SENATE SHOULD HOLD UP CONFIRMATION OF AMB. EVANS'
REPLACEMENT
30-05-2006 15:10:00 | USA | Articles and Analyses
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
After avoiding public comment for almost three months, the
White House officially announced last week the recall of John
Evans, the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, and the nomination of
Richard Hoagland, currently the U.S. Ambassador to Tajikistan,
as his replacement.
Earlier this year, I broke the news that Amb. Evans was
being recalled for affirming the facts of the Armenian Genocide,
while addressing an Armenian-American audience at the University
of California at Berkeley, in February of 2005. Within days of
his remarks, and after complaints from Turkish and Azeri
officials, Amb. Evans was ordered by his superiors to issue "a
clarification" in which he claimed that he had used the word
"genocide" in his "personal capacity." He was then asked to
issue "a correction" to his "clarification," replacing the word
"genocide" with "tragedy."
Subsequently, under pressure from the State Department, the
American Foreign Service Association took the unusual step of
rescinding the "Constructive Dissent" award that Amb. Evans was
to receive for his remarks. He was then summoned to Washington,
D.C. by his superiors for private consultations on this issue.
Apparently not satisfied with his repeated apologies and
the revocation of the prestigious dissent award, the State
Department privately informed Amb. Evans earlier this year that
he was being removed not only from his diplomatic post after
serving only 18 months of his three-year term, but also from the
foreign service altogether. He was asked to remain in Yerevan,
pending the Senate confirmation of his replacement.
Until last week when his recall was publicly announced,
State Department officials gave evasive answers to persistent
media questions, by repeatedly stating that all government
officials "serve at the pleasure of the President."
During the past few months, Representatives Adam Schiff,
Frank Pallone and Grace Napolitano wrote separate letters to
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, seeking an explanation for
the recall of Amb. Evans. These congressional inquiries fell on
deaf ears, as the State Dept. ignored their letters. Last week,
60 members of the House of Representatives sent a joint letter
to Secretary Rice with a similar request for clarification. On
May 25, Cong. Pallone made his second statement on the House
floor, strongly condemning the dismissal of Amb. Evans.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and international media provided
extensive coverage of the recall of Amb. Evans. In a
hard-hitting editorial published on March 22, the Los Angeles
Times said: "The State Dept. has long avoided the word
'genocide,' not out of any dispute over history but out of
deference to Turkey... It is time to stop tiptoeing around this
issue and to accept settled history... Punishing an ambassador
for speaking honestly about a 90-year-old crime befits a
cynical, double-dealing monarchy, not the leader of the free
world." The Fresno Bee, in an unusually harsh editorial
published on March 24, wrote: "Shame on the State Department"
for recalling the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. The Washington
Times called Amb. Evans a "Genocide 'victim'."
While commemorating the 91st anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide on April 24 in Yerevan, tens of thousands of Armenians
tied yellow ribbons on strings at the Genocide Memorial
Monument, in honor of Amb. Evans. Yellow ribbons were worn by
the participants at various commemorative events in Los Angeles,
New York and other U.S. cities. Armenian-Americans also sent
hundreds of e-mails directly to Secretary Rice urging her not to
dismiss Amb. Evans. The State Dept. has not had the courtesy of
responding to any of these messages.
The diplomatic career of Amb. Evans is being terminated for
speaking honestly about the Armenian Genocide. Why is telling
the truth a crime for the Bush administration? Amb. Evans did
nothing more than uphold Pres. Bush's unkept campaign pledge to
acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Ironically, Amb. Evans is
losing his job for his honesty, while the President is keeping
his by not keeping his word!
It is amazing that the remarks of Amb. Evans on the
Armenian Genocide would elicit such a hostile reaction from the
Bush administration. After all, Pres. Ronald Reagan himself
issued a Presidential Proclamation in 1981 that mentioned the
Armenian Genocide, and no one in the U.S. government dared to
either criticize him or call for his removal from office.
Furthermore, the House of Representatives passed two resolutions
in 1975 and 1984 recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Amb. Evans
was simply restating the long established position of the U.S.
government on this issue. There was nothing new in what he said
and no valid reason for his dismissal!
Given the unresponsiveness of the State Department to the
public at large and to the letters of more than 60 Members of
Congress, the Senate is now obligated to place a hold on the
nomination of Amb. Hoagland, even though he has had no
involvement in this debacle. A "hold" request by any one member
of the Senate on this nomination would delay its consideration
by the full Senate until that Senator is fully consulted. It is
regrettable that the Senate has to resort to such tactics to
force the Bush Administration to be more forthcoming on this
issue. It is imperative that before the U.S. government sends
another envoy to Armenia, Members of Congress know what exactly
caused the early termination of the career of the current
ambassador. Also, what steps need to be taken to ensure that
this unfortunate situation is not repeated during the tenure of
his successor?
When the confirmation hearing is scheduled for Amb.
Hoagland, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should ask the
State Department to go on record stating the reasons for the
dismissal of Amb. Evans -- a well-respected and highly-competent
career foreign service officer. The Senators should also inquire
about the unwarranted role of the State Department in rescinding
the "Constructive Dissent" award that was to be granted to Amb.
Evans by the American Foreign Service Association. Furthermore,
serious questions should be raised about undue pressures applied
by Turkish and Azeri officials on the Bush administration
against Amb. Evans for acknowledging the Armenian Genocide.
Armenian Americans should flex their political muscle to
let the State Department know that they do not look too kindly
upon an administration that fires a distinguished U.S. diplomat
for telling the truth about the Armenian Genocide. Unless
Armenians put their foot down on this occasion, they will be
taken for granted on other issues. If the Armenian American
community and its congressional supporters take a strong
position, maybe next time the Administration would think twice
before contemplating an action offensive to the Armenian
community.
Make your voices heard on this important issue by taking
the following three steps:
- Contact you Senators and ask them to hold up the
confirmation of Amb. Evans' replacement until the State
Department makes public the reasons for his dismissal.
- Send a webfax to your congressional representatives
through www.anca.org.
- Send an e-mail to the Secretary of State through:
www.state.gov (click at the bottom of the page on "contact us,"
then click on "send a message to the Secretary of State").