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Senate Committee Approves Richard Hoagland As U.S. Ambassador To Arm

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  • Senate Committee Approves Richard Hoagland As U.S. Ambassador To Arm

    SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES RICHARD HOAGLAND AS U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA

    WASHINGTON, SEPTEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. After a lengthy
    confirmation process which challenged the Bush Administration's policy
    on the Armenian Genocide, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
    today approved the nomination of Ambassador-designate Richard
    E. Hoagland as America's next Ambassador to Armenia. The panel vote,
    13-5, clears a major hurdle for Hoagland, who has been repeatedly
    questioned by Republican and Democratic lawmakers over U.S. policy
    on the Armenian Genocide following his nomination by President Bush
    to replace Ambassador John M. Evans. As Noyan Tapan was informed
    by the Armenian Assembly of America, Senators Paul Sarbanes (D-MD),
    Norm Coleman (R-MN), Christopher Dodd (D-CT), John Kerry (D-MA) and
    Barbara Boxer (D-CA) voted against the nominee. Ambassador Evans
    was rebuked by the State Department after publicly affirming that
    "the Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the twentieth
    century." He tendered his resignation after serving only two years
    of what is typically a three-year assignment. "My vote is no," Kerry
    told Committee Members. "It is not against the nominee personally,
    but against the Administration." Kerry said that the U.S. must honor
    history and honor the truth, pointing to America's own record as
    documented by U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morgenthau
    who warned during the time of the killings that a "campaign of race
    extermination" was in progress. During the Committee deliberation,
    Boxer referenced a statement by then-Governor George W. Bush,
    which said that Armenians were subjected to a genocidal campaign
    that defies comprehension. The February 2000 letter said that,
    "if elected President, I would ensure that our nation properly
    recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people." Boxer told
    Committee Members that the President did not fulfill his pledge, but
    Evans did acknowledge the truth and was recalled from his post as a
    consequence. The next step in the confirmation process is consideration
    by the full Senate.
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