Tweet
OBAMA'S CHOICE OF ENVOY TO TURKEY STUMBLES AT HEARING, DENIES GENOCIDE
Wednesday, July 16th, 2014
U.S. Ambassador-Designate to Turkey John Bass during his confirmation
hearing at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee
WASHINGTON--John Bass, President Barack Obama's nominee for the
post of US Ambassador to Turkey, during his confirmation hearing
at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday denied the Armenian
Genocide and stumbled on characterizing the widely documented abuses
and freedom violations by official Ankara.
In his written statement to the committee, Bass, who is a former US
Ambassador to Georgia, opted to use the now infamous and denialist
"condolence" statement that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan made on April 23 as the basis for his forthcoming work as
the US envoy to Ankara vis-a-vis the Armenian Genocide issue.
"On this year's Remembrance Day, Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan
expressed his condolences to the grandchildren of those Armenians
killed during World War I. That gesture and other positive efforts
by the Turkish government in recent months indicate that the space
for dialogue is opening. But more can be done, and we encourage both
sides to pursue a full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts
surrounding the tragic events of 1915," Bass told committee members.
While there have been endorsements for the Erdogan announcement by
the State Department, Bass's statement sheds light on the tenor of
his possible tenure regarding the Armenian Genocide and sheds further
light on the Obama Administration's views on the matter on the eve
of the Armenian Genocide's centennial.
This reinforces a column in Asbarez by Harut Sassounian, who asserted
that the White House and Ankara are in collusion when drafting
statements regarding the Armenian Genocide.
The tone of the hearing took an abrupt turn when Bass was unwilling
to properly characterize the widespread and documented abuses by the
Erdogan regime of democratic principles and freedoms, such as banning
YouTube and Twitter in Turkey.
When Senator John McCain asked about authoritarianism in Turkey and
Erdogan's style of government, Bass stumbled.
"Are you concerned about Prime Minister Erdogan's desire to change
the Constitution and other actions that we have seen on the part of
Erdogan as a drift towards authoritarianism?" McCain asked.
"The prime minister is the leader of the democratically elected
parliamentary democracy. We'll obviously look closely at whatever
steps he takes," responded Bass.
McCain continued by asking whether the Turkish government's
"suppression of social media, YouTube and Twitter and restrictions
on the freedom of the media" represented "a drift toward
authoritarianism," and added that Bass was "jeopardizing his
nomination" by not giving a succinct response to his question.
"It is a pretty simple straight forward question ... Do you believe
that the oppression of social media, the desire to change the
Constitution to be a more powerful president, which he obviously will
be, is a drift towards authoritarianism?" McCain asked.
When Bass again faltered in answering the question, McCain shot back
saying: "Mr. Chairman, I am not going to support this nomination,
and I will hold it until I get a straight answer. I think it is
a fairly straightforward question, Mr. Bass. Is it a drift toward
authoritarianism?"
"It is a drift in that direction, yes," Bass replied. "Thank you. It
took 3 minutes and 25 seconds," McCain said in response.
The Armenian National Committee of America's Executive Director Aram
Hamparian expressed disdain at Bass's complicit approach to Turkey's
human rights violations. "Sugar-coating Ankara's growing domestic
intolerance and increasingly anti-U.S. regional approach only serves
to embolden Turkey's leaders to escalate their open challenges to
American interests and values," said Hamparian.
"The painful extent to which Turkey's leadership has succeeded in
gaming our Department of State was spotlighted by Senator McCain,
who had to repeatedly press Ambassador-Designate Bass -- even to the
point of threatening a 'hold' on his nomination -- to secure even
the mildest U.S. criticism of Turkey's unrelenting and highly public
crackdown on social media."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNBn4dnc1c8
http://asbarez.com/125025/obama%E2%80%99s-choice-of-envoy-to-turkey-stumbles-at-hearing-denies-genocide/
From: Baghdasarian
Wednesday, July 16th, 2014
U.S. Ambassador-Designate to Turkey John Bass during his confirmation
hearing at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee
WASHINGTON--John Bass, President Barack Obama's nominee for the
post of US Ambassador to Turkey, during his confirmation hearing
at the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Tuesday denied the Armenian
Genocide and stumbled on characterizing the widely documented abuses
and freedom violations by official Ankara.
In his written statement to the committee, Bass, who is a former US
Ambassador to Georgia, opted to use the now infamous and denialist
"condolence" statement that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan made on April 23 as the basis for his forthcoming work as
the US envoy to Ankara vis-a-vis the Armenian Genocide issue.
"On this year's Remembrance Day, Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan
expressed his condolences to the grandchildren of those Armenians
killed during World War I. That gesture and other positive efforts
by the Turkish government in recent months indicate that the space
for dialogue is opening. But more can be done, and we encourage both
sides to pursue a full, frank and just acknowledgement of the facts
surrounding the tragic events of 1915," Bass told committee members.
While there have been endorsements for the Erdogan announcement by
the State Department, Bass's statement sheds light on the tenor of
his possible tenure regarding the Armenian Genocide and sheds further
light on the Obama Administration's views on the matter on the eve
of the Armenian Genocide's centennial.
This reinforces a column in Asbarez by Harut Sassounian, who asserted
that the White House and Ankara are in collusion when drafting
statements regarding the Armenian Genocide.
The tone of the hearing took an abrupt turn when Bass was unwilling
to properly characterize the widespread and documented abuses by the
Erdogan regime of democratic principles and freedoms, such as banning
YouTube and Twitter in Turkey.
When Senator John McCain asked about authoritarianism in Turkey and
Erdogan's style of government, Bass stumbled.
"Are you concerned about Prime Minister Erdogan's desire to change
the Constitution and other actions that we have seen on the part of
Erdogan as a drift towards authoritarianism?" McCain asked.
"The prime minister is the leader of the democratically elected
parliamentary democracy. We'll obviously look closely at whatever
steps he takes," responded Bass.
McCain continued by asking whether the Turkish government's
"suppression of social media, YouTube and Twitter and restrictions
on the freedom of the media" represented "a drift toward
authoritarianism," and added that Bass was "jeopardizing his
nomination" by not giving a succinct response to his question.
"It is a pretty simple straight forward question ... Do you believe
that the oppression of social media, the desire to change the
Constitution to be a more powerful president, which he obviously will
be, is a drift towards authoritarianism?" McCain asked.
When Bass again faltered in answering the question, McCain shot back
saying: "Mr. Chairman, I am not going to support this nomination,
and I will hold it until I get a straight answer. I think it is
a fairly straightforward question, Mr. Bass. Is it a drift toward
authoritarianism?"
"It is a drift in that direction, yes," Bass replied. "Thank you. It
took 3 minutes and 25 seconds," McCain said in response.
The Armenian National Committee of America's Executive Director Aram
Hamparian expressed disdain at Bass's complicit approach to Turkey's
human rights violations. "Sugar-coating Ankara's growing domestic
intolerance and increasingly anti-U.S. regional approach only serves
to embolden Turkey's leaders to escalate their open challenges to
American interests and values," said Hamparian.
"The painful extent to which Turkey's leadership has succeeded in
gaming our Department of State was spotlighted by Senator McCain,
who had to repeatedly press Ambassador-Designate Bass -- even to the
point of threatening a 'hold' on his nomination -- to secure even
the mildest U.S. criticism of Turkey's unrelenting and highly public
crackdown on social media."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNBn4dnc1c8
http://asbarez.com/125025/obama%E2%80%99s-choice-of-envoy-to-turkey-stumbles-at-hearing-denies-genocide/
From: Baghdasarian