U.S. State Department Communicating Evans’ Recall with Turkey

PanARMENIAN.Net
26.07.2006 15:00 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ In yet another troubling development concerning
the controversial nomination of Richard Hoagland to serve as
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Department of Justice records have revealed
that the State Department has misled the U.S. Senate regarding its
communications with the Turkish government concerning the February
2005 public affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia John Marshall Evans, reported the Armenian National Committee
of America (ANCA).

In a letter, dated June 28, 2005 written on behalf of Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice to Senator Joseph Biden (D-DE), the
Ranking Democrat of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee,
the State Department denied that the Turkish government had even
approached the Administration on this issue. However, official
Foreign Agent Registration filings by the Turkish government’s
registered foreign agent, the Livingston Group, document that, in
the days following Ambassador Evans’ February 19, 2005 remarks, one
of Turkey’s agents communicated on at least four different occasions
with State Department officials concerning the envoy’s statement and
his subsequent retraction.

"With each new revelation, we see more clearly the corrosive
impact that the Administration’s complicity in Turkey’s denial is
having on our own core values as Americans," said ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian. "This latest failed attempt by the State Department to
mislead the Senate adds to the many compelling reasons to block the
confirmation of a new Ambassador to Armenia."

Consistent with the pattern of unresponsiveness that has come to
characterize the Administration’s actions on the Hoagland nomination,
the only answer the State Department chose to provide in response
to Senator Biden’s four questions was a misleading one. His other
inquiries – including an official request for an explanation of why
Ambassador Evans was being replaced prematurely – remain unanswered.

On June 23rd, as part of Ambassador Richard Hoagland’s confirmation
process to replace Amb. Evans in Yerevan, Senator Biden wrote a letter
asking Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice a series of questions
including the following: "Has the State Department received any
communication – written, electronic, or spoken – from the Turkish
Government concerning Ambassador Evans?"

Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs Jeffrey T. Bergner
responded on behalf of Secretary Rice with the following assertion:
"Please be assured that allegations that the U.S. is removing
Ambassador Evans under pressure from the Government of Turkey
are simply untrue. The Government of Turkey has not approached the
Administration on this issue, and the United States and Turkey engaged
in no diplomatic exchanges related to this matter."

However, Justice Department filings by the Livingston Group reveal
that a day after Amb. Evans’ statements on the Armenian Genocide were
publicized in an ANCA-San Francisco press release dated February
24, 2005, a Turkish agent communicated with the State Department
concerning his statements. On February 28, 2005, one business day
after the agent’s first phone call, Ambassador Evans issued his
first public retraction – noting that his mention of the Armenian
Genocide was made in a private capacity. Later that same day, the
Livingston Group reported three additional calls between one of
Turkey’s agents and State Department officials including the Deputy
Chief of Mission-designate at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to discuss
Ambassador Evans’ retraction. The very next day on March 1, 2005,
Ambassador Evans issued a public correction of his retraction –
removing entirely any mention of the Armenian Genocide.