Five questions to the US Ambassador to Turkey

With the Senate scheduled to resume session on September 8, Illinois Senator Mark Kirk (R-IL) has submitted five pointed questions to U.S. Ambassador to Turkey nominee John Bass in order to bring much-needed clarity to U.S. policy on both the Armenian Genocide and the growing movement to secure Turkey’s return of stolen Christian churches and religious properties, reported the Armenian National Committee of America. Asbarez.com writes about this.

The complete text of Senator Kirk’s five questions is presented below:

“Questions for the Record to The Honorable John Bass, U.S. Ambassador-Designate to the Republic of Turkey.

During your testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 15, 2014, you stated:

“The U.S. government acknowledges as historical fact and mourns that 1.5 million Armenians were massacred or marched to their death in the final days of the Ottoman Empire.”

a) Can you clarify and expand on your statement to clearly indicate the party or parties responsible for perpetrating the murder of 1.5 million Armenians?

b) Would you agree with the European Union and 11 of our NATO allies, all of which have officially designated these atrocities as the Armenian Genocide?

c) As Ambassador, would you support the rights of the heirs of those killed during the Armenian Genocide to seek compensation from the Republic of Turkey?

During your testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 15, 2014, you stated:

“If confirmed, I will encourage the Turkish government to follow through on the return of religious minority properties and to take additional steps to promote religious freedom, such as allowing more religious communities to own property, register their places of worship, and train clergy.”

a) Could you expand and clarify on what specific actions you plan to undertake? Will you raise this issue at the highest levels of the Turkish government?

b) Are you satisfied with the actions the State Department and our Embassy in Ankara has taken to date to convince Turkey to restore Christian religious property to its rightful owners?”

In addition to Senator Kirk, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D-MA) had questioned Ambassador Bass on U.S. policy on the Armenian Genocide, Turkey’s ongoing blockade of Armenia and efforts to secure the return of confiscated Christian holy sites from Turkey.