HCS Lodges Complaint with National Radio Broadcaster
Paul Harvey over Remarks about Cyprus


Below is the text of an email message sent to nationally syndicated radio broadcaster Paul Harvey (at paulharvey.com) by HCS in response to a broadcast aired nationally on Thursday, December 29, 2005. HCS readers weigh in about Mr. Harvey's remarks; these are posted below following our letter. 

(December 30, 2005)
To Whom It May Concern:

As the publishers of one of the largest Internet news and information services for Greek-Americans (http://www.helleniccomserve.com/aboutus.html), we were disappointed to listen to a recent broadcast by Paul Harvey (mms://abcrad.wmod.llnwd.net/a49/external/0102cABAAHQAAAAcDle6yKhvE1c0LnEJnNwFajD8QD92LOnSD/harvey/pm/harveypm12292005.wma). In this segment about "fences," Mr. Harvey mentioned a quote that "high fences make good neighbors," and suppled what he obviously thought were good examples of "high fences" today. He used the "187-mile border between Turkey and Cyprus" to illustrate this point.

We would like to bring to his attention that Turkey does not share any direct border with the Republic of Cyprus. In fact, citation of a "fence" between these two countries perpetuates disinformation spread at the expense of hundreds of thousands of ethnically cleansed persons in Cyprus and 1600 people who were slaughtered by a Turkish invasion force.

The "fence" to which Mr. Harvey no doubt refers must be the one created by the invasion force which still occupies a sovereign, independent state, the Republic of Cyprus. The northern section of Cyprus which remains under occupation, is not recognized by the U.N., nor by the E.U. (to which the Republic of Cyprus belongs) or the U.S.

Despite the official stance of the U.S. in refusing to recognize a breakaway state in the occupied sector of the Republic of Cyprus, it is clear to us, Greek-Americans, that the U.S. State Department and administrative portions of the U.S. government have been working tirelessly to implement a Turkish republic in northern Cyprus. This would only reward the perpetrators of such aggression and penalize a small, independent sovereign country without any means of self-defense. It would effectively re-victimize the hundreds of thousands of Greek Christians forced from their homes by the Muslims, and the Christian families, both Cypriot and American, whose loved ones were brutally murdered.

Any solution to this conflict and ethnic cleansing must take place within the framework of a comprehensive settlement overseen by the E.U. and U.N. This settlement must be democratic and endorsed by Cypriots.

Because Mr. Harvey is a leading national figure in the world of radio broadcast, we feel that his remarks during this recent broadcast worked contrary to the best interest of the people of Cyprus, to the Republic of Cyprus.

Our own visitors to the Hellenic Communication Service website at the URL http://www.helleniccomserve.com, numbering in the millions worldwide each year, carefully watch national and international news for information about Cyprus. They will appreciate clarification from Mr. Harvey on these remarks during his recent broadcast (aired Thursday, December 29th, we believe).

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,
Christos and Mary Papoutsy, Publishers
http://www.helleniccomserve.com




Comments from an HCS reader:

Bravo, Bravo ! I have tried to keep myself informed over the last couple of years on the issues of Cyprus and FYROM. Most of the current info available to us come[s] from either your wonderful, informative site or from the American Hellenic Institute. Oh, the Pan Macedonian site is very informative regarding the FYROM matter. I have been very disappointed with our current government's treatment of both issues, [but I'm] not really surprised, however, [since] this administration seems to care nothing about the actual people involved in these very serious matters or the Hellenic constituents. Your response to the Paul Harvey broadcast is outstanding. Let's see if he is made of the right metal. Will he stand up and apologize and attempt to set the record straight? I am not taking this matter lightly. I feel it is very serious and his comments are harmful in many ways, but let me end this e-mail with a small joke poked at Harvey, using his own famous line 'Now from the Hellenic Communication Services, that's the rest of the story.--Jeffrey S., Maine



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