Ambassador to Armenia designate responds to Senators’ questions

ArmRadio.am
28.07.2006 15:43

As the Senate Foreign Relations Committee weighs the nomination of
Richard E. Hoagland as America’s next Ambassador to Armenia, the
Foreign Service officer says that if confirmed, he will uphold the
President’s policies with respect to the Armenian Genocide, which
neither denies nor properly acknowledges the events of 1915.

Several Committee Members including Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA),
Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), Russell Feingold (D-WI), John Kerry (D-MA) and
Paul Sarbanes (D-MD) submitted a series of questions to Hoagland
following the June 28 proceedings. The lawmakers asked Hoagland to
clarify US policy on the Armenian Genocide and to explain what, if
anything, the State Department has directed him to say publicly on the
Armenian Genocide.

"The State Department has not directed me to make or avoid specific
statements about the tragic events that occurred at the end of the
Ottoman Empire, but has rather provided me with information on the
President’s policy which, if confirmed, I will represent faithfully,"
Hoagland stated in his response to Kerry. Hoagland did not deviate in
his response to Committee Members with similar policy questions.

Kerry also asked Hoagland to explain why the Administration refuses to
recognize the crimes as genocide. Hoagland provided the following:
"The US 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."

Feingold asked Hoagland how he plans to respond to those in the
Armenian community who are upset by Ambassador John M. Evans’
premature departure. Hoagland replied that the US and Armenia have a
deep and robust relationship, stating "this relationship is based on
close ties and mutual interests on a variety of issues. We expect this
relationship to continue and deepen."

In response to a question from Chafee on what he might say to
Armenians and Armenian-Americans on April 24, Hoagland said he will
work to draw attention to the events as the President has done. "I
will work to encourage dialogue between Armenia and Turkey on this
issue and to encourage all parties to examine the historical events of
this time with honesty and sensitivity," he stated.

Hoagland, a career member of the Senior Foreign Service, currently
serves as United States Ambassador to the Republic of
Tajikistan. Prior to this, he served as Director of the Office of
Caucasus and Central Asian Affairs at the Department of State. Earlier
in his career, he served as Director of the Office of Public Diplomacy
in the Bureau of South Asian Affairs.