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STATE DEPARTMENT AGAIN REFUSES TO DIRECTLY COMMENT ON REPORTS OF AMB. EVANS' RECALL
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 15, 2006
YEREVAN, March 15. /ARKA/. For the fourth time in the last week,
the State Department's official spokesperson has failed to directly
respond to questions raised by journalists during the Department's
daily press briefing about reports that the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
John Marshall Evans, has been recalled due to his truthful statements
on the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA). "It's certainly disappointing seeing State Department
officials hiding behind their spokesperson to avoid directly answering
questions about whether Ambassador Evans is being recalled because
he had the courage to stand up against what effectively amounts to a
'gag-rule' preventing our nation's diplomats from speaking truthfully
about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a March 8th letter to
Secretary Rice, wrote that, "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."
Questions concerning Ambassador Evans were raised on March 8th and
March 10th and again on March 13th and 14th. Each time journalists
asked for official comments about Ambassador Evans' reported recall.
Reflecting the growing frustration among journalists over the lack of
a clear response to their inquiries, a member of the State Department
press corps publicly described the answers provided by the official
spokesperson as "a bit of a dodge." The growing controversy surrounding
reports of Amb. Evans' recall has resulted in separate letters being
sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the Co-Chairman of the
Armenian Issues Caucus, as well as formal Congressional inquiries by
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Grace Napolitano (D-CA).
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. AFSA states, "The purpose of the [award] is
to encourage Foreign Service career employees to speak out frankly
and honestly." 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" just days before
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Washington,
D.C. to meet with President George W. Bush.
ARKA News Agency, Armenia
March 15, 2006
YEREVAN, March 15. /ARKA/. For the fourth time in the last week,
the State Department's official spokesperson has failed to directly
respond to questions raised by journalists during the Department's
daily press briefing about reports that the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
John Marshall Evans, has been recalled due to his truthful statements
on the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America (ANCA). "It's certainly disappointing seeing State Department
officials hiding behind their spokesperson to avoid directly answering
questions about whether Ambassador Evans is being recalled because
he had the courage to stand up against what effectively amounts to a
'gag-rule' preventing our nation's diplomats from speaking truthfully
about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director Aram
Hamparian. ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a March 8th letter to
Secretary Rice, wrote that, "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."
Questions concerning Ambassador Evans were raised on March 8th and
March 10th and again on March 13th and 14th. Each time journalists
asked for official comments about Ambassador Evans' reported recall.
Reflecting the growing frustration among journalists over the lack of
a clear response to their inquiries, a member of the State Department
press corps publicly described the answers provided by the official
spokesperson as "a bit of a dodge." The growing controversy surrounding
reports of Amb. Evans' recall has resulted in separate letters being
sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice from ANCA Chairman Ken
Hachikian and Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), the Co-Chairman of the
Armenian Issues Caucus, as well as formal Congressional inquiries by
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Grace Napolitano (D-CA).
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. AFSA states, "The purpose of the [award] is
to encourage Foreign Service career employees to speak out frankly
and honestly." 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" just days before
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Washington,
D.C. to meet with President George W. Bush.