US senator secures delay in confirmation of ambassador

Yovanovitch, a Foreign Service officer for 22 years and the current ambassador to Kyrgyzstan, has come under intense questioning since last week at her confirmation hearing over the U.S. policy not to label the 1915 incidents in Turkey as "genocide". Â

She told the Committee that even though the Armenians' suffering was "one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century," referring to it as "genocide" was "a policy decision" and she would not comment on whether she believed a so-called genocide had occurred.       Â

"Senator Boxer not only provided Senators with the opportunity they would otherwise have been denied to meaningfully review the nominee’s responses, but also, very significantly, ensured that all American’s citizens – including Armenian Americans and those who share our commitment to ending the cycle of 'genocide' – have a chance to study her answers and take part in the civic discourse over a diplomatic posting that has been the center of national attention since the Administration’s firing of Ambassador John Evans over his truthful remarks on the  'Armenian Genocide'," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian.

Armenia, with the backing of the Diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915. The Armenian Diaspora has lately increased its organized activities throughout the world for the acknowledgment of their unfounded allegations in regard to the incidents of 1915 as "genocide" by national and local parliaments.Â

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Turkey rejects the claims, saying that 300,000 Armenians along with at least as many Turks died in civil strife that emerged when the Armenians took up arms for independence in eastern Anatolia.

 

Turkey also says parliaments and other political institutions are not the appropriate bodies to debate and pass judgment on disputed periods of history. Past events and controversial periods of history should be left to historians for their dispassionate study and evaluation.

 

Efforts by Turkey to carry out a deeper investigation have yet to have a positive outcome. In 2005, Turkey officially proposed to the Armenian government the establishment of a joint historical commission composed of historians and other experts from both sides to study together the events of 1915 and to open the archives of Turkey and Armenia, as well as the archives of all relevant third-party countries and share their findings publicly. Unfortunately, Armenia has not yet responded positively to this initiative and Turkey's proposal remains on the table.

As of close of business the day before the Committee was set to vote on the nomination, the nominee had yet to respond to all Senate inquiries, with several responses only being provided hours before the scheduled vote. The Senate Committee vote will likely be held following the July 4th Congressional recess, the news service reported

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez questioned Yovanovitch in prosecutorial style during a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about the 1915 incidents. It remains uncertain whether the Senate will block the confirmation of Yovanovitch to a post that has remained unfilled for two years.

In August, the White House withdrew its nomination of career diplomat Richard Hoagland after Menendez held up his confirmation through a Senate procedure.

Hoagland’s predecessor, John Evans, reportedly had his tour of duty in Armenia cut short by the administration because, in a social setting, he referred to the incidents as "genocide".