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GENOCIDE CENTENNIAL, KARABAKH FOCUS OF SENATE HEARINGS FOR AMBASSADOR NOMINEES
10:48 18.09.2014
Strengthening Azerbaijan's rule of law, standing in solidarity
with Armenians in marking the 2015 centennial, peacefully resolving
Nagorno-Karabakh were among key issues highlighted during the Senate
Foreign Relation Committee's confirmation hearing earlier today for the
U.S. Ambassador-designates to Azerbaijan, Robert Cekuta, and Armenia,
Richard Mills, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
"Today's testimony represented a missed opportunity - on the eve of
the 2015 centennial - for the Obama Administration to finally reject
Ankara's shameful gag-rule prohibiting American officials from speaking
honestly about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. "The Administration also failed, very conspicuously,
to use Ambassador-designate Cekuta's high-profile confirmation hearing
as an opportunity to challenge Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's
alarming arms build-up, escalating threats of war, and outright acts
of aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, a reckless silence that
will only encourage Baku's belligerence."
United States and the world will stand in solidarity with the Armenian
people next year to mark the centenary of one of the 20th century's
worst atrocities.
Richard Mills
Similar to each of his predecessors since former Ambassador John
Evans' historic 2006 stand in support of honest U.S. recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, Ambassador-designate Mills - in keeping
with the White House's enforcement of the Turkish government's
gag-rule - fell short, in his testimony, of properly characterizing
the intentional and systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians by
the Ottoman Turkish authorities as genocide. He did, however, note
that "the United States and the world will stand in solidarity with
the Armenian people next year to mark the centenary of one of the
20th century's worst atrocities." Expressing support for the widely
discredited Turkey-Armenia Protocols, Mills admitted that the process
had "stalled," citing Turkey's refusal to ratify the document. On
the eve of Genocide centennial, Mills placed the onus on Turkey to
"engage with Armenia to achieve a full, frank, and just acknowledgement
of the facts so that both nations can begin to forge a relationship
that is peaceful, productive, and prosperous."
On the economic front, Mills decried the Republic of Armenia decision
to join the Eurasian Customs Union but argued for greater U.S. -
Armenia efforts to expand investment, noting that the U.S. is
"considering whether to begin negotiations with Yerevan on a Trade
and Investment Framework Agreement," an initiative long advanced by
the ANCA.
In a clear reference to Azerbaijan's abysmal human rights record,
Ambassador-designate Cekuta told Senators, "Just as we continue our
security and energy cooperation, we must also continue our efforts
to work with Azerbaijan on advancing democratic institutions and
processes, and strengthening rule of law." He went on to note that
"Democracies only thrive when they are bolstered by an independent
judiciary, respect for the rule of just laws, a free media, a vibrant
civil society, pluralism, competitive, democratic electoral processes,
and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
freedom of assembly, association, expression, movement, and religion."
Questions by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Senator Ron Johnson
(R-WI) to both Cekuta and Mills primarily focused on efforts to
advance the Nagorno Karabakh peace negotiations. Both ambassadorial
nominees reaffirmed U.S. support for the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group mediation efforts and
expressed intent to work closely with U.S. Co-Chair James Warlick
to bring the sides closer to a settlement. While noting that there
can be no military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, neither
nominee commented on the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's repeated
attacks against Armenia and Karabakh, which have resulted in over 20
deaths at the line of contact over the past three months.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/09/18/genocide-centennial-karabakh-focus-of-senate-hearings-for-ambassador-nominees/
From: A. Papazian
10:48 18.09.2014
Strengthening Azerbaijan's rule of law, standing in solidarity
with Armenians in marking the 2015 centennial, peacefully resolving
Nagorno-Karabakh were among key issues highlighted during the Senate
Foreign Relation Committee's confirmation hearing earlier today for the
U.S. Ambassador-designates to Azerbaijan, Robert Cekuta, and Armenia,
Richard Mills, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
"Today's testimony represented a missed opportunity - on the eve of
the 2015 centennial - for the Obama Administration to finally reject
Ankara's shameful gag-rule prohibiting American officials from speaking
honestly about the Armenian Genocide," said ANCA Executive Director
Aram Hamparian. "The Administration also failed, very conspicuously,
to use Ambassador-designate Cekuta's high-profile confirmation hearing
as an opportunity to challenge Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's
alarming arms build-up, escalating threats of war, and outright acts
of aggression against Armenia and Artsakh, a reckless silence that
will only encourage Baku's belligerence."
United States and the world will stand in solidarity with the Armenian
people next year to mark the centenary of one of the 20th century's
worst atrocities.
Richard Mills
Similar to each of his predecessors since former Ambassador John
Evans' historic 2006 stand in support of honest U.S. recognition
of the Armenian Genocide, Ambassador-designate Mills - in keeping
with the White House's enforcement of the Turkish government's
gag-rule - fell short, in his testimony, of properly characterizing
the intentional and systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians by
the Ottoman Turkish authorities as genocide. He did, however, note
that "the United States and the world will stand in solidarity with
the Armenian people next year to mark the centenary of one of the
20th century's worst atrocities." Expressing support for the widely
discredited Turkey-Armenia Protocols, Mills admitted that the process
had "stalled," citing Turkey's refusal to ratify the document. On
the eve of Genocide centennial, Mills placed the onus on Turkey to
"engage with Armenia to achieve a full, frank, and just acknowledgement
of the facts so that both nations can begin to forge a relationship
that is peaceful, productive, and prosperous."
On the economic front, Mills decried the Republic of Armenia decision
to join the Eurasian Customs Union but argued for greater U.S. -
Armenia efforts to expand investment, noting that the U.S. is
"considering whether to begin negotiations with Yerevan on a Trade
and Investment Framework Agreement," an initiative long advanced by
the ANCA.
In a clear reference to Azerbaijan's abysmal human rights record,
Ambassador-designate Cekuta told Senators, "Just as we continue our
security and energy cooperation, we must also continue our efforts
to work with Azerbaijan on advancing democratic institutions and
processes, and strengthening rule of law." He went on to note that
"Democracies only thrive when they are bolstered by an independent
judiciary, respect for the rule of just laws, a free media, a vibrant
civil society, pluralism, competitive, democratic electoral processes,
and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including
freedom of assembly, association, expression, movement, and religion."
Questions by Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Senator Ron Johnson
(R-WI) to both Cekuta and Mills primarily focused on efforts to
advance the Nagorno Karabakh peace negotiations. Both ambassadorial
nominees reaffirmed U.S. support for the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group mediation efforts and
expressed intent to work closely with U.S. Co-Chair James Warlick
to bring the sides closer to a settlement. While noting that there
can be no military solution to the Nagorno Karabakh issue, neither
nominee commented on the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's repeated
attacks against Armenia and Karabakh, which have resulted in over 20
deaths at the line of contact over the past three months.
http://www.armradio.am/en/2014/09/18/genocide-centennial-karabakh-focus-of-senate-hearings-for-ambassador-nominees/
From: A. Papazian