WASHINGTON, DC – The Obama Administration’s nomination today of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matt Bryza for the post of U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan has prompted the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) to launch a nationwide campaign calling upon U.S. Senators to carefully scrutinize his diplomatic record on issues impacting U.S. interests and American values in the Caucasus, Southeastern Europe, and the surrounding region.

“We look to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the full U.S. Senate to carefully scrutinize Mr. Bryza’s record, his formal testimony, and responses to the inquiries that he will face during his confirmation process,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “As we have outlined publicly on a number of occasions, we continue to have an array of concerns about Mr. Bryza’s conduct of U.S. diplomacy – as an NSC official, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and as the U.S. negotiator in the Nagorno Karabagh peace process – and, as such, look forward to a vigorous process of advice and consent by the Senate.”

An online ANCA Webmail campaign to Senators urges a “full airing” of a broad range of past and present-day views held by Bryza, including his position “related to the Armenian Genocide, the firing of Ambassador John Evans over his truthful statements recognizing the Genocide, Turkey and Azerbaijan’s blockade of Armenia, the independence of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic, the origins and consequences of the Russia-Georgia war, Azerbaijan’s demolition and desecration of a 7th century Armenian cemetery in Djulfa, Azerbaijani military threats against Armenians, and the impact of the energy industry on U.S. foreign policy.”

Click here to send a free ANCA Action Alert to your Senators.

In August, 2009, ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian called specific attention to Bryza’s public statements regarding a number of issues, including the application of the flawed and one-sided Madrid Principles as the basis for the resolution of the Nagorno Karabagh issue. Click here to read the complete text of Hachikian’s letter.

News of Bryza’s nomination was leaked last week by Eurasianet.org, and confirmed on the White House website earlier today. Click here to read the White House press release.

Armenian American journalist Harut Sassounian, the publisher of the California Courier, wrote his most recent weekly column about the Bryza nomination. Click here to read the full text of the commentary.