U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE: YOVANOVITCH IN NO WAY SOUGHT TO CAST ANY DOUBT ON 1915 EVENTS
PanARMENIAN.Net
30.07.2008 14:17 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ On behalf of the U.S. Department of State, Matthew
A. Reynolds, Acting Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs sent
a letter to Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joe Biden to
comment on questions regarding the process of appointment of Marie
Yovanovitch as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia.
The letter received by PanARMENIAN.Net says,
"Dear Mr. Chairman:
I am writing in response to your concerns regarding responses to
questions for the record submitted by you and Senator Menendez
regarding the nomination of Marie Yovanovitch as Ambassador to Armenia.
Regarding your Question #1, Ms. Yovanovitch mentions an International
Visitors Program under consideration that would bring archivists from
Turkey and Armenia to the United States for professional training. Our
goal is to help archivists protect the evidence of the past so that
future generations will have the documentation of the mass killings
and deportations of Armenians committed by Ottoman soldiers and other
Ottoman officials in 1915. Our goal is not to open a debate on whether
the Ottomans committed these horrendous acts; it is to help preserve
the documentation that supports the truth of those events.
Regarding Ms. Yovanovitch’s response to Senator Menendez’s Question #8,
the Administration recognizes that the mass killings, ethnic cleansing,
and forced deportations of over one and a half million Armenians were
conducted by the Ottoman Empire. We indeed hold Ottoman officials
responsible for those crimes.
In her testimony, Ms. Yovanovitch tried to convey her deep empathy
with the profound suffering of the Armenian people and in no way
sought to cast any doubt on historical facts.
We hope this information is helpful to you. Please do not hesitate
to contact us if we can be of further assistance on this or any
other matter."