It is the representative of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots of course have been vanishing as most of them have immigrated in response to the large scale settlements in the occupied territories of Turkish citizens. The resources in the Mediterranean around the Republic of Cyprus belong to Cyprus alone and not to the jihadist terror state that is Erdogan’s Turkey.

I object morally to the immoral and criminal statements of Jack Straw who seeks to whitewash the horrors perpetrated against the Greek Cypriots by the ethnic cleansers of Ankara. Mr. Straw has reminded humanity of the past crimes perpetrated by the British in Cyprus between 1955 and 1960, and why Great Britain must have no say or participation in the future of a free and liberated Cyprus. 

It appears to me the British are as treacherous and as committed to appeasement of evil dictators today as they were in 1938.

Theodore G. Karakostas 

As a Greek Orthodox, I would like to thank the Catholic League for acknowledging President Biden’s official recognition of the Armenian Genocide. I also appreciate your references in the statement to the Greeks and the Assyrians who were targeted for extermination by the Turks. Your statement is entirely correct when it asserts that the genocide was based on the faith of the Armenians, as well as of the Greeks and Assyrians.

The book published in 2019 by Israeli historians Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi called “The Thirty Year Genocide” makes the point that the slaughter of these Christian communities was based on their faith. The subsequent Turkish victory in 1922 over the Greek Army and the conquest of the newly established Republic of Armenia led to the further genocide of those Christian populations. It is refreshing to see that the victims of genocide are finally being recognized and commemorated. 
                   

Thank you for your statement
                  Theodore G. Karakostas 

The following is in response to “Biden Calls the Massacres of Armenians Genocide” (April 24) by Peter Kenyon and Krishnadev Kalamur. There are certain parts of this news report that should not go unchallenged. For example, the report expresses concernabout damage to “already strained ties with Turkey.” Why should relations with Turkey be a concern for the United States? The Turkish Government is a collaborator and partner with murderous terrorist organizations such as Al Quada and ISIS. The Turkish regime has become a partner of modern day jihadists who share the genocidal tendencies of the Young Turks and Mustafa Kemal who committed genocide against Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians. 

Indeed, according to Israeli historians Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi in their masterfully researched “The Thirty Year Genocide” three successive Turkish regimes were instrumental in the systematic slaughter of these three Christian populations that culminated in the plan to exterminate them. All Turkish regimes from the time of Mustafa Kemal who took over from the Young Turks have been playing western governments and media for suckers through a carefully orchestrated public relations campaign combined with outright threat sand intimidation should the democracies recognize the reality of Turkey’s genocidal past. There should be no concern whatsoever about strained ties with Turkey. 

Turkey should be targeted as an enemy for being an aggressor against peaceful democracies such as Armenia (with its partner Azerbaijan), Cyprus, Syria, and the Kurdish community living within Turkey itself. The assertion that Turkish leaders have voiced regret for the killings is a false statement. Turkish leaders up to the present time have never condemned or repudiated the genocide and crimes against humanity that were perpetrated against the Armenians, Greeks, or Assyrians. Turkish leaders have on occasion referred to their genocidal past by suggesting indirectly that a repetition of past genocide could be directed against Armenia or Greece if these peaceful countries dare to assert their rights against Ankara’s acts of aggression against them. 

Turkish leaders have over the past century presided over smaller scale crimes against humanity against the remnants of Christian populations that managed to survive the genocide and ethnic cleansing campaigns that occurred between 1914 and 1923. Turkish leaders deported thousands of Armenians, Greeks, and Jews to concentration camps in Anatolia during the Second World War. In 1955, Turkish leaders organized a pogrom against the Greek population of Constantinople and during the 1960’s deported thousands more from Turkey in a campaign of ethnic cleansing. 

In 1938, Turkey invaded Syria and in 1974 invaded and occupied the northern part of the Republic of Cyprus which led to the ethnic cleansing of 200,000 ethnic Greeks. Perhaps the gentlemen who compiled this news report could explain when exactly Turkish leaders have ever expressed regret for Turkish sponsored genocide? The late journalist Christopher Hitchens perfectly captured the mindset of Turkish leaders when he wrote about then Prime Minister (now President) Erdogan’s threat of physical violence against the Armenians of Constantinople in response to the efforts of Armenians in the west to achieve formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide. All Turkish leaders have been firmly consistent in denying the reality of Genocide and pursuing policies of continued repression and brutality against both the Christian and Kurdish communities living in Turkey. 

The report says that “many historians” recognize the Armenian Genocide. It would be more accurate to say that ALL historians recognize the Armenian Genocide, along with the Genocide of the Greeks and the Assyrians. Only propagandists and frauds serving as mercenaries at the behest of the Turkish regime such as the despicable Bernard Lewis have ever challenged the reality of Turkey’s murderous and genocidal past. 

The most offensive and outrageous assertion in the news report was to imply that the victims were responsible for their own fate. Accusations are made that Armenians were fighting with the Russians. The historical facts and the political realities of the times were that Russia was a civilized state protecting the Armenians from the murderous Ottoman Empire. The indiscriminate slaughter directed against men, women, and children of Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian ancestry demonstrated that the Ottoman Empire had no moral legitimacy and could not be permitted to rule over these Christian populations that had been systematically massacred, starved, and marched to death. Historical reality demonstrated unequivocally that the Russians were liberators. 

At the end of the first World War, an Armenian Republic was proclaimed and Greece was given parts of Asia Minor following the justified partition of the Ottoman Empire. The subsequent rise of Mustafa Kemal led to the final mass murders of Armenians, Greeks, and Assyrians. The western democracies played a shameful and disgusting role in assisting Kemal’s troops as they burned the great city of Smyrna and slaughtered its Christian inhabitants. 

Support for Turkey by the western democracies over the past century has compromised them morally and politically. Up to the present time, Turkish leaders arrogantly presume to dictate to the democracies what they can and should not do. It is long past time that the Turkish question was settled. This necessitates terminating all aid to Turkey and assisting the Kurdish populations of Turkey and Syria who have served honorably and bravely with the United States against the Islamic State.

In addition, the United States should declare Turkey’s ally Azerbaijan a sponsor of terrorism and should unconditionally support Armenian rights to the whole of Nagorno Karabakh. Furthermore, the United States should demand from Turkey the full withdrawal of all Turkish troops and settlers from Cyprus and should back Greece against the aggressive designs being put forward by Turkey on Greek territory. 

President Biden’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide is to be praised. It should be followed up by the formal repudiation of past policies toward Turkey. This could be the dawn of a new era in which the United States does away with Turkey that has contributed nothing to western security but has made the west complicit in its horrific crimes and acts of aggression. 

                                     Theodore G. Karakostas 

The following letter is in response to the April 5 op-ed on the Armenian genocide. The Times deserves praise for taking a moral andprincipled stance in calling on the President to formally denounce Turkey’s policies against the Armenians in 1915 for what they were-genocide. The Ottoman government of the time led by the notorious Young Turks likewise targeted the Greeks and the Assyrians in whatwas a policy of genocide of Christians under Turkish rule. The recent scholarly work, “The Thirty Year Genocide” by Israeli scholars and experts Benny Morris and Dror Ze’evi makes very clear that Turkish leaders targeted these groups for extermination largely on the basisof their faith. 

Furthermore, the genocide of the Christians did not cease after the downfall of the Young Turks. The infamous Mustafa Kemal who emergedas the successor to the Young Turks proceeded to complete the campaign of mass murder and ethnic cleansing that his predecessors had begun. Kemal’s armies slaughtered all Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Christian communities that had managed to survive the Young Turks.In fact, the foundation of modern Turkey by Mustafa Kemal was achieved through the genocide of these Christian communities. 

The legacy of the Turkish orchestrated genocide can be seen today through Turkish expansionism in Syria and by the support given by Turkey to the genocidal ambitions of Azerbaijan which instigated a war of aggression against democratic Armenia. Furthermore, Turkey has been threateningthe democratic countries of Greece and Cyprus. Ankara has claimed several Greek islands as being Turkish despite the fact that they are recognized as part of Greece by international treaties. Turkish leaders disregard that the populations of these islands are exclusively Greek and therefore any Turkish assault upon them would make possible a repetition of the mass slaughter of Greek and Armenian Christians that occurred in Smyrna in 1922 when that freed city was reconquered by the Turks. 
President Biden must by all means condemn the Armenian genocide. He should also condemn the genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians as well.Then his administration should proceed to take action to punish Turkey for its acts of aggression against Greece and Cyprus and to punish Azerbaijan for its aggression against Armenia.

Theodore G. Karakostas 

Boston