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AAA: Sen Menendez Describes Admin Position on The Genocide as "Unten

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  • AAA: Sen Menendez Describes Admin Position on The Genocide as "Unten

    ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
    PRESS RELEASE
    For Immediate Release
    July 13, 2011
    Contact: Press Department
    Email: [email protected]
    Phone: (202) 393-3434


    SENATOR MENENDEZ DESCRIBES ADMINISTRATION POSITION ON ARMENIAN
    GENOCIDE AS "UNTENABLE"

    Armenian Assembly of America reserves judgment until it reads
    nominee's responses to written questions


    Washington, DC - Mr. John Heffern, the Administration's nominee to
    serve as Ambassador of the United States of America to the Republic of
    Armenia faced a series of questions on a range of issues during
    today's Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing chaired by Senator
    Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), reported the Armenian Assembly of America
    (Assembly).

    Presiding over the hearing, Foreign Relations Subcommittee Chair on
    European Affairs, Senator Shaheen began the round of questioning and
    touched on the Protocols between Armenia and Turkey, the current
    status of the Nagorno Karabakh talks and prospects for peace, as well
    as the importance of democracy and free and fair elections, especially
    in the context of the upcoming national elections in Armenia in 2012
    and 2013. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) emphasized the importance of
    democratization and queried Mr. Heffern about the steps he would take
    to assist Armenia's development.

    In response to Senator Shaheen's questions, Mr. Heffern indicated that
    the United States strongly supported the Protocols signed between
    Armenia and Turkey in October of 2009, and indicated that the
    Administration remains "committed to doing whatever we can to
    encourage the two parties to get the protocols back on track." Mr.
    Heffern also stated that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton "has made
    it clear" that "the ball is in Turkey's court." With respect to the
    Nagorno Karabakh peace process, Mr. Heffern noted that President
    Barack Obama and Secretary Clinton have been "deeply involved" and
    "remain committed" to the OSCE Minsk Group process to find "a lasting,
    peaceful and just solution to this conflict."

    On the democracy front, Mr. Heffern noted a series of positive steps
    that the Armenian government has taken in the last six months and
    indicated that if confirmed he would continue to build on this
    progress and the work of former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch.

    The Armenian Assembly has consistently supported the presence of a
    U.S. Ambassador in Armenia to build on the positive and growing
    bilateral relationship. In Mr. Heffern's opening testimony, he
    indicated that "the Obama Administration has strengthened U.S.
    relations with Armenia" and noted that last April the Presidents "of
    our two countries held their first bilateral meeting in 10 years and,
    when Secretary Clinton visited Yerevan last year, it was the first
    visit by a Secretary of State to Armenia in 19 years."

    Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) welcomed Mr. Heffern's opening
    statement which reiterated President Obama's position on the Armenian
    Genocide: "President Obama has recognized and deplored the horrific
    events that took place in the waning days of the Ottoman Empire. He
    has publicly called the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians at this time
    one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century. The President has
    urged Turkey and Armenia to work through their painful history to
    achieve a full, frank, and just acknowledgement of the facts. If
    confirmed, I will do my best to fulfill the President's vision."

    Senator Menendez outlined the facts and discussed several historical
    documents pertaining to the Armenian Genocide, including various
    cables from U.S. officials serving at the time of the Genocide as well
    as Article II of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and
    Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Menendez asked Mr. Heffern if he
    disputed any of the facts presented, of which Mr. Heffern did not.
    Senator Menendez also asked if Mr. Heffern believed that the facts
    presented, including those in Mr. Heffern's opening statement fit the
    definition of Article II of the Genocide Convention. Heffern responded
    in the affirmative, but indicated that the characterization of the
    events was a policy decision as reflected in the President's April
    24th statement.

    In closing, Senator Menendez expressed his continued frustration with
    Administration policy by stating that this is "an inartful dance that
    we do. We have a State Department whose history full of dispatches
    cites the atrocities committed during this period of time. We have a
    Convention from which we signed on to as a signatory that clearly
    defines these acts as genocide. We have a historical knowledge of the
    facts which we accept that would amount to genocide, but we are
    unwilling to reference it as genocide. And if we cannot accept the
    past we cannot move forward, and so I find it very difficult to be
    sending diplomats of the United States to a country in which they will
    go, and I hope you will go, as some of your predecessors have, to a
    Genocide commemoration and yet never be able to use the word genocide.
    It is much more than a question of a word. It is everything that
    signifies our commitment to saying 'Never Again' and yet we cannot
    even acknowledge this fact and we put diplomats in a position that I
    think is totally untenable."

    "The Armenian Assembly welcomes the continued efforts of Senator
    Menendez to ensure that the facts of the Armenian Genocide are brought
    to the forefront and not denied. We concur with the Senator that the
    Administration's current policy is untenable." The Assembly strongly
    believes that America's long-term interests would be better served by
    speaking the truth and squarely affirming the Armenian Genocide," said
    Armenian Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

    Also attending today's hearing were the Assembly Terjenian-Thomas 2011
    Interns, including Evelina Beknazaryan and Aram Bagrazyan. "I
    appreciate the U.S. government's assistance in promoting democracy and
    human rights in Armenia," stated Beknazaryan. "Also creating a
    positive economic environment for international investments as well as
    U.S. efforts directed towards a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno
    Karabakh conflict are important," she added.

    Aram Bagrazyan commented that "the hearing provided insight into the
    workings of America's foreign policy. I learned more about the
    American political perspective with respect to U.S.-Armenian
    relations, as well as with other countries."

    The next step in the confirmation process is to allow Senators to
    submit questions in writing to the nominee. After the Senators have
    an opportunity to review the nominees' responses, the Senate Foreign
    Relations Committee will hold a business committee meeting to vote on
    Heffren's candidacy.

    Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the largest
    Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
    understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
    501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

    ###

    NR#: 2011-036

    Editor's Notes:

    Photo Caption 1: Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ)

    Photo Caption 2: 2011 Interns with Vartuhi Asaturian, Minister
    Counselor at the Embassy of Armenia, outside of the Senate Foreign
    Relations Committee Room

    To read Mr. Heffern's opening statement visit:
    http://www.aaainc.org/fileadmin/aaainc/pdf_1/2011_Q3/Heffern_Testimony.pdf

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