Democratic Armenia Union: US policy in Armenia has failed
Regnum, Russia
July 17 2006
The Democratic Armenia Union has initiated signatures collecting to
support the decision to recall US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.
On behalf of the union on July 17 Chair of the National Press Club
Narine Lazarian talked to the press. She read out the statement and
informed that over 100 signatures haâ been collected and several
political parties joined the statement. As a REGNUM correspondent
reports, it is still unknown, which parties signed the document.
The statement says that drastic Armenia’s withdrawal from democratic
processes, decline of Armenia’s authority at international agencies,
deepening and encouraging of vicious deeds in the party sphere,
decline of freedom of speech, full control over electronic mass
media and censorship taking root, increase of corruption etc. have
become the basis for "a cynical falsification of outcomes of the
referendum on amending the Armenian constitution in November 2005,
which, in turn, brought about desperation in the country fixing a
social and political crisis." The Democratic Armenia Union announces
that all that has shown failure of the US policy to spread democracy
and establish freedom values in Armenia. At the same time, the union
puts responsibility for the failure upon US Ambassador to Armenia
John Evans, US embassy and institutions that were designed to develop
democracy in the country on the account of US taxpayers.
"We, Armenian citizens, being concerned and interested in establishing
democracy, law obedient state and civil society in Armenia, call upon
the US Senate to speed up the process of replacing the ambassador,"
the statement runs. Besides, the union calls upon the Armenian
lobby to secure that a new US ambassador is devoted to democracy,
values of freedom in the name of strengthening Armenia and improving
Armenian-US relations.
The statement, according to Narine Lazarian, will be sent to the US
Senate and Armenian organizations.
It is worth mentioning, in March 2006 the issue was posed of
recalling US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans before hid term was
over. However, at present time the process has been suspended for an
unknown period. Richard Hoagland, who is now head of the US diplomatic
mission in Tajikistan, is a possible candidature to the post. It should
be noted, the reason for recalling the US Ambassador John Evans was,
most probably, his statement concerning the Armenian Genocide in the
Ottoman Empire in 1915. At a meeting with members of the Armenian
community in San Francisco on February 19, 2006, John Evans stressed
"necessity of recognizing the Armenian Genocide." "I will today call it
the Armenian Genocide," Evans said. Members of the US administration
and officials refrain from using the word "genocide" concerning the
events that happened in Turkey in the beginning of the last century
and preferred to use various descriptive phrases and attributes. "No
US official have ever denied this fact. Things should be called by
their proper names," he noted.
"The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide in the 20th century,"
Evans is quoted as saying noting that the world was not ready for a
proper reaction then. "I pledge to you, we are going to do a better
job at addressing this issue," Evans reportedly said then.
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