The Moscow Times, Russia
Aug 6 2007

White House Loses Fight for Armenia Ambassador

By Harry Dunphy

WASHINGTON — The White House gave in to Democratic Party objections
and on Friday withdrew the nomination of a career diplomat to be
ambassador to Armenia.

Senator Robert Menendez placed a hold on the nomination of Richard
Hoagland for the second time in January because of Hoagland’s refusal
to call the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.

A hold is a parliamentary privilege accorded to senators that
prevents a nomination from going forward to a confirmation hearing.

Hoagland’s confirmation was blocked by Senate Democrats in the last
Congress, and U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration
resubmitted his name in January when the new Congress convened.

Republican California congressman Adam Schiff supported the Bush
administration’s decision to withdraw Hoagland’s name.

"During his confirmation hearings, Mr. Hoagland continued to deny
that the massacre of a million and a half Armenians between 1915 and
1923 was genocide, thereby compounding the injury done to Armenian
people and, especially, the few remaining survivors of the first
genocide of the 20th Century," Schiff said. "I hope the president
will soon nominate a new ambassador who will be more forthcoming in
discussing the Armenian genocide.

Hoagland’s predecessor, John Evans, reportedly had his tour of duty
in Armenia cut short because, in a social setting, he referred to the
killings as a genocide.

In urging the administration to submit another candidate, Menendez, a
Democrat, said "the State Department and the Bush administration are
just flat-out wrong in their refusal to recognize the Armenian
genocide. It is well past time to drop the euphemisms, the wink-wink,
nod-nod brand of diplomacy that overlooks heinous atrocities around
the world."

He said Friday that the Bush administration did a disservice to the
Armenian people and Armenian-Americans when it removed Evans "simply
because he recognized the Armenian genocide."

"It was clear that their nominee to fill his place was
controversial," Menendez said. "I hope that our next nominee will
bring a different understanding to this issue and foster a productive
relationship with our friends in Armenia."

The Bush administration has warned that even a congressional debate
on the genocide question could damage relations with Turkey, a
moderate Muslim nation that is a NATO member and an important
strategic ally.

Turkey has adamantly denied claims by scholars that its predecessor
Ottoman state killed Armenians in a planned genocide. Turkey says the
killings occurred at a time of civil conflict and that the casualty
figures are inflated. (AP)