Armenian National Committee of America
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PRESS RELEASE
March 8, 2006
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
ANCA CALLS ON SECRETARY RICE TO
EXPLAIN REPORTS OF AMB. EVANS’ RECALL
— National Chairman Asks Secretary to Confirm or
Deny that the U.S. Ambassador is being Punished
for his Acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide
“If, in fact, the State Department has taken
punitive steps against Ambassador Evans, you
should fully and openly explain your policies
and actions to the American people. If, on the
other hand, the Department has not taken any
such steps, you owe it to the American people
to affirm that it is not the policy of the
United States of America to punish its diplomats
for speaking the truth about the Armenian
Genocide.” — ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian
WASHINGTON, DC – Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
Chairman Ken Hachikian today called upon Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to address reports that the U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia, John Marshall Evans, is being forced from office based
upon truthful and forthright statements last April about the
Armenian Genocide.
In a March 8th letter, Hachikian asked Secretary Rice to comment on
published accounts (California Courier, March 9,2006) that the
Ambassador is being recalled, well before the normal end of his
term of office, due to remarks during a series of presentations to
Armenian American communities across the country.
Speaking last year to an Armenian American gathering at the
University of California at Berkeley, Amb. Evans said, “I will
today call it the Armenian Genocide… I informed myself in depth
about it. I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow
citizens, a more frank and honest way of discussing this problem.
Today, as someone who has studied it . . . there’s no doubt in my mind
[as to] what happened . . . I think it is unbecoming of us, as
Americans, to play word games here. I believe in calling things by
their name.” Referring to the Armenian Genocide as “the first
genocide of the 20th century,” he said: “I pledge to you, we are
going to do a better job at addressing this issue.” Amb. Evans also
disclosed that he had consulted with a legal advisor at the State
Department who had confirmed that the events of 1915 were “genocide
by definition.”
Within days after his remarks and the conclusion of a speaking tour
of Armenian American communities, Ambassador Evans was apparently
forced to issue a statement clarifying that his references to the
Armenian Genocide were his personal views and did not represent a
change in U.S. policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this
statement, replacing a reference to the Genocide with the word
“tragedy.”
Later last year, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA),
in recognition of his honesty and commitment to principle, decided
to honor Ambassador Evans with the “Christian A. Herter Award,”
recognizing creative thinking and intellectual courage within the
Foreign Service. Sadly, as Washington Post staff writer Glenn
Kessler revealed on June 9th, AFSA withdrew its award following
pressure from “very serious people from the State Department.”
In his letter, Hachikian wrote that, “the prospect that a U.S.
envoy’s posting – and possibly his career – has been cut short due
to his honest and accurate description of a genocide is profoundly
offensive to American values and U.S. standing abroad –
particularly in light of President Bush’s call for moral clarity in
the conduct of our international affairs.”
He added that, “if, in fact, punitive measures are being taken
against Ambassador Evans, this would represent a tragic retreat
from our nation’s core values. It would also represent a new low
in our government’s shameful complicity in the Turkish government’s
campaign of denial. Not only does the State Department continue to
be publicly silent as Turkey criminally prosecutes its writers and
citizens for speaking about the Armenian Genocide, it appears the
State Department is following Turkey’s lead by muzzling and
punishing an American diplomat for his speech and his
acknowledgement of a genocide that is extensively documented in the
State Department’s own archives.”
The ANCA letter also urged Secretary Rice to respond in a timely
manner to the series of written questions on this matter submitted
on February 16th by Congressman Adam Schiff during her testimony
before the House International Relations Committee. Among these
questions was a specific request that the Secretary assure the
Committee that the Department of State has not taken – and will not
take – any punitive action against Ambassador Evans for speaking
out about the Armenian Genocide.
The full text of the ANCA letter is provided below.
#####
March 8, 2006
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520
Dear Secretary Rice:
I am writing with respect to extremely troubling reports regarding
punitive actions by the State Department against our country’s
Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, based upon his truthful
and forthright statements about the Armenian Genocide.
The most recent edition of the California Courier (March 9, 2006),
a respected Armenian American newspaper, has reported, based on
well-placed sources in the Armenian government, that Ambassador
Evans is being recalled, well before the normal end of his term of
office, due to his speech on the Armenian Genocide. The prospect
that a U.S. envoy’s posting – and possibly his career – has been
cut short due to his honest and accurate description of a genocide
is profoundly offensive to American values and U.S. standing abroad
– particularly in light of President Bush’s call for moral clarity
in the conduct of our international affairs.
If, in fact, punitive measures are being taken against Ambassador
Evans, this would represent a tragic retreat from our nation’s core
values. It would also represent a new low in our government’s
shameful complicity in the Turkish government’s campaign of denial.
Not only does the State Department continue to be publicly silent
as Turkey criminally prosecutes its writers and citizens for
speaking about the Armenian Genocide, it appears the State
Department is following Turkey’s lead by muzzling and punishing an
American diplomat for his speech and his acknowledgment of a
genocide that is extensively documented in the State Department’s
own archives.
As you recall, earlier this year, on February 16th, Congressman
Adam Schiff submitted a series of written questions regarding this
matter to you during your testimony before the House International
Relations Committee. Among these was a specific request that you
assure the Committee that the Department of State has not taken –
and will not take – any punitive action against Ambassador Evans
for speaking out about the Armenian Genocide. As of today, I
understand that he has yet to receive a response to this inquiry.
In the interest of ensuring that the Congress has the information
it needs to perform its constitutionally mandated oversight
function, I urge you to respond fully and in a timely manner to
Congressman Schiff’s questions. More broadly, I call upon you to
clarify the State Department’s actions regarding this matter. If,
in fact, the State Department has taken punitive steps against
Ambassador Evans, you should fully and openly explain your policies
and actions to the American people. If, on the other hand, the
Department has not taken any such steps, you owe it to the American
people to affirm that it is not the policy of the United States of
America to punish its diplomats for speaking the truth about the
Armenian Genocide.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. Along with over one
and a half million Armenian Americans across the country, I look
forward to your response to this issue.
Sincerely,
Kenneth V. Hachikian
Chairman
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