AMBASSADOR EVANS TO BE HONORED BY APSLA
BY FLORENCE AVAKIAN
By UALStaff
November 2, 2010
LOS ANGELES, CA–John Marshall Evans, former U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia, will receive the prestigious 2010 “Professional of the Year”
award from the Armenian Professional Society of Los Angeles (APSLA),
at the 52nd APS annual gala banquet, on Friday evening, November 19.
He will be attending with his wife, Donna Evans, former President of
the World Affairs Council of Washington.
The American diplomat is being honored for his courage and his
dedication to truth for openly acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.
Receiving this award is a “special honor”, he said in a brief
correspondence with this writer. “I will be honored to join the ranks
of previous honorees like Vartan Oskanian, and Dr. Vartan Gregorian.
And I intend to speak about the concept of professionalism at the
event.”
NO REGRETS
Has he ever regretted using the “Genocide” word, I asked. “The short
answer is no”, he answered. “I do not regret it. I said what I said in
2005 in good conscience, based on my reading of history and the 1948
Genocide Convention. I knew before I used the word that there would
be negative consequences for my career. What I do regret is that some
of the other things I said at that time and in recent years may have
been overshadowed by my use of the word, ‘genocide’,” he noted.
“I did not use the word for cheap effect, but in the context of an
honest discussion with Armenian-Americans about the realities of
Armenia’s international situation. I don’t see how one can be honest
while denying the reality of the Genocide,” he stated.
Hailing from Williamsburg, Virginia, Mr. Evans studied Russian history
at Yale (B.A., 1970) and Columbia Universities where he started a
PH.D program before joining the Foreign Service. His diplomatic tour
of duty has included Tehran, Prague, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moldova,
the U.S. Mission to NATO, and at the U.S. State Department.
A Russian expert, he directed the State Department’s Office of Analysis
for Russia and Eurasia, in 1999, receiving several awards.
>From May 2002 until September 2004 when he presented his credentials
to Armenian President Robert Kocharian as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
he directed the Office of Russian Affairs.
His association with Armenia began when he coordinated the American
response to the devastating 1988 earthquake in Armenia. At the time,
he received a medal and an appreciative statement from the Armenian
government.
COURAGEOUS DECLARATION
Shortly after he assumed his ambassadorial position in Armenia, it
was at February 2005 meetings in California, that Ambassador Evans
declared, “I will today call it the Armenian Genocide. I think we,
the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens a more frank and
honest way of discussing this problem. The Armenian Genocide was the
first genocide of the 20th century. I pledge to you, we are going to
do a better job at addressing this issue.”
Thus, the American diplomat became the first U.S. official since former
President Ronald Reagan did in April 1981, to publicly acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide. According to the ANCA, Ambassador Evans had
intensely studied the matter, and had also consulted with a lawyer
from the U.S. State Department before publicly going on record.
The repercussions of publicly stating the “G” word were immediate
and explosive. The American Foreign Service Association cancelled
the distinguished “Constructive Dissent” award it was to give to
the Ambassador in a June 17, 2005 ceremony in the Benjamin Franklin
Diplomatic Reception Room of the U.S. State Department.
The normal diplomatic term for U.S. ambassadors in foreign countries
is three years, but in mid 2006, Ambassador Evans was recalled by
the State Department. At a farewell dinner in honor of the outgoing
diplomat, President Robert Kocharian honored him with the prestigious
Mkhitar Gosh Medal in recognition of the diplomat’s “remarkable
contribution to the development and strengthening of Armenian-American
friendly relations.”
AUTHORING BOOK ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Currently, Ambassador Evans is writing a book about the Armenian
Genocide which he put on hold in 2009 “to await the outcome of the
Turkish-Armenian Protocols. It is essentially completed,” he wrote to
this writer, “but I need to revise the ‘recommendations’ section in
which I attempt to identify some things, that ought, in my opinion,
to be done to ensure a better future for Armenia and Armenians.”
In the meantime, he continued, “I have given substantial testimony
to the Oral History Project of the Association for Diplomatic Studies
and Training, and recently signed off on the edited transcript which
will eventually end up in the Library of Congress.”
Why is the Genocide issue much bigger for the Diaspora than for
Armenia or Nagorno-Karabagh, I asked. “As U.S. Ambassador in Yerevan,
I was never asked about the Genocide by the local press,” he answered.
“This does not mean, however, that Armenians in the Republic of Armenia
do not care about their history. They do. It is simply that they have
many other current concerns, about jobs, education, their future. The
issue of the Genocide, as we learned when we did some careful polling,
does figure among the concerns of Armenians in Armenia.”
Considering the evolution of his career, what advice would the
Ambassador give to students considering a diplomatic career. “The
great thing about diplomacy is that it presents ever-broadening
horizons,” Ambassador Evans stated. “It never narrows one in a
professional sense. Any and all areas of knowledge from science to
history and culture and religion, can come into play in the course
of a diplomatic career.
“At the same time,” he continued, “despite its popular image,
diplomacy is hard work, often entails heavy costs, and sometimes
presents difficult ethical choices. But for anyone who wishes to
serve his or her country – and more and more women are demonstrating
a talent for diplomacy – it presents a wonderful opportunity.”
The Armenian Professional Society (APS) was formed in 1958 for the
advancement of education and fellowship among Armenians. Since
its creation, the APS has supported more than 300 students of
Armenian descent in the United States by giving scholarships to
graduate students in different fields. The APS has also supported
education in Armenia by giving grants to five Armenian institutes of
higher learning, including the State Engineering University, Yerevan
State University, the American University of Armenia, Artsagh State
University, and the School of Architecture and Construction at Yerevan
State University.
For more information, readers can reach the APS website
; the e-mail: [email protected]; voicemail:
(818) 685-9946 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (818) 685-9946
end_of_the_skype_highlighting; and the address: P.O. Box 10306,
Glendale, CA 91209.
From: A. Papazian
http://www.armenianlife.com/Home2/?p=181
www.apsla.org