WASHINGTON, DC – President George Bush today announced plans to nominate career diplomat, Marie L. Yovanovitch as U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

According to a personnel announcement posted on the White House website, the President’s candidate “currently serves as Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic. Prior to this, she served as Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for Political Affairs at the Department of State. Earlier in her career, she served as Deputy Chief of Mission in Kyiv. Ms. Yovanovitch received her bachelor’s degree from Princeton University and her master’s degree from the National War College.”
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/03/20080328-6.html

The Associated Press (AP) today quoted ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian as saying: “It’s important to have an ambassador in Yerevan, but it’s also important to have the right ambassador. Being able to speak truthfully about what we all acknowledge is the historical record, is an important part of a U.S. ambassador’s ability to effectively represent our nation’s values and interests in Yerevan.”

Prior to official appointment, Ms. Yovanovitch will appear before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for confirmation hearings, followed by confirmation vote by the panel and then the full Senate.

The President’s previous nominee, Dick Hoagland, who was proposed twice for consideration by the Senate, faced bipartisan Congressional opposition and two separate “holds” by Senator Bob Menendez over his denial of the Armenian Genocide, before, ultimately, being withdrawn from consideration by the White House. The last U.S. Ambassador to serve in Armenia, John Marshall Evans, was fired for speaking truthfully in public about the Armenian Genocide, sparking widespread Congressional protests and outrage in the Armenian American community.

The text of today’s AP story on this issue is provided below.

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Bush nominates envoy to Armenia, after block of earlier choice

By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer
03-28-2008 17:15

WASHINGTON (AP) _ President George W. Bush has nominated a career diplomat to be U.S. ambassador to Armenia after the last nominee was blocked by Democrats because of a refusal to call the World War I-era killings of Armenians a genocide.

Bush announced on Friday the nomination of Marie Yovanovitch, who is currently ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic.

In August, the White House withdrew its nomination of another career diplomat, Richard Hoagland, after Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez held up confirmation hearings.

Menendez could not be reached Friday and his staff did not immediately comment on the new nomination.

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 killings as genocide.

The administration has warned that even a congressional debate on the genocide question could damage relations with Turkey, a moderate Muslim nation that is a NATO member and an important strategic ally.

Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by genocide scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey however denies that the deaths constituted genocide, saying the toll has been inflated, and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Armenian-American groups had sought to prevent Hoagland’s nomination unless he made a clear statement affirming the genocide.

One group said Friday, they expect that lawmakers will raise the issue with Yovanovitch.

“It’s important to have an ambassador in Yerevan, but it’s also important to have the right ambassador,” said Aram Hamparian, executive director of the Armenian National Committee of America. “Being able to speak truthfully about what we all acknowledge is the historical record, is an important part of a U.S. ambassador’s ability to effectively represent our nation’s values and interests in Yerevan.”

It is not clear when the Senate will hold hearings on the nomination.

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