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SENATE APPROVES HEFFERN AS AMBASSADOR TO ARMENIA
John Heffern
asbarez
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
Controversial US envoy to Turkey Nominee Francis Ricciardone yet to
be confirmed.
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate voted by unanimous consent Monday night
to approve John Heffern's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
"Although we remain disappointed with a number of his responses to
Senate inquiries, we look forward, in the coming months and years,
to working with Ambassador Heffern to expand U.S.-Armenia relations
on the basis of commonly-held values and shared interests, with
particular focus on the bilateral trade and investment issues,"
commented ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, upon Heffern's
confirmation. "Ambassador Heffern can play a vital role in expanding
U.S.-Armenia trade, which has yet to reach the $200 million a year
mark, by leading the way toward a Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement (TIFA) and an updated Double Taxation Treaty. With these
accords in place and a firm commitment by all stake-holders to act
decisively and pro-actively, there is no reason we can't reach more
than a billion dollars a year in bilateral trade within the next
five years."
By contrast, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey nominee Francis Ricciardone,
who was to be fast-tracked for consideration on the floor, along
with the nomination of John Heffern, has yet to be scheduled for
Senate confirmation. Ambassador Ricciardone has been the subject of
considerable controversy, having faced opposition within the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee from Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Jim Risch (R-ID) prior to the panel's
approval of his nomination. During the Committee's deliberations of
Amb. Ricciardone's nomination, Senator Menendez explained that he had
lost confidence in his abilities after Amb. Ricciardone had submitted
clearly false information concerning the destruction of Christian
churches in Turkey. Senator Menendez's concerns over the persecution
of religious minorities in Turkey were echoed by Senators Chris Coons
(D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Chairman John Kerry (D-MA).
Heffern Questioned on Administration's Armenian Genocide Policy During
Heffern's July 13 confirmation hearing, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee member Robert Menendez (D-NJ) had pressed him regarding
the Obama Administration position regarding the Armenian Genocide,
and also about his own understanding of this crime. The nominee
cited the killing of over 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the
Ottoman Empire, but stopped short of properly referencing these acts
as "genocide," arguing that "the characterization of those events
is a policy decision that is made by the President of the United
States. He added that this policy is enunciated in the President's
April 24 Remembrance Day statement."
Senator Menendez remarked, "This is an inartful dance that we do. We
have a State Department whose history is full of dispatches that cite
the atrocities committed during this time. We have a convention that
we signed on to as a signatory that clearly defines these acts as
genocide. We have a historical knowledge of the facts that we accept
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 send 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 can't even acknowledge this fact and we
put diplomats in a position that is totally untenable."
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Senator Menendez in submitting
written questions to Heffern following his confirmation hearing.
Senator Menendez had deferred Committee consideration of Mr. Heffern's
nomination to allow broader Senate scrutiny of the candidate.
Heffern is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and serves
as the Deputy Chief of Mission at USNATO, Brussels. Prior to his
current post, Heffern served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Executive
Assistant to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the U.S.
Embassy in Indonesia.
Heffern's career has also included overseas assignments to Japan,
Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Guangzhou, China. From 1994-1996, he
served as a Pearson Fellow on the Asia Sub-Committee for the House
International Relations Committee. Prior to entering the Foreign
Service, he served in the Office of Senator John C. Danforth as the
Senator's Office Director and Research Assistant. He Heffern received
a B.A. from Michigan State University.
Heffern replaces Marie Yovanovitch, who returned to the U.S. in June
to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Northern and
Central Europe.
John Heffern
asbarez
Tuesday, September 27th, 2011
Controversial US envoy to Turkey Nominee Francis Ricciardone yet to
be confirmed.
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Senate voted by unanimous consent Monday night
to approve John Heffern's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
"Although we remain disappointed with a number of his responses to
Senate inquiries, we look forward, in the coming months and years,
to working with Ambassador Heffern to expand U.S.-Armenia relations
on the basis of commonly-held values and shared interests, with
particular focus on the bilateral trade and investment issues,"
commented ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian, upon Heffern's
confirmation. "Ambassador Heffern can play a vital role in expanding
U.S.-Armenia trade, which has yet to reach the $200 million a year
mark, by leading the way toward a Trade and Investment Framework
Agreement (TIFA) and an updated Double Taxation Treaty. With these
accords in place and a firm commitment by all stake-holders to act
decisively and pro-actively, there is no reason we can't reach more
than a billion dollars a year in bilateral trade within the next
five years."
By contrast, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey nominee Francis Ricciardone,
who was to be fast-tracked for consideration on the floor, along
with the nomination of John Heffern, has yet to be scheduled for
Senate confirmation. Ambassador Ricciardone has been the subject of
considerable controversy, having faced opposition within the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee from Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ),
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Jim Risch (R-ID) prior to the panel's
approval of his nomination. During the Committee's deliberations of
Amb. Ricciardone's nomination, Senator Menendez explained that he had
lost confidence in his abilities after Amb. Ricciardone had submitted
clearly false information concerning the destruction of Christian
churches in Turkey. Senator Menendez's concerns over the persecution
of religious minorities in Turkey were echoed by Senators Chris Coons
(D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Chairman John Kerry (D-MA).
Heffern Questioned on Administration's Armenian Genocide Policy During
Heffern's July 13 confirmation hearing, Senate Foreign Relations
Committee member Robert Menendez (D-NJ) had pressed him regarding
the Obama Administration position regarding the Armenian Genocide,
and also about his own understanding of this crime. The nominee
cited the killing of over 1.5 million Armenians at the end of the
Ottoman Empire, but stopped short of properly referencing these acts
as "genocide," arguing that "the characterization of those events
is a policy decision that is made by the President of the United
States. He added that this policy is enunciated in the President's
April 24 Remembrance Day statement."
Senator Menendez remarked, "This is an inartful dance that we do. We
have a State Department whose history is full of dispatches that cite
the atrocities committed during this time. We have a convention that
we signed on to as a signatory that clearly defines these acts as
genocide. We have a historical knowledge of the facts that we accept
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 send 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 can't even acknowledge this fact and we
put diplomats in a position that is totally untenable."
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) joined Senator Menendez in submitting
written questions to Heffern following his confirmation hearing.
Senator Menendez had deferred Committee consideration of Mr. Heffern's
nomination to allow broader Senate scrutiny of the candidate.
Heffern is a career member of the Senior Foreign Service and serves
as the Deputy Chief of Mission at USNATO, Brussels. Prior to his
current post, Heffern served as Deputy Chief of Mission and Executive
Assistant to the Undersecretary for Political Affairs at the U.S.
Embassy in Indonesia.
Heffern's career has also included overseas assignments to Japan,
Malaysia, Ivory Coast and Guangzhou, China. From 1994-1996, he
served as a Pearson Fellow on the Asia Sub-Committee for the House
International Relations Committee. Prior to entering the Foreign
Service, he served in the Office of Senator John C. Danforth as the
Senator's Office Director and Research Assistant. He Heffern received
a B.A. from Michigan State University.
Heffern replaces Marie Yovanovitch, who returned to the U.S. in June
to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Northern and
Central Europe.