Committee puts off action on nominee for ambassador to Armenia
AP Worldstream; Aug 04, 2006
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is putting off until September
consideration of career diplomat Richard Hoagland as ambassador
to Armenia.
The delay signals objections by some senators to the administration’s
refusal to classify the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians in 1915 as
"genocide."
Hoagland’s nomination was on the committee calendar this past week
but several senators asked that action on the measure be delayed until
after Congress returns from its August recess, which began on Friday.
Among those requesting a delay were Sens. Joseph Biden and John
Kerry. Both are possible presidential contenders in 2008.
At his June 28 confirmation hearing, Hoagland declined to use the
word genocide to describe the 1915 massacre, which occurred during
the waning days of the Ottoman Empire.
The tour of duty of the current ambassador, John Evans, reportedly
is being curtailed because he referred to the massacre as a genocide
in defiance of administration policy. .
Turkey strongly objects to any such
characterization. U.S. policy-makers are wary of antagonizing Turkey,
an important NATO ally.
Armenians say that as many as 1.5 million of their ancestors were
killing in an organized genocidal campaign by Ottoman Turks, and have
pushed for recognition of the killings as genocide around the world.