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EMBASSY ROW: ARMENIANS FORCE REVISION
James Morrison
Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/23/embassy-row-605959059/
Aug 23, 2011
An intense campaign by Armenian-Americans forced the U.S. ambassador
to Turkey to back off claims that most churches in Turkey are still
functioning more than 100 years after Turkish Muslims began killing
Armenian Christians and destroying their places of worship.
Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, a career diplomat, corrected earlier
remarks to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that led to outrage
in the politically influential Armenian-American community.
Critics also complained in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton, and top Armenian religious leaders also denounced Mr.
Ricciardone for his comments.
Asking to "clarify the record," the ambassador earlier this month
revised his remarks at his Aug. 2 Senate confirmation hearing, held
to consider extending his recess appointment, which expires at the
end of the year.
In his latest comments, Mr. Ricciardone admitted that "most churches
[in Turkey] functioning prior to 1915 are no longer operating as
churches."
However, his revision failed to satisfy critics like Aram Hamparian,
executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.
Mr. Hamparian on Monday called the ambassador's corrected testimony
"half a step back from the most offensive and obviously incorrect
aspects" of his original remarks.
"He just keeps digging himself into a deeper hole as an apologist for
[Turkey]," Mr. Hamparian said.
The ambassador sparked the original dispute in a written response to
a question from Sen. Robert Menendez at the confirmation hearing. The
New Jersey Democrat asked Mr. Ricciardone how many of the "more than
2,000" churches in Turkey before 1915 are still operating today.
The ambassador responded, "Most of the churches functioning prior to
1915 are still operating as churches."
However, in his revised remarks, Mr. Ricciardone conceded that only
200 to 250 churches are still functioning in Turkey. Armenian church
experts say only 40 churches are still operating.
The year, 1915, was the beginning of what most historians call the
Armenian Genocide, when troops of the old Ottoman Turkish Empire
started killing as many as 1.5 million Armenians. Turkey disputes those
figures and denies that the Ottoman Turks ever embraced a deliberate
policy of genocide.
Armenians also cite earlier massacres in the 1890s as evidence that
the Ottomans had a long history of violence against minorities.
Mr. Ricciardone's original comments brought denunciations from leading
Armenian-American religious leaders.
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church
of the Eastern United States, called the ambassador's remarks "so
blatantly false that [they] cannot remain unchallenged." He said the
Ottomann Turks "systematically destroyed or confiscated" most churches.
Even the ambassador's revised remarks brought more criticism after
he suggested that few churches in Turkey hold weekly services because
of a shortage of clergymen or worshippers.
Mr. Hamparian called that statement "misleading."
"The real reason most churches do not offer services is that they
have been converted to mosques, museums, stables or warehouses,
if not outright destroyed," he said.
James Morrison
Washington Times
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/aug/23/embassy-row-605959059/
Aug 23, 2011
An intense campaign by Armenian-Americans forced the U.S. ambassador
to Turkey to back off claims that most churches in Turkey are still
functioning more than 100 years after Turkish Muslims began killing
Armenian Christians and destroying their places of worship.
Ambassador Francis Ricciardone, a career diplomat, corrected earlier
remarks to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that led to outrage
in the politically influential Armenian-American community.
Critics also complained in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton, and top Armenian religious leaders also denounced Mr.
Ricciardone for his comments.
Asking to "clarify the record," the ambassador earlier this month
revised his remarks at his Aug. 2 Senate confirmation hearing, held
to consider extending his recess appointment, which expires at the
end of the year.
In his latest comments, Mr. Ricciardone admitted that "most churches
[in Turkey] functioning prior to 1915 are no longer operating as
churches."
However, his revision failed to satisfy critics like Aram Hamparian,
executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America.
Mr. Hamparian on Monday called the ambassador's corrected testimony
"half a step back from the most offensive and obviously incorrect
aspects" of his original remarks.
"He just keeps digging himself into a deeper hole as an apologist for
[Turkey]," Mr. Hamparian said.
The ambassador sparked the original dispute in a written response to
a question from Sen. Robert Menendez at the confirmation hearing. The
New Jersey Democrat asked Mr. Ricciardone how many of the "more than
2,000" churches in Turkey before 1915 are still operating today.
The ambassador responded, "Most of the churches functioning prior to
1915 are still operating as churches."
However, in his revised remarks, Mr. Ricciardone conceded that only
200 to 250 churches are still functioning in Turkey. Armenian church
experts say only 40 churches are still operating.
The year, 1915, was the beginning of what most historians call the
Armenian Genocide, when troops of the old Ottoman Turkish Empire
started killing as many as 1.5 million Armenians. Turkey disputes those
figures and denies that the Ottoman Turks ever embraced a deliberate
policy of genocide.
Armenians also cite earlier massacres in the 1890s as evidence that
the Ottomans had a long history of violence against minorities.
Mr. Ricciardone's original comments brought denunciations from leading
Armenian-American religious leaders.
Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan, prelate of the Armenian Apostolic Church
of the Eastern United States, called the ambassador's remarks "so
blatantly false that [they] cannot remain unchallenged." He said the
Ottomann Turks "systematically destroyed or confiscated" most churches.
Even the ambassador's revised remarks brought more criticism after
he suggested that few churches in Turkey hold weekly services because
of a shortage of clergymen or worshippers.
Mr. Hamparian called that statement "misleading."
"The real reason most churches do not offer services is that they
have been converted to mosques, museums, stables or warehouses,
if not outright destroyed," he said.