THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: WHITE HOUSE HAS NOT SHIFTED ITS POSITION ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Yerkir
07.08.2007 17:05
YEREVAN (YERKIR) – The White House administration has not yet
identified its choice for the next nominee as US Ambassador to
Armenia. Richard Hoagland is expected to be nominated for another
post soon, Spokeswoman for the White House Emily Lawrimore said.
"President Bush believes Hoagland would have done a wonderful job,
and thanks him for his willingness to serve his country," she said,
The Los Angeles Times reported, according to PanARMENIAN.Net. But
the US administration has not shifted its position on the Armenian
Genocide issue, the newspaper reports.
The Los Angeles Times says US’s refusal to recognize the Armenian
Genocide is connected with the importance of American-Turkish relations
and Turkey’s support that Washington needs in the Middle East. The
article reminds that 1.2 million Armenians were killed in the last
years of the Ottoman Empire during the World War I, as fact that
modern Turkey refuses to recognize.
The cause of Richard Hoagland’s withdrawal is in New Jersey Senator
Robert Menendez’s persistent refusal to agree on his nomination,
since Hoagland did not recognize the events of 1915 as Armenian
Genocide during his confirmation Senate hearings.
"We are obviously pleased that the administration came to understand
that I had no intention of withdrawing my hold. I hope the new nominee
would be somebody who understands the reality of the Armenian Genocide
and can express himself or herself when the time comes for a nomination
hearing," the congressman underscored.
The Los Angeles Times also reminds that in a recent poll by the Pew
Research Center, only 9% of Turks held a favorable view of the US.
On August 3 the White House withdrew Richard Hoagland’s candidacy as US
Ambassador to Armenia after New Jersey Senator Robert Menendez twice
placed a hold on his nomination, since R. Hoagland did not recognize
events of 1915 as genocide during his confirmation hearings before
the Senate. Former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans was recalled
in September of 2006 because he had publicly called the events of
1915 genocide.