US Official Affirms Armenian Genocide

[Armen]

RFE/RL Armenia Report - 02/25/2005

Friday 25, February 2005

 

U.S. Official Affirms Armenian Genocide

 

By Emil Danielyan

 

U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans has publicly referred to the 1915

slaughter of some 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey as `genocide,'

signaling a significant shift in the U.S. government's position on the

highly sensitive issue.

 

In separate statements issued late on Thursday, the two leading

Armenian-American lobbying groups said Evans recognized the genocide

during his ongoing series of meetings with representatives of the

influential Armenian community in the United States.

 

A statement by one of those organizations, the Armenian National

Committee of America (ANCA), quoted the ambassador as declaring at a

meeting in California: "I will today call it the Armenian Genocide ¦ I

think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens a more frank

and honest way of discussing this problem.'

 

`The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century. I

pledge to you, we are going to do a better job at addressing this

issue,' he added to rapturous applause from the Armenian audience,

according to the ANCA.

 

"We welcome the Ambassador's honest approach to Armenian history," a

local ANCA leader, Roxanne Makasdjian, was quoted as saying.

 

Evans's use of the word `genocide,' which is bound to anger Turkey, was

also announced and welcomed by the chairman of the Armenian Assembly of

America, Anthony Barsamian. `In his public commentaries, Ambassador

Evans repeatedly employed the words "Armenian Genocide" to properly

characterize the attempted annihilation of our people by Ottoman

Turkey,' he said in a speech in Los Angeles.

 

Barsamian was addressing more than 270 community leaders that gathered

to pay tribute to countries that attempted to stop or recognized the

genocide.

 

Evans thus became the first U.S. official since former President Ronald

Reagan to publicly describe the mass killings and deportations of

Ottoman Armenia as a genocide. Reagan did so in an April 1981 statement

on the genocide committed in Cambodia in the 1970s.

 

It is not clear if Evans's remarks represent a change in the position of

the U.S. government that has avoided using the term for fear of

antagonizing Turkey, a key U.S. ally. The U.S. envoy said, according to

the ANCA statement, that he studied the subject in detail and consulted

with a State Department lawyer before going on record.

 

In his annual addresses to the Armenian-American community, President

George W. has stopped short of calling the events of 195-18 a genocide,

while using phrases like `one of the great tragedies of history' and

`annihilation of approximately 1.5 million Armenians.'

 

Bush, according to Barsamian, `set forth the textbook definition of

genocide without using the word.' `Ambassador Evans completed the

thought,' added the Assembly chief.

 

Assembly leaders appear to link the apparent change in Washington's

rhetoric to a study by the International Center for Transitional Justice

(ICTJ), a New York-based human rights organization, which concluded in

February 2003 that the Armenian massacres meet the definition of

genocide set by a 1948 UN convention.

 

The ICTJ study was commissioned by the now defunct Turkish-Armenian

Reconciliation Commission (TARC) which was tacitly backed by the

Assembly but strongly criticized by the ANCA. In an April 2003

statement, Bush praised TARC and its `recent and significant

achievements.'

 

(Photolur photo: John Evans.)

[Ludwig9]

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg104022.html

 

 

 

 

U.S. Ambassador clarifies his comments made in United States

 

28.02.2005Â Â 11:56Â Â Â Â

 

YEREVAN (YERKIR) - U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans issued a

statement on February 28 regarding the comments he had made in the

United States when meeting with Armenian American communities across

the country.

 

Below is the text of his statement.

 

"I would like to clarify U.S. policy. Misunderstandings may have

arisen as a result of comments made by me during recent informal

meetings with Armenian-American groups in the United States regarding

the characterization of the Armenian tragedy in Ottoman Turkey and

the future status of Nagorno Artsax.

 

Although I told my audiences that the United States policy on the

Armenian Genocide has not changed, I used the term â~@~\genocideâ~@~]

speaking in what I characterized as my personal capacity. This was

inappropriate.

 

The Presidentâ~@~Ys annual statement on Armenian Remembrance Day

articulates U.S. policy on this matter. My government acknowledges

the tragedy that befell the Armenian community in Anatolia during the

last years of the Ottoman Empire. We have been actively encouraging

scholarly, civil society and diplomatic discussion of the forced

killing and exile of Armenians in 1915. We have also encouraged

economic and political dialogue between the governments of Armenia

and Turkey in order to help all parties come to terms with these

horrific events.

 

In addition, my comments on the status of Nagorno Artsax may have

also created misunderstanding on U.S. policy. The U.S. government

supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and holds that the

future status of Nagorno Artsax is a matter of negotiation between

Armenia and Azerbaijan.

 

The United States remains committed to finding a peaceful settlement

of the Nagorno Artsax conflict through the Minsk group process. We

are encouraged by the continuing talks between the Foreign Ministers of

Armenia and Azerbaijan under the auspice of the Minsk group co-chairs.

 

I deeply regret any misunderstanding caused by my comments.

 

Sincerely,

 

John M. Evans U.S. Ambassador to Armenia"

 

--Boundary_(ID_P83IrGtWJ1lLGk21UIUNlA)--

[gamavor]

While reading these press releases I found out that Ambassador Evens and I, have a lot in common. Whenever I’m in a company of Arabs I do not hesitate to give credit and to express my profound respect to their struggle against American imperialism and whenever I’m in a company of Americans, I cannot help but share their grieve about inhumane terrorist attacks against the beacon of Western democracy (versus the beacon of Eastern democracy – India) and how much I pray and hope that those culturally so-close and friendly nations, i.e. the Arabs and the Americans, find the way to peace and reconciliation.

 

[DominO123]

While reading these press releases I found out that Ambassador Evens and I, have a lot in common. Whenever I’m in a company of Arabs I do not hesitate to give credit and to express my profound respect to their struggle against American imperialism and whenever I’m in a company of Americans, I cannot help but share their grieve about inhumane terrorist attacks against the beacon of Western democracy (versus the beacon of Eastern democracy – India) and how much I pray and hope that those culturally so-close and friendly nations, i.e. the Arabs and the Americans, find the way to peace and reconciliation.

 

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

That's because you're a lawyer.

[gamavor]

Sip, would you stop with the insults please!

[DominO123]

Sip, would you stop with the insults please!

style_images/master/snapback.png

 

Thanks for the compliment.

[gamavor]

This time Sip should buy you a drink, not me!

[Sip]

Hahahahah .. Domino you're such a turkey ... and so am I according to Azat.

 

Gamavor, among all the lawyers I know, I have the highest regards for you

[DominO123]

Regard for a lawyer? Bah!

 

Sip, what's that plastic thing you have above your head?