PanARMENIAN.Net

Frank Pallone: U.S. Shouldn’t Refrain from Declaring Truth to Promote
Relations with Turkey

29.05.2006 18:11 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The controversy surrounded the firing of
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Marshall Evans continued to grow this
week with a powerful statement by the Co-Chairman of the Armenian
Caucus, calls for Congressional hearings, and a series of as yet
unanswered inquiries from the national media during the State
Department’s daily press briefing, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA). In a May 25th statement on the House
floor, Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) forcefully condemned the
Administration for forcing Amb. Evans to vacate his post for publicly
affirming the Armenian Genocide. He voiced his “fear that the
Government of Turkey may have played a role in this unfortunate
event. I strongly believe they have expressed concern to the White
House over Evans’ remarks last year. In fact, immediately following
his remarks, Evan issued a “correction,” all too seemingly at the
behest of the Administration. We must not allow a third party to
interfere in U.S. diplomacy and refrain from declaring the truth in
order to promote relations with Turkey.”

Congressman Pallone noted that he has yet to receive an explanation
from the State Department, despite having written a letter to the
Secretary more than two months ago requesting a thorough description
of the reasons behind the Ambassador’s recall. Commenting on similar
unanswered letters and questions posed during Congressional hearings
regarding this controversy, he noted that, “now, the White House has
made an ‘official’ announcement but still has not given an
explanation.” He closed by expressing his “hope that the
newly-appointed U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Richard Hoagland, will not
play the word games of the White House, and comply with Turkey’s
campaign of genocidal denial.”