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January 11, 2007 Thursday
REP. WEINER OPPOSES RENOMINATION OF GENOCIDE DENIER FOR ARMENIAN
AMBASSADOR POST
WASHINGTON
Rep. Anthony D. Weiner, D-N.Y. (9th CD), issued the following press
release:
Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn & Queens) sent a letter to
President Bush opposing the renomination of Richard Hoagland, a
genocide denier, as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. Weiner also
reiterated his earlier call for the President to withdraw Hoagland's
nomination, and urged the Administration to recognize the Armenian
genocide, a cause the Congressman has advocated for years.
"I was deeply disappointed that you chose to renominate Richard
Hoagland this week to serve as United States Ambassador to Armenia,
despite the fact that 97 percent of Armenian Americans oppose the
Hoagland nomination," Rep. Weiner wrote in his letter to Bush.
Ambassador-designate Hoagland's "denial of the Armenian Genocide
makes him unfit to represent American interests in Yerevan," Rep.
Weiner wrote.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman-Turkish Empire executed hundreds of
Armenian leaders and intellectuals, initiating a reign of terror
during which 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were
killed. Yet, the United States Government has never officially
recognized the Armenian genocide.
Hoagland's renomination comes after former Armenian Ambassador John
Evans was recalled in March 2006 for referring to the atrocities in
Armenia as "the first genocide of the 20th Century."
"This is an admirable admission of the painfully obvious, not a
fireable offense," wrote Weiner, in reference to Evans' remarks. "It
is due time that the Administration reverse its policy and recognize
the Armenian Genocide."
The full text of Rep. Weiner's letter to President Bush is attached.
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20502
Dear Mr. President:
I was deeply disappointed that you chose to renominate Richard
Hoagland this week to serve as United States Ambassador to Armenia,
despite the fact that 97 percent of Armenian Americans oppose the
Hoagland nomination. His denial of the Armenian Genocide makes him
unfit to represent American interests in Yerevan.
It is an indisputable fact that Ottoman Turks murdered 1.5 million
Armenians between 1915 and 1920 in an effort to suppress Armenian
support for Russian forces invading their occupied homeland.
Countless scholars including Elie Wiesel and even the United Nations
Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination have labeled these acts
as genocide.
Your Administration has repeatedly failed to recognize the Genocide.
Ambassador-designate Hoagland has taken a step back even from your
regrettable policy by actively denying the Genocide.
In a July 14, 2006 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, Mr. Hoagland
indicated that the Armenian Genocide does not meet the State
Department's definition because the Ottoman Turks did not express a
"specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, the
group as such."
This development, on the heels of your recall of Ambassador John
Evans, raises serious questions about this Administration's support
of the Armenian community. Ambassador Evans' only offense was
correctly referring to the Genocide as "the first genocide of the
20th Century."
This is an admirable admission of the painfully obvious, not a
fireable offense. Replacing Ambassador Evans with a genocide denier
would do serious harm, especially after many Members of the House and
Senate opposed Mr. Hoagland's original nomination last August. It is
due time that the Administration reverse its policy and recognize the
Armenian Genocide.
January 11, 2007 Thursday
REP. WEINER OPPOSES RENOMINATION OF GENOCIDE DENIER FOR ARMENIAN
AMBASSADOR POST
WASHINGTON
Rep. Anthony D. Weiner, D-N.Y. (9th CD), issued the following press
release:
Today, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn & Queens) sent a letter to
President Bush opposing the renomination of Richard Hoagland, a
genocide denier, as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. Weiner also
reiterated his earlier call for the President to withdraw Hoagland's
nomination, and urged the Administration to recognize the Armenian
genocide, a cause the Congressman has advocated for years.
"I was deeply disappointed that you chose to renominate Richard
Hoagland this week to serve as United States Ambassador to Armenia,
despite the fact that 97 percent of Armenian Americans oppose the
Hoagland nomination," Rep. Weiner wrote in his letter to Bush.
Ambassador-designate Hoagland's "denial of the Armenian Genocide
makes him unfit to represent American interests in Yerevan," Rep.
Weiner wrote.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman-Turkish Empire executed hundreds of
Armenian leaders and intellectuals, initiating a reign of terror
during which 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were
killed. Yet, the United States Government has never officially
recognized the Armenian genocide.
Hoagland's renomination comes after former Armenian Ambassador John
Evans was recalled in March 2006 for referring to the atrocities in
Armenia as "the first genocide of the 20th Century."
"This is an admirable admission of the painfully obvious, not a
fireable offense," wrote Weiner, in reference to Evans' remarks. "It
is due time that the Administration reverse its policy and recognize
the Armenian Genocide."
The full text of Rep. Weiner's letter to President Bush is attached.
President George W. Bush
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20502
Dear Mr. President:
I was deeply disappointed that you chose to renominate Richard
Hoagland this week to serve as United States Ambassador to Armenia,
despite the fact that 97 percent of Armenian Americans oppose the
Hoagland nomination. His denial of the Armenian Genocide makes him
unfit to represent American interests in Yerevan.
It is an indisputable fact that Ottoman Turks murdered 1.5 million
Armenians between 1915 and 1920 in an effort to suppress Armenian
support for Russian forces invading their occupied homeland.
Countless scholars including Elie Wiesel and even the United Nations
Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination have labeled these acts
as genocide.
Your Administration has repeatedly failed to recognize the Genocide.
Ambassador-designate Hoagland has taken a step back even from your
regrettable policy by actively denying the Genocide.
In a July 14, 2006 letter to Sen. Barbara Boxer, Mr. Hoagland
indicated that the Armenian Genocide does not meet the State
Department's definition because the Ottoman Turks did not express a
"specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, the
group as such."
This development, on the heels of your recall of Ambassador John
Evans, raises serious questions about this Administration's support
of the Armenian community. Ambassador Evans' only offense was
correctly referring to the Genocide as "the first genocide of the
20th Century."
This is an admirable admission of the painfully obvious, not a
fireable offense. Replacing Ambassador Evans with a genocide denier
would do serious harm, especially after many Members of the House and
Senate opposed Mr. Hoagland's original nomination last August. It is
due time that the Administration reverse its policy and recognize the
Armenian Genocide.