SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES RICHARD HOAGLAND AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. After a lengthy
confirmation process which challenged the Bush Administration’s policy
on the Armenian Genocide, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
today approved the nomination of Ambassador-designate Richard
E. Hoagland as America’s next Ambassador to Armenia. The panel vote,
13-5, clears a major hurdle for Hoagland, who has been repeatedly
questioned by Republican and Democratic lawmakers over U.S. policy
on the Armenian Genocide following his nomination by President Bush
to replace Ambassador John M. Evans. As Noyan Tapan was informed
by the Armenian Assembly of America, Senators Paul Sarbanes (D-MD),
Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), John Kerry (D-MA) and
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) voted against the nominee. Ambassador Evans
was rebuked by the State Department after publicly affirming that
"the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth
century." He tendered his resignation after serving only two years
of what is typically a three-year assignment. "My vote is no," Kerry
told Committee Members. "It is not against the nominee personally,
but against the Administration." Kerry said that the U.S. must honor
history and honor the truth, pointing to America’s own record as
documented by U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morgenthau
who warned during the time of the killings that a "campaign of race
extermination" was in progress. During the Committee deliberation,
Boxer referenced a statement by then-Governor George W. Bush,
which said that Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign
that defies comprehension. The February 2000 letter said that,
"if elected President, I would ensure that our nation properly
recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people." Boxer told
Committee Members that the President did not fulfill his pledge, but
Evans did acknowledge the truth and was recalled from his post as a
consequence. The next step in the confirmation process is consideration
by the full Senate.