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IT HAS BEEN PRESIDENT BUSH'S POLICY NOT TO USE TERM 'GENOCIDE'
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.06.2008 13:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ I am honored by the confidence that President Bush
and Secretary Rice have shown in me by nominating me for the post
of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Ambassador-Designate to Armenia,
Ms. Marie L. Yovanovitch said in her testimony before the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee on June 19, 2008.
"If confirmed, I pledge to build on my 22 years of service to our
country to protect and defend American interests in the increasingly
vital region of the South Caucasus. Only in the United States would it
be possible for someone like me - a first generation immigrant to the
United States - to appear before you as an Ambassadorial nominee. My
father fled the Soviets and then the Nazis. My maternal grandfather
escaped from Russia after the revolution and raised his family in
wartime Germany, where my mother grew up stateless. My parents brought
me to this country in search of a safe harbor, a harbor that provided
freedom and opportunity, dignity and respect.
"The United States offered our family a second chance, just as so many
Armenian-Americans received a second chance in our country after they
were driven out of the Ottoman Empire. In no way do I want to equate
my own family history with that of Americans of Armenian heritage here
in the United States. But I do wish to convey that I understand from
personal experience that the events of the past can haunt the present
and that individuals, born a generation or more after apocalyptic
events, seek recognition of the injustices of the past.
"The U.S. government - and certainly I - acknowledges and mourns
the mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportations that
devastated over one and a half million Armenians at the end of the
Ottoman Empire. The United States recognizes these events as one of the
greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the "Medz Yeghern" or Great
Calamity, as many Armenians refer to it. That is why every April the
President honors the victims and expresses American solidarity with
the Armenian people on Remembrance Day.
"The Administration understands that many Americans and many Armenians
believe that the events of the past that I have referred to should
be called "genocide."
It has been President Bush's policy, as well as that of previous
presidents of both parties, not to use that term. The President's
focus is on encouraging Turkish citizens to reconcile with their past
and with the Armenians. He seeks to support the painstaking progress
achieved to date. President Bush believes that the best way to honor
the victims is to remember the past, so it is never repeated, and
to look to the future to promote understanding and reconciliation
between the peoples and governments of Armenia and Turkey. A key
part of that effort is to end Armenia's isolation in the region by
encouraging normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey
and the opening of their land border. The Armenian government has
requested that we facilitate this process. It will not be easy nor
will it likely be quick, but there are some hopeful signs.
"President Bush believes that normalization can and should be
achieved. The result would be an improvement in the life of every
Armenian. If I am confirmed, my priority would be to support the
efforts of the United States in working towards regional stability by
facilitating Armenian-Turkish relations and a peaceful settlement to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Armenia is isolated
from its second largest neighbor, Turkey, and every year scores
of soldiers die along the line of contact with Azeri forces in
Nagorno Karabakh. The status quo in both situations is unacceptable,
a deterioration unthinkable and clearly not in U.S. or regional
interests," Ms. Yovanovitch said.
PanARMENIAN.Net
20.06.2008 13:43 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ I am honored by the confidence that President Bush
and Secretary Rice have shown in me by nominating me for the post
of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, Ambassador-Designate to Armenia,
Ms. Marie L. Yovanovitch said in her testimony before the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee on June 19, 2008.
"If confirmed, I pledge to build on my 22 years of service to our
country to protect and defend American interests in the increasingly
vital region of the South Caucasus. Only in the United States would it
be possible for someone like me - a first generation immigrant to the
United States - to appear before you as an Ambassadorial nominee. My
father fled the Soviets and then the Nazis. My maternal grandfather
escaped from Russia after the revolution and raised his family in
wartime Germany, where my mother grew up stateless. My parents brought
me to this country in search of a safe harbor, a harbor that provided
freedom and opportunity, dignity and respect.
"The United States offered our family a second chance, just as so many
Armenian-Americans received a second chance in our country after they
were driven out of the Ottoman Empire. In no way do I want to equate
my own family history with that of Americans of Armenian heritage here
in the United States. But I do wish to convey that I understand from
personal experience that the events of the past can haunt the present
and that individuals, born a generation or more after apocalyptic
events, seek recognition of the injustices of the past.
"The U.S. government - and certainly I - acknowledges and mourns
the mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and forced deportations that
devastated over one and a half million Armenians at the end of the
Ottoman Empire. The United States recognizes these events as one of the
greatest tragedies of the 20th century, the "Medz Yeghern" or Great
Calamity, as many Armenians refer to it. That is why every April the
President honors the victims and expresses American solidarity with
the Armenian people on Remembrance Day.
"The Administration understands that many Americans and many Armenians
believe that the events of the past that I have referred to should
be called "genocide."
It has been President Bush's policy, as well as that of previous
presidents of both parties, not to use that term. The President's
focus is on encouraging Turkish citizens to reconcile with their past
and with the Armenians. He seeks to support the painstaking progress
achieved to date. President Bush believes that the best way to honor
the victims is to remember the past, so it is never repeated, and
to look to the future to promote understanding and reconciliation
between the peoples and governments of Armenia and Turkey. A key
part of that effort is to end Armenia's isolation in the region by
encouraging normalization of relations between Armenia and Turkey
and the opening of their land border. The Armenian government has
requested that we facilitate this process. It will not be easy nor
will it likely be quick, but there are some hopeful signs.
"President Bush believes that normalization can and should be
achieved. The result would be an improvement in the life of every
Armenian. If I am confirmed, my priority would be to support the
efforts of the United States in working towards regional stability by
facilitating Armenian-Turkish relations and a peaceful settlement to
the Nagorno Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. Armenia is isolated
from its second largest neighbor, Turkey, and every year scores
of soldiers die along the line of contact with Azeri forces in
Nagorno Karabakh. The status quo in both situations is unacceptable,
a deterioration unthinkable and clearly not in U.S. or regional
interests," Ms. Yovanovitch said.