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JOHN EVANS ABOUT ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: FAILURE OF THE WORLD TO DEAL WITH THE ISSUE HAS CONTINUING DELETERIOUS CONSEQUENCES
12:00, 22 April, 2013
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS: The 98th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide will be remembered this week in Fresno with a series of
events, including a visit by a former U.S. ambassador to Armenia who
spoke out about the genocide.
Nearly a century after 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, the U.S. government still fails to
label the ethnic cleansing as a "genocide."
The G-word was the "inappropriate" term and the event's history was
so taboo it couldn't even be discussed, said former U.S. ambassador
to Armenia John Marshall Evans, who held the post from 2004 to 2006.
Evans challenged that taboo in a 2005 speaking tour in California
where he first described the Ottoman Empire's assault as a genocide --
an act that thrust him into an uncomfortable position with his bosses.
"After I leveled with California audiences about the Armenian genocide
in February 2005 ... I returned to Armenia as ambassador, but was
required to issue a statement to the effect that what I had said was
'inappropriate,' " Evans said. "The fact that the subject was treated
as taboo meant that it could not even be discussed," he said. "That
had to change, even if it cost me my job."
Evans, a career foreign service officer, was recalled from his
ambassador's posting in Armenia before the end of his planned
three-year assignment. He retired from the foreign service 18 months
after his genocide remarks.
Evans continues to speak out about the genocide and calls for everyone
to face the hard issues of history and be understanding. "I believe the
failure of the world to deal with the issue has continuing deleterious
consequences," he said.
Evans will be the keynote speaker for Tuesday's memorial commemorating
the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide at the Pilgrim Armenian
Congressional Church.
12:00, 22 April, 2013
YEREVAN, APRIL 22, ARMENPRESS: The 98th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide will be remembered this week in Fresno with a series of
events, including a visit by a former U.S. ambassador to Armenia who
spoke out about the genocide.
Nearly a century after 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, the U.S. government still fails to
label the ethnic cleansing as a "genocide."
The G-word was the "inappropriate" term and the event's history was
so taboo it couldn't even be discussed, said former U.S. ambassador
to Armenia John Marshall Evans, who held the post from 2004 to 2006.
Evans challenged that taboo in a 2005 speaking tour in California
where he first described the Ottoman Empire's assault as a genocide --
an act that thrust him into an uncomfortable position with his bosses.
"After I leveled with California audiences about the Armenian genocide
in February 2005 ... I returned to Armenia as ambassador, but was
required to issue a statement to the effect that what I had said was
'inappropriate,' " Evans said. "The fact that the subject was treated
as taboo meant that it could not even be discussed," he said. "That
had to change, even if it cost me my job."
Evans, a career foreign service officer, was recalled from his
ambassador's posting in Armenia before the end of his planned
three-year assignment. He retired from the foreign service 18 months
after his genocide remarks.
Evans continues to speak out about the genocide and calls for everyone
to face the hard issues of history and be understanding. "I believe the
failure of the world to deal with the issue has continuing deleterious
consequences," he said.
Evans will be the keynote speaker for Tuesday's memorial commemorating
the 98th anniversary of the Armenian genocide at the Pilgrim Armenian
Congressional Church.