ROW OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PUTS US ENVOY’S APPROVAL ON HOLD
Agence France Presse — English
August 3, 2006 Thursday 6:46 AM GMT
by Maxim Kniazkov
WASHINGTON, Aug 3 2006
Efforts by the White House to win quick approval for its new ambassador
to Armenia have hit a snag after a bipartisan group of senators moved
to force the US government’s formal recognition that Turkey committed
genocide during World War I.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday quietly decided
to postpone for at least a month a vote on the nomination of career
diplomat Richard Hoagland as the next US Ambassador to Armenia,
congressional officials said Wednesday.
The move came as key committee members expressed open consternation
over the mysterious "resignation" of the current US Ambassador to
Armenia, John Evans — after less than two years on the job.
The senators are also frustrated with the administration’s persistent
refusal to use the word "genocide" to describe events in Turkey between
1915 and 1917, in which an estimated 1.5 million Armenians are said to
have been killed or died after being forcibly driven from their homes.
Armenians all over the world push for official recognition of those
killings as genocide.
However, Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many
Turks died in an internal conflict sparked by attempts by Armenians
to win independence for eastern Anatolia and secure assistance for
their bid from Russia, Turkey’s age-old nemesis.
While acknowledging that mass killings have taken place, US government
officials have so far sidestepped the touchy dispute by referring to
them as a "tragedy."
The old row flared on Capitol Hill earlier this summer when Senator
Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on the committee, sent a letter
to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, questioning what he called an
"unexpected" decision to replace Evans with Hoagland.
Evans was posted to Yerevan in August 2004 for what was supposed to
be a three-year term.
"In this case, I am particularly troubled by reports that the decision
to recall Ambassador Evans may have been motivated by statements
he made to American citizens in which he accurately described the
Armenian genocide as genocide," Biden wrote.
In a carefully-crafted response, Assistant Secretary of State
for Legislative Affairs Jeffrey Bergner assured the senator that
allegations the envoy had been forced to quit under pressure from
Turkey were "simply untrue."
As for Armenian genocide, Bergner insisted that the characterization
of "this tragedy" should be determined "through heartfelt dialogue,
not through diplomatic or political proclamations."
The arguments did not sit well with both Republican and Democratic
committee members.
Republican Senator Norm Coleman, who is Jewish, said he took issues
related to genocide very seriously and wanted the government to take
a clear-cut position on the subject.
"I am not sure how we can continue to have ambassadors to Armenia
who can be effective, unless they give recognition to the genocide,"
Coleman said.
Another Republican, George Allen, noted that he personally referred
to the events of 1915 as genocide "and have strongly encouraged the
president to do so as well."
In his letter, Biden directly asked Rice to "please explain why these
events do not meet any of the five definitions in the Convention on
the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide."
Overall, half of the 18-member committee are now said to have
reservations about endorsing Hoagland as the new Armenia envoy.
The imbroglio, however, may result in additional strains for US
relations with Turkey, the only Muslim NATO ally whose cooperation
is key to US success in the war on terror, experts said.
Turkey is already upset over cross-border raids by Kurdish separatist
rebels based in US-occupied Iraq, and is demanding resolute action
by the United States to halt the incursions.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
