MARIE L. YOVANOVITCH, HOWEVER, ACKNOWLEDGES ATROCITIES BY TURKS AND CALLS ARMENIANS’ SUFFERING ‘ONE OF THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY.’
By Paul Richter

Los Angeles Times
June 20 2008
CA

The nominee to be ambassador to Armenia avoids the term but
acknowledges mass killings and other atrocities by Turks.

WASHINGTON — The nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Armenia avoided
using the phrase "Armenian genocide" in her Senate confirmation hearing
Thursday, but she acknowledged that Armenians had suffered mass deaths,
rapes and forced exile at the hands of Turks between 1915 and 1923.

Marie L. Yovanovitch, a Foreign Service officer for 22 years and the
current ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, told the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee that even though the Armenians’ suffering was "one of the
greatest tragedies of the 20th century," referring to it as "genocide"
was "a policy decision" that only top officials such as President
Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were entitled to make.

The phrase has become the focus of a running battle between the
administration, which wants to avoid provoking Turkey, and Armenian
American activists and their legislative supporters, who are seeking
official recognition that what occurred was a genocide.

Bush’s last nominee for the position, Richard E. Hoagland, also
refused to use the phrase, and his nomination was withdrawn in the
face of strong congressional opposition.

But it remains uncertain whether the Senate will block the confirmation
of Yovanovitch to a post that has been unfilled for two years.

The committee, which considered several ambassadorial nominations
Thursday, is expected to vote next week on moving Yovanovitch’s name
to the Senate floor.

Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who has worked with Armenian American
activists, questioned Yovanovitch closely on her views and pressed
her to acknowledge that what she called an "ethnic cleansing" amounted
to a genocide.

According to aides, Menendez has not yet decided whether to oppose
her nomination.

The only other senator to question Yovanovitch, Benjamin L. Cardin
(D-Md.), declared that "what happened was genocide — to me it’s a
clear issue."

But he did not signal that he would oppose her confirmation, telling
her that in her interpretation of events, "you have spelled out very
clearly what happened."

Yovanovitch said the administration "understands that many Americans
and Armenians refer to the atrocities of 1915 as genocide."

But she said it has been Bush’s policy, "and that of previous
presidents of both parties, not to use that term."

Bush’s intent, she said, "is to focus on the future, to create an
environment that encourages Turkish citizens to reconcile with their
past and also with the Armenians."

Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee
of America, said in a statement that the group was "troubled by
Ambassador Yovanovitch’s refusal to offer any meaningful rationale
for the administration’s complicity in Turkey’s denials, other than
her tacit admission that the United States has apparently allowed
a foreign nation to impose a gag rule on America’s right to speak
truthfully about the Armenian genocide."

He said the group would carefully review her written responses to
questions submitted by committee members as they decide whether to
vote for her confirmation.

Yovanovitch was introduced, and praised, by former Sen. Bob Dole
(R-Kan.), whose ties to the Armenian American community evolved from
a close relationship with an Armenian American surgeon who helped
treat his wounds from World War II.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress