SENATOR SCHUMER CALLS ON BUSH TO WITHDRAW HOAGLAND NOMINATION
ASBAREZ
1/18/2007
WASHINGTON–Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), a long-time friend of New
York’s Armenian community and senior member of the Senate leadership,
has joined Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Senator Robert
Menendez (D-NJ) in urging President George W. Bush to withdraw the
controversial nomination of Richard Hoagland to serve as US Ambassador
to Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
Citing the nominee’s denial of the Armenian Genocide, Senator
Schumer, who serves as Vice-Chairman of the Democratic Caucus, noted,
a January 17 letter to the President, that the nominee’s confirmation
would undermine diplomatic relations between the US and Armenia, and
offend the Armenian-American community. The Empire State Senator has
been sharply critical of the Administration’s policy on the Armenian
Genocide and its premature replacement of the previous Ambassador,
John M. Evans, after he spoke truthfully in characterizing this crime
as a genocide in speeches last year to Armenian American civic groups.
"Genocide can not be neatly swept under the carpet. Armenian Americans
are justifiably up in arms over the potential nomination of Richard
Hoagland as the US Ambassador to their native country," said Senator
Schumer. "Hoagland’s reluctance to classify the Armenian Genocide as
the 20th century’s first genocide is a travesty, which leaves us to
believe that he will march lock and step with the administration’s
politically motivated stance of denial." He added that, "In order
for justice to prevail, for progress to be realized and genuine
reconciliation to be possible, there must first be recognition of
the facts of history. That must start with a simple, unequivocal
declaration that the Ottoman’s actions during the period in question
were tantamount to genocide. I cannot support Mr.
Hoagland, because, regrettably, he has not met that standard."
"We join with Armenians from New York and across the nation in
expressing our appreciation to Senator Schumer for his principled stand
against the Hoagland nomination," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. "For more than three decades–going back to his early years
in the New York State Assembly, as a member of the US House, and now as
a leader of the Senate–Chuck Schumer has always been a powerful voice
for justice and a great friend to the Armenian American community."
The Senate’s confirmation of the Hoagland nomination has been
the subject of growing Congressional controversy and Armenian
American community outrage, culminating in two "holds" placed on his
confirmation by Senator Robert Menendez–initially in September of
last year, during the 109th Congress, and again in the 110th Congress
after the President re-nominated him earlier this month.
The New Jersey legislator’s second hold came just two days after
the Bush Administration re-nominated Hoagland on January 9th. His
first hold was placed after the Ambassador-designate, in response
to questions posed to him during his confirmation hearing, went far
beyond the bounds of the Administration’s already deeply flawed policy,
actually calling into question the Armenian Genocide as a historical
fact. Citing the opposition of the Armenian American community and
the growing controversy within Congress surrounding the nomination,
Senator Menendez was joined on December 1 by incoming Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in calling on President George W. Bush
to withdraw the Hoagland nomination and propose a new candidate
to serve in this important diplomatic post. They stressed that,
in light of the broad-based concerns within Congress, the extensive
media coverage this issue has received, and the strong stand of the
Armenian American community against the nomination, "it would serve
neither our national interests nor the US-Armenia relationship to
expect Ambassador-designate Hoagland to carry out his duties under
these highly contentious and profoundly troubling circumstances."
A recent poll of Armenian Americans found that 97 percent opposed
the Hoagland nomination. Ninety-four percent of the respondents said
that they "strongly agreed" with the Senate’s opposition to his
nomination. An additional three percent noted that they "somewhat
agreed" with this opposition. One percent reported that they "somewhat
disagreed" with opposing Hoagland, and two percent indicated that they
"strongly disagreed" with the opposition to his confirmation.
More than half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and
more than 60 US Representatives have raised concerns about the
Hoagland nomination and the State Department’s refusal to explain
the controversial firing of his predecessor, John Marshall Evans,
for speaking truthfully about the Armenian Genocide. The Department
of State has also failed to offer any meaningful explanation of the
role that the Turkish government played in the dismissal of Ambassador
Evans, a diplomat with over thirty years of service at the Department
of State
The complete text of Senator Schumer’s letter is provided below.
Dear Mr. President:
I write regarding your re-nomination of Richard E. Hoagland to serve
as United States Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia. I am deeply
concerned that Mr. Hoagland’s nomination is not in the best interest
of the US-Armenia relationship, nor in the best interest of our
relationship with the Armenian-American community.
As you are well aware, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were killed
and forced into exile by the government of Turkey between 1915-1923.
Armenians, including women and children, were driven over mountains
and deserts, while being deprived of food and water during the march.
Others were deported to relocation centers in Syria and Mesopotamia.
The Armenian people were practically eliminated from their homeland,
which they had occupied for almost 3,000 years, and shrunk Armenia to
less than one-fourth of its original size. On July 24, 1915, US Consul
Leslie Davis wrote to Ambassador Henry Morgenthau, "It has been no
secret that the plan was to destroy the Armenian race as a race. . . "
The history and facts surrounding the events between 1915 and 1923
clearly show that the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the
20th century. I am concerned that the United States’ official position,
and the position of Mr. Hoagland, does not reflect these facts.
In 1998, a group of 150 scholars and writers, many of whom were
professors of history, theology, and law, including a Nobel Laureate,
honored the 50th anniversary of the UN Genocide Convention by
encouraging their government officials to officially recognize the
Armenian Genocide as such.
In Mr. Hoagland’s written testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee from June 2006, he wrote that "This tragedy is of such
enormous human significance that its historical assessment should
be determined not on the basis of politics, but through heartfelt
introspection among civic leaders, scholars and the societies at
large." Yet, his position, along with the Administration’s, fails to
recognize opinions of world scholars and human rights groups.
While I am cognizant of the realpolitik that perpetuates this position,
genocide is not something that can just be swept neatly under the rug
and forgotten. The evil at its core impels peoples, leaders and nations
to recognize it, and decry it. Indeed, no progress or reconciliation
is possible without forthright recognition of the facts of history.
Since 1923, the Turkish government has worked tirelessly to deny
the Armenian Genocide, and force its citizens to remain silent on
the issue. Turkey instituted Article 301 in the Turkish penal code,
which took effect on June 1, 2005. This article makes it punishable by
imprisonment any person who denigrates "Turkishness" of the Republic
of Turkey. Under Article 301, Orhan Pamuk, a Nobel Prize-winning
Turkish novelist, was retroactively charged with violating the article
for statements regarding the death of a million Armenians and thirty
thousand Kurds, made to a Swiss magazine in February 2005. In October
2006, France passed a law making it a crime to deny the Armenian
Genocide. Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan stated that Turkey was
studying retaliatory measures against France for passing such a law.
Specifically because of his refusal to directly declare the true
nature of the Armenian Genocide, Mr. Hoagland’s nomination faced
significant problems during his confirmation hearings last session.
In fact, more than half of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and
over 60 members of the United States House of Representatives raised
questions over the nomination. Considering these circumstances, and
in the interest of justice and international relations, I respectfully
urge you to withdraw his nomination.
Thank you for your attention to this matter, and I look forward to
your response.
Sincerely,
[signed]
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senat