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Marie L. Yovanovitch, However, Acknowledges Atrocities By Turks And

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  • Marie L. Yovanovitch, However, Acknowledges Atrocities By Turks And

    MARIE L. YOVANOVITCH, HOWEVER, ACKNOWLEDGES ATROCITIES BY TURKS AND CALLS ARMENIANS' SUFFERING 'ONE OF THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES OF THE 20TH CENTURY.'
    By Paul Richter

    Los Angeles Times
    June 20 2008
    CA

    The nominee to be ambassador to Armenia avoids the term but
    acknowledges mass killings and other atrocities by Turks.

    WASHINGTON -- The nominee to be the U.S. ambassador to Armenia avoided
    using the phrase "Armenian genocide" in her Senate confirmation hearing
    Thursday, but she acknowledged that Armenians had suffered mass deaths,
    rapes and forced exile at the hands of Turks between 1915 and 1923.

    Marie L. Yovanovitch, a Foreign Service officer for 22 years and the
    current ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, told the Senate Foreign Relations
    Committee that even though the Armenians' suffering was "one of the
    greatest tragedies of the 20th century," referring to it as "genocide"
    was "a policy decision" that only top officials such as President
    Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice were entitled to make.

    The phrase has become the focus of a running battle between the
    administration, which wants to avoid provoking Turkey, and Armenian
    American activists and their legislative supporters, who are seeking
    official recognition that what occurred was a genocide.

    Bush's last nominee for the position, Richard E. Hoagland, also
    refused to use the phrase, and his nomination was withdrawn in the
    face of strong congressional opposition.

    But it remains uncertain whether the Senate will block the confirmation
    of Yovanovitch to a post that has been unfilled for two years.

    The committee, which considered several ambassadorial nominations
    Thursday, is expected to vote next week on moving Yovanovitch's name
    to the Senate floor.

    Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), who has worked with Armenian American
    activists, questioned Yovanovitch closely on her views and pressed
    her to acknowledge that what she called an "ethnic cleansing" amounted
    to a genocide.

    According to aides, Menendez has not yet decided whether to oppose
    her nomination.

    The only other senator to question Yovanovitch, Benjamin L. Cardin
    (D-Md.), declared that "what happened was genocide -- to me it's a
    clear issue."

    But he did not signal that he would oppose her confirmation, telling
    her that in her interpretation of events, "you have spelled out very
    clearly what happened."

    Yovanovitch said the administration "understands that many Americans
    and Armenians refer to the atrocities of 1915 as genocide."

    But she said it has been Bush's policy, "and that of previous
    presidents of both parties, not to use that term."

    Bush's intent, she said, "is to focus on the future, to create an
    environment that encourages Turkish citizens to reconcile with their
    past and also with the Armenians."

    Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee
    of America, said in a statement that the group was "troubled by
    Ambassador Yovanovitch's refusal to offer any meaningful rationale
    for the administration's complicity in Turkey's denials, other than
    her tacit admission that the United States has apparently allowed
    a foreign nation to impose a gag rule on America's right to speak
    truthfully about the Armenian genocide."

    He said the group would carefully review her written responses to
    questions submitted by committee members as they decide whether to
    vote for her confirmation.

    Yovanovitch was introduced, and praised, by former Sen. Bob Dole
    (R-Kan.), whose ties to the Armenian American community evolved from
    a close relationship with an Armenian American surgeon who helped
    treat his wounds from World War II.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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