Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel: (202) 775-1918
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PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA URGES SENATE TO BLOCK HOAGLAND NOMINATION
— Cites Nominee’s Genocide Denial; Inconsistent
and Contradictory Statements to Senate Panel
WASHINGTON, DC – Citing U.S. Ambassador-designate Richard
Hoagland’s denial of the Armenian Genocide and his contradictory
responses to Senate inquiries – both against the background of the
continued failure of the Administration to offer a meaningful and
forthright explanation of its reasons for firing the current U.S.
Ambassador, John Evans – the Armenian National Committee of America
(ANCA) today issued a statement formally opposing Hoagland’s
nomination to serve as the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.
A July 16th policy editorial published by the Los Angeles Times
called on the U.S. Senate to block Ambassador-designate Hoagland’s
nomination until he properly recognizes the Armenian Genocide. The
strongly worded piece urged the Bush administration to "explain
forthrightly – not just to Armenian Americans but to all Americans
who believe in calling evil by its proper name – why U.S. policy is
being dictated by Ankara nationalists."
The full text of the ANCA Statement is provided below.
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___________________________________ ___________________________
ANCA Statement on Richard Hoagland’s Nomination
for U.S. Ambassador to Armenia
Ambassador-designate Richard Hoagland has disqualified himself as a
candidate to serve as our nation’s ambassador to the Republic of
Armenia.
During the course of his Senate confirmation process, Ambassador-
designate Richard Hoagland has taken a number of actions that
demonstrate that he cannot effectively represent U.S. interests and
American values, among them:
1) Asserting that the Armenian Genocide does
not qualify as an instance of genocide
2) Providing Contradictory Statements or
Failing to Respond to U.S. Senate Inquiries
3) Abandoning America’s leadership
on genocide prevention:
————————————- —————————————
1) Asserting that the Armenian Genocide does
not qualify as an instance of genocide
Ambassador-designate Hoagland has disqualified himself as the next
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia by engaging in denial of the Armenian
Genocide.
Consistent with the denials issued by the Turkish government,
Ambassador Hoagland argues that the Armenian Genocide does not
qualify as an instance of genocide because of the absence, on the
part of the perpetrator, of a "specific intent to destroy, in whole
or in substantial part," the victim group.
In a July 14th response to a written question from Senator Barbara
Boxer (D-CA) concerning why the U.S. does not consider the Armenian
Genocide an instance of genocide, Ambassador-designate Hoagland
selectively cited one of the five "understandings" expressed by the
U.S. at the time of the U.S. ratification of the U.N. Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, namely
that, "genocidal intent meant a ‘specific intent to destroy, in
whole or in substantial part,’ the group as such."
Additionally, in a dramatic retreat to the more blatant forms of
denial typical of the State Department’s opposition to Armenian
Genocide recognition during the 1980s, Ambassador-designate
Hoagland referred to statements on the Armenian Genocide as
allegations. In a response to a written inquiry from Senator John
Kerry (D-MA) concerning Turkey’s criminal prosecution of
journalists for writing about the Armenian Genocide, Ambassador-
designate Hoagland characterized their factual affirmations of the
Armenian Genocide as simply allegations.
As Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) stated during Ambassador-designate
Hoagland’s confirmation hearing, "I am not sure how we can continue
to have Ambassadors to Armenia who can be effective, unless they
give recognition to the Genocide." Sadly, Ambassador-designate
Hoagland has gone far beyond the traditional Administration
practice of failing to properly recognize the Armenian Genocide.
He has, instead, placed himself firmly into the camp of the Turkish
government by publicly denying the genocidal nature of this crime.
His nomination, if confirmed, would represent a dramatic escalation
in U.S. complicity in Turkey’s campaign of denial.
2) Providing Contradictory Statements or
Failing to Respond to U.S. Senate Inquiries
Ambassador-designate Hoagland has disqualified himself as the next
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia by making contradictory and inconsistent
statements to the U.S. Senate regarding his views on the Armenian
Genocide. In many instances, he did not respond to specific Senate
inquiries.
In responses to questions submitted by Senators Lincoln Chafee (R-
RI) and John Kerry (D-MA), he denied that he had been counseled not
to refer to the events of 1915 as the Armenian Genocide. Yet, in
the course of responding to questioning at his confirmation hearing
and to several dozen written inquiries, he went to extreme lengths
to avoid using this term. Either he has misled Senators regarding
the guidance he has received, or he has chosen to avoid using the
term genocide on his own accord – both profoundly troubling
developments that disqualify him from serving as the U.S. envoy in
Yerevan.
More broadly, Ambassador-designate Hoagland’s July 14th claim that
the Armenian Genocide does not meet the U.S. government’s
definition of genocide stands in stark contrast to his repeated
assertions to U.S. Senators that the Administration does not deny
the events of 1915:
* In response to a question about U.S. policy on the
Armenian Genocide from Senator Allen (R-VA) during the June
28th confirmation hearing, Ambassador-designate Hoagland
asserted that, "No one in this administration has ever
denied the events beginning in the 20th century at the end
of the Ottoman Empire that befell the Armenian nation and
people."
* In response to a question from Senator Coleman (R-MN)
regarding whether Ambassador-designate Hoagland agreed with
then-Governor Bush’s statements affirming the Armenian
Genocide, he stated: "I fully agree that the events that
occurred on 1915 and following were of historic proportion.
As I said well-documented, horrific and horrifying and as
we heard from Senator Sarbanes in his statement early on —
hundreds of valleys devastated no family untouched. It was
historic. It was a tragedy. Everyone agrees with that."
* In response to a written inquiry from Senator John Kerry
(D-MA) asking if he disputed a series of nine facts about
the Armenian Genocide, Ambassador-designate Hoagland did
not dispute that: "The atrocities conceived and carried out
by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923 … resulted in the
elimination of the more than 2,500-year presence of
Armenians in their historic homeland."
* In response to subsequent questions from Senator Kerry
asking about the Administration’s denial of the Armenian
Genocide and the consequences of its non-recognition,
Ambassador-designate Hoagland stated that, "the
Administration does not deny the tragic events that
occurred in the final years of the Ottoman Empire," and
that: "the Administration does recognize the massacre or
forced exile of as many as 1.5 million Armenians in the
final years of the Ottoman Empire."
3) Abandoning America’s leadership
on genocide prevention:
Ambassador-designate Hoagland has additionally disqualified himself
as the next U.S. Ambassador to Armenia by failing to grasp the
fundamental need for U.S. moral leadership in condemning and
preventing genocide.
In response to a question from Senator Kerry, Ambassador-designate
Hoagland stated that, "The U.S. believes that the question of how
to characterize these horrific events is of such enormous human
significance that it should not be determined on the basis of
politics, but through heartfelt introspection among academics,
civic leaders, and societies."
Ambassador-designate Hoagland’s formulation could not be more
deeply flawed. It is precisely because of the enormity of the
Armenian Genocide that the U.S. should address this crime with
absolute moral and historical clarity. By delegating the
characterization of the Armenian Genocide to a dialogue between the
unrepentant perpetrators of Genocide and the survivors and
descendants of those who perished, the Ambassador-designate argues
for effectively reducing our nation’s response to genocide to the
level acceptable to the Turkish government. Our nation’s human
rights policy should never be held hostage by a foreign country –
particularly one that is regularly cited as among the world’s worst
human rights abusers.
For these reasons, we respectfully request that the U.S. Senate not
move forward with Ambassador Hoagland’s nomination.
July 18, 2006