SENATE COMMITTEE GRILLS AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA DESIGNATE OVER U.S. POLICY ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Washington, DC, June 29. ArmInfo. While Members of Congress and
the Armenian community demand a full explanation for the premature
replacement of Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans, the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee today held a hearing on the Administration’s
nominee, Richard E. Hoagland, reports Armenian Assembly of America.
If confirmed, Hoagland would replace Evans who was rebuked by State
Department officials last year after publicly affirming the Armenian
Genocide during his meetings with Armenian-American communities. In
those exchanges, Evans declared that "the Armenian Genocide was the
first genocide of the twentieth century." In making his statements,
Evans pointed to the International Center for Transitional Justice
(ICTJ), which concluded that the events could be properly characterized
as genocide.
Senator George Allen (R-VA), who chaired today’s proceedings, noted
that there have been serious concerns that Evans was forced to
prematurely end his service as a result of those public declarations.
"I don’t know this to be true," Allen said, referring to the
circumstances surrounding Evans’ departure. "[I] will say that many
of my colleagues and I refer to the tragic events of 1915 as genocide
and have strongly encouraged the President to do so as well."
-Switching topics, Coleman questioned Hoagland over the Turkish
blockade against Armenia, asking him how he plans to address this
issue. Hoagland responded that he would support talks between the
countries, noting that a peaceful resolution to the NK conflict
was paramount.
Allen, for his part, expressed concern over the proposed railroad
linking Turkey, Georgia and Azerbaijan, that would bypass Armenia.
Hoagland said it would make economic sense to rehabilitate the existing
rail line which traverses Armenia, adding that the U.S.
supports regional cooperation and economic integration. The Senator
also reaffirmed his commitment to ensure security assistance parity
between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
In his opening statement, Hoagland stressed the importance of
strengthening U.S.-Armenia ties and said that if confirmed, he would
work to advance democratic and social reforms. He expressed concern
that Armenia’s elections have not met international standards, and
said he would work to implement electoral reforms in the run-up to
the parliamentary and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008.