REPRESENTATIVE MARKEY LEADS CONGRESSIONAL OPPOSITION TO WHITE HOUSE RECALL OF US AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

ArmRadio.am
25.05.2006 11:49

Over 60 Members of Congress, led by Representative Ed Markey, sent a
letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice asking for clarification
on reports of US Ambassador to Armenian John Evans’ recall over his
forthright remarks about the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian
National Committee of America.

The letter was sent on the eve of a May 23rd White House announcement
nominating Richard Hoagland to serve as the new Ambassador to
Armenia. Ambassador Evans will be relieved of his duties as soon as
Hoagland’s Senate confirmation process is completed.

The Administration has recalled Ambassador Evans over his February 2005
statements at Armenian American community functions, during which he
properly characterized the Armenian Genocide as ‘genocide.’ Following
his statements, Ambassador Evans was apparently forced to issue a
statement clarifying that his references to the Armenian Genocide were
his personal views and did not represent a change in US policy. He
subsequently issued a correction to this statement, replacing a
reference to the genocide with the word “tragedy.” The American
Foreign Service Association, which had planned to honor Ambassador
Evans with the “Christian A. Herter Award,” recognizing creative
thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service,
reportedly rescinded the award following pressure from the State
Department a few days before Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan traveled to Washington, DC to meet with President Bush.

“Ambassador Evans has been recalled for doing nothing more than
honoring the forsaken pledge of his president,” said ANCA Executive
Director Aram Hamparian. “We want to thank Congressman Markey and
his 59 colleagues for calling for a clarification and rejecting the
Armenian Genocide ‘gag-rule’ imposed by the Turkish government and,
sadly, enforced by our own State Department.”

The 60 Members of Congress expressed special concern about the
destructive precedent of recalling a US diplomat for speaking
truthfully on matters of historical record. They wrote that, “we must
not allow the perception to linger that he is being required to vacate
his position early for accurately labeling the cataclysmic events
of 1915 as genocide.” The Representatives, noting President Ronald
Reagan’s references to the Armenian Genocide, reminded Secretary Rice
that Ambassador Evans “did nothing more than succinctly repeat the
conclusions enunciated by those before him.”

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress