CULVER CITY, Calif.—The American Hellenic Council (AHC) recently released a statement, urging the Greek American community and all descendants of the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide, to boycott the new Turkish-produced film The Ottoman Lieutenant. “The film is a blatant attempt to repudiate the upcoming movie, The Promise, and mislead impressionable youth into believing the Genocide was a ‘two-sided’ event,” reads a part of the statement.
A still image from the ‘The Ottoman Lieutenant’
Signed by AHC Executive Director Ioannis Fidanakis, the statement also calls for the public to join an AYF-initiated letter writing campaign to local theaters to educate them about the purpose of this film.
The statement can be read below.
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Dear Supporter,
We, the American Hellenic Council (AHC), in solidarity with the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF) Western United States, urge the Greek-American community, as well all descendants of the Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Genocide, to jointly boycott the recently released film, The Ottoman Lieutenant.
The movie, which was produced by a Turkish production company, was released on March 10 and stars Michiel Huisman, Hera Hilmar, Josh Hartnett, and Ben Kingsley, is set in Ittihadist Turkey at the time of the Genocide. The film is a blatant attempt to repudiate the upcoming movie, The Promise, and mislead impressionable youth into believing the Genocide was a “two-sided” event.
Although we at the AHC, acknowledge that Ottoman Turks were affected by the state of war throughout the Empire, like all Ottoman citizens, their suffering cannot be equated with a systematic campaign of extermination, which befell the native Greek, Armenian, and Assyrian peoples of Eastern Thrace and Anatolia.
Therefore, we ask the Greek-American community to refrain from paying to watch this film in theaters or supporting it in any way. Those interested in joining an AYF-initiated letter writing campaign to local theaters to educate them about the purpose of this film should contact us at ioannis@americanhellenic.org.
Sincerely,
Ioannis Fidanakis
Executive Director
American Hellenic Council