Tweet
ANCA SHOCKED TO SEE ARMENIA ON SECURITY ALERT LIST
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 17, 2012 - 12:22 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Americans nationwide were justifiably
shocked to see reports on September 12 on top U.S. news sites
spotlighting Armenia as one of seven countries, including Burundi,
Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan, Tunisia and Zambia, in which U.S. embassies
issued security alerts after the tragic attacks on the U.S. Embassy
in Benghazi, Libya just a day earlier, said the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The raising of alarms in Armenia, an overwhelmingly Christian-populated
nation, in response to a wave of anger in the Muslim world over
offenses against the Prophet Mohammed made no apparent sense, either
to Armenians or observers worldwide. Armenia has no modern history of
religiously-oriented violence or anti-American demonstrations, and
no ties to any of the groups leading protests in the Arab countries
in which U.S. embassies have been targeted.
Since the story first broke, seeking answers and accountability,
the ANCA reached out to the U.S. State Department and the AP reporter
who wrote the initial article on this subject.
The ANCA was informed by Department of State sources, later confirmed
publicly by State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, that on the
night of September 11, after the Benghazi attacks, the State Department
"sent a message to every diplomatic mission in the world asking them
to again review security and take the necessary measures.
Some of you will have seen that there were increased emergency
warnings or security warnings that were also issued to Americans in
some 50-plus missions around the world since that went out."
On September 12, the U.S. embassy in Armenia was among the first
seven countries to send emergency messages to Americans travelling and
residing in their respective countries. The Armenia alert called on
U.S. citizens to "remain vigilant, " in light of recent anti-American
violence following recent events in Egypt and Libya. It noted, however,
that "the U.S. embassy in Yerevan has no specific information to
indicate that these events will affect security in Yerevan."
The Zambia alert, like Armenia, indicated no specific threat reports.
Burundi was even less specific. Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan and Tunisia
referenced reports of times and places of possible demonstrations.
These emergency alerts were emailed out to U.S. citizens in their
respective countries, were posted on embassy websites, and on a
central State Department alert site maintained by the Bureau of
Diplomatic Security:
The AP reporter, Matthew Lee, who broke the story, saw the list of
the seven initial alerts and ran with it. He could have made the
distinction that Armenia, Zambia and Burundi had no specific threat
listed in their notes, while the other four did. However, he stands by
his reporting that the U.S. embassies in these seven countries acted
first, perhaps believing that their specific situations were serious
enough to merit posting an Emergency Alert to American citizens. He
confirmed that list had been expanded to some 50 countries since then.
A number of pressing questions remain unanswered.
Why was the U.S. embassy in Armenia, a Christian country with no
record of Islamic protests, among the first countries to send out
an emergency alert to U.S. citizens? Neighboring U.S. embassies in
Azerbaijan and Georgia have yet to post any type of warnings either
on their websites or in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security page. An
alert was finally posted on the U.S. embassy of Turkey on September
15, regarding credible reports of demonstrations, with the Bureau of
Diplomatic Security site posting it a day after.
The ANCA will continue to press for honest answers and governmental
accountability regarding this highly sensitive matter for all
Armenians.
PanARMENIAN.Net
September 17, 2012 - 12:22 AMT
PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Americans nationwide were justifiably
shocked to see reports on September 12 on top U.S. news sites
spotlighting Armenia as one of seven countries, including Burundi,
Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan, Tunisia and Zambia, in which U.S. embassies
issued security alerts after the tragic attacks on the U.S. Embassy
in Benghazi, Libya just a day earlier, said the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The raising of alarms in Armenia, an overwhelmingly Christian-populated
nation, in response to a wave of anger in the Muslim world over
offenses against the Prophet Mohammed made no apparent sense, either
to Armenians or observers worldwide. Armenia has no modern history of
religiously-oriented violence or anti-American demonstrations, and
no ties to any of the groups leading protests in the Arab countries
in which U.S. embassies have been targeted.
Since the story first broke, seeking answers and accountability,
the ANCA reached out to the U.S. State Department and the AP reporter
who wrote the initial article on this subject.
The ANCA was informed by Department of State sources, later confirmed
publicly by State Department Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland, that on the
night of September 11, after the Benghazi attacks, the State Department
"sent a message to every diplomatic mission in the world asking them
to again review security and take the necessary measures.
Some of you will have seen that there were increased emergency
warnings or security warnings that were also issued to Americans in
some 50-plus missions around the world since that went out."
On September 12, the U.S. embassy in Armenia was among the first
seven countries to send emergency messages to Americans travelling and
residing in their respective countries. The Armenia alert called on
U.S. citizens to "remain vigilant, " in light of recent anti-American
violence following recent events in Egypt and Libya. It noted, however,
that "the U.S. embassy in Yerevan has no specific information to
indicate that these events will affect security in Yerevan."
The Zambia alert, like Armenia, indicated no specific threat reports.
Burundi was even less specific. Egypt, Kuwait, Sudan and Tunisia
referenced reports of times and places of possible demonstrations.
These emergency alerts were emailed out to U.S. citizens in their
respective countries, were posted on embassy websites, and on a
central State Department alert site maintained by the Bureau of
Diplomatic Security:
The AP reporter, Matthew Lee, who broke the story, saw the list of
the seven initial alerts and ran with it. He could have made the
distinction that Armenia, Zambia and Burundi had no specific threat
listed in their notes, while the other four did. However, he stands by
his reporting that the U.S. embassies in these seven countries acted
first, perhaps believing that their specific situations were serious
enough to merit posting an Emergency Alert to American citizens. He
confirmed that list had been expanded to some 50 countries since then.
A number of pressing questions remain unanswered.
Why was the U.S. embassy in Armenia, a Christian country with no
record of Islamic protests, among the first countries to send out
an emergency alert to U.S. citizens? Neighboring U.S. embassies in
Azerbaijan and Georgia have yet to post any type of warnings either
on their websites or in the Bureau of Diplomatic Security page. An
alert was finally posted on the U.S. embassy of Turkey on September
15, regarding credible reports of demonstrations, with the Bureau of
Diplomatic Security site posting it a day after.
The ANCA will continue to press for honest answers and governmental
accountability regarding this highly sensitive matter for all
Armenians.