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Rep. Pallone Extremely Disappointed Over Reports Of Amb. Evans

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  • Rep. Pallone Extremely Disappointed Over Reports Of Amb. Evans

    REP. PALLONE EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED OVER REPORTS OF AMB. EVANS

    DeFacto Agency, Armenia
    March 13 2006

    Co-Chairman of Congressional Armenian Caucus Demands Explanation
    from the Secretary of State Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ),
    Co-Chairman of the Armenian Issues Caucus, yesterday expressed his
    extreme disappointment to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over
    reports that the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, is
    being forced from office based upon truthful and forthright statements
    last year about the Armenian Genocide.

    In a March 10th letter, Rep. Pallone shared with the Secretary that
    he is "outraged that the State Department is recalling Ambassador
    Evans as retaliation for statements he made in recognition of the
    Armenian Genocide." He added that, "it is simply wrong for the State
    Department to punish Ambassador Evans for statements he made that are
    factually correct. Accordingly, I am asking you for an explanation as
    to why Ambassador Evans was removed from his post. This is the wrong
    message to send to the world. I look forward to a timely response
    from your office."

    Speaking last year to an Armenian American gathering at the University
    of California at Berkeley, Amb. Evans said, "I will today call it
    the Armenian Genocide. I informed myself in depth about it. I think
    we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens, a more frank
    and honest way of discussing this problem. Today, as someone who
    has studied it. there's no doubt in my mind [as to] what happened
    . . . I think it is unbecoming of us, as Americans, to play word games
    here. I believe in calling things by their name." Referring to the
    Armenian Genocide as "the first genocide of the 20th century," he said:
    "I pledge to you, we are going to do a better job at addressing this
    issue." Amb. Evans also disclosed that he had consulted with a legal
    advisor at the State Department who had confirmed that the events of
    1915 were "genocide by definition."

    Within days after his remarks and the conclusion of a speaking tour of
    Armenian American communities, Ambassador Evans was apparently forced
    to issue a statement clarifying that his references to the Armenian
    Genocide were his personal views and did not represent a change in
    U.S. policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this statement,
    replacing a reference to the Genocide with the word "tragedy."

    Later last year, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA),
    in recognition of his honesty and commitment to principle, decided
    to honor Ambassador Evans with the "Christian A. Herter Award,"
    recognizing creative thinking and intellectual courage within the
    Foreign Service. Sadly, as Washington Post staff writer Glenn Kessler
    revealed on June 9th, AFSA withdrew its award following pressure from
    "very serious people from the State Department."

    ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a letter sent to Secretary Rice earlier
    this week, wrote that, "the prospect that a U.S. envoy's posting - and
    possibly his career - has been cut short due to his honest and accurate
    description of a genocide is profoundly offensive to American values
    and U.S. standing abroad - particularly in light of President Bush's
    call for moral clarity in the conduct of our international affairs."

    The ANCA letter also urged Secretary Rice to respond in a timely manner
    to the series of written questions on this matter submitted on February
    16th by Congressman Adam Schiff during her testimony before the House
    International Relations Committee. Among these questions was a specific
    request that the Secretary assure the Committee that the Department
    of State has not taken - and will not take - any punitive action
    against Ambassador Evans for speaking out about the Armenian Genocide.
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