Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street NW
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PRESS RELEASE
May 8, 2007
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
STATE DEPARTMENT FILES REVEAL NEW DETAILS OF EVANS RECALL
— Senior Official Demanded Early Return of Evans Leading to
Vacancy in Key Ambassadorial Post
WASHINGTON, DC – Internal State Department documents, released this
week to the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) under the
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), reveal that a senior State
Department official forced the return to the U.S. of former
Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, prior to U.S. Senate’s
approval of his replacement, effectively ensuring that this key
foreign post would remain vacant.
The key document released by the Department was an August 8, 2006
"Sensitive-Eyes Only for Amb. Evans" memo from Assistant Secretary
of State Daniel Fried to Ambassador Evans. In the note, the
Assistant Secretary acknowledged Ambassador Evans’ willingness to
remain in Yerevan until the Senate had confirmed Richard Hoagland,
the career Foreign Service officer who had been nominated by
President Bush to fill the Yerevan ambassadorial post after the
Evans firing.
The relevant section of the cable reads as follows:
"John [Evans], Thank you for your offer to remain in Yerevan in
light of the SFRC (Senate Foreign Relations Committee) postponement
of its consideration of Dick’s [Richard Hoagland’s] nomination. I
appreciate that you are willing to serve the President as needed.
However, I think it is best to continue with your previous plan,
and for you to depart post by the end of the first week in
September."
Putting a sharp point on his direction, Assistant Secretary Fried
closed the note by writing: "Please consider this cable your
authorization to depart the mission."
The Department’s decision, as communicated in the August 8, 2006
Dan Fried memo, was taken amid intense opposition by Armenian
Americans and growing scrutiny by members of the U.S. Senate over
Hoagland’s denial of the Armenian Genocide. The Fried memo was
sent after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s August 1st
postponement of its confirmation vote, and prior to the panel’s
September 7th consideration of the Hoagland nomination. Forcing
Ambassador Evans’ physical return to the U.S. prior to this vote
afforded State Department lobbyists the "talking point" that
opposing the Hoagland nomination would mean leaving an
ambassadorial vacancy in Yerevan.
The Hoagland nomination, facing bipartisan opposition, was
ultimately blocked by Senate Foreign Relations Committee member Bob
Menendez (D-NJ). The New Jersey legislator placed a hold on his
confirmation by the Senate, arguing that a U.S. ambassador who
denies the Armenian Genocide cannot be an effective U.S.
representative in Armenia.
Also released by the State Department was a detailed document
tightly scripting the retractions issued in the name of Ambassador
Evans following his February 2005 public comments to Armenian
American audiences in which he properly characterized Ottoman
Turkey’s campaign to exterminate its Armenian population as a
genocide. In a February 26, 2005 memo to Ambassador Evans, drafted
by then Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Laura Kennedy and
approved by Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Beth
Jones, titled "Instructions to Ambassador Evans Regarding Personal
Statement" – the State Department dictated the exact language to be
used in the correction issued in Evans’ name.
Among these were specific "points to use with the Government of
Armenia," including the following guidance, that contrary to Amb.
Evans’ public statements:
". . .the State Department’s Legal Adviser did not offer an
official position that the events of 1915 were ‘genocide by
definition.’"
Copies of these FOIA files are available upon request.