WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Co-Chairman of the Armenian Issues Caucus, today expressed his extreme disappointment to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over reports that the U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Marshall Evans, is being forced from office based upon truthful and forthright statements last year about the Armenian Genocide.

In a March 10th letter, Rep. Pallone shared with the Secretary that he is “outraged that the State Department is recalling Ambassador Evans as retaliation for statements he made in recognition of the Armenian Genocide.” He added that, “it is simply wrong for the State Department to punish Ambassador Evans for statements he made that are factually correct. Accordingly, I am asking you for an explanation as to why Ambassador Evans was removed from his post. . . This is the wrong message to send to the world. I look forward to a timely response from your office.”

Speaking last year to an Armenian American gathering at the University of California at Berkeley, Amb. Evans said, “I will today call it the Armenian Genocide… I informed myself in depth about it. I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens, a more frank and honest way of discussing this problem. Today, as someone who has studied it… there’s no doubt in my mind [as to] what happened . . . I think it is unbecoming of us, as Americans, to play word games here. I believe in calling things by their name.” Referring to the Armenian Genocide as “the first genocide of the 20th century,” he said: “I pledge to you, we are going to do a better job at addressing this issue.” Amb. Evans also disclosed that he had consulted with a legal advisor at the State Department who had confirmed that the events of 1915 were “genocide by definition.”

Within days after his remarks and the conclusion of a speaking tour of Armenian American communities, Ambassador Evans was apparently forced to issue a statement clarifying that his references to the Armenian Genocide were his personal views and did not represent a change in U.S. policy. He subsequently issued a correction to this statement, replacing a reference to the Genocide with the word “tragedy.”

Later last year, the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), in recognition of his honesty and commitment to principle, decided to honor Ambassador Evans with the “Christian A. Herter Award,” recognizing creative thinking and intellectual courage within the Foreign Service. Sadly, as Washington Post staff writer Glenn Kessler revealed on June 9th, AFSA withdrew its award following pressure from “very serious people from the State Department.”

ANCA Chairman Ken Hachikian, in a letter sent to Secretary Rice earlier this week, wrote that, “the prospect that a U.S. envoy’s posting – and possibly his career – has been cut short due to his honest and accurate description of a genocide is profoundly offensive to American values and U.S. standing abroad – particularly in light of President Bush’s call for moral clarity in the conduct of our international affairs.”

The ANCA letter also urged Secretary Rice to respond in a timely manner to the series of written questions on this matter submitted on February 16th by Congressman Adam Schiff during her testimony before the House International Relations Committee. Among these questions was a specific request that the Secretary assure the Committee that the Department of State has not taken – and will not take – any punitive action against Ambassador Evans for speaking out about the Armenian Genocide.

The full text of Rep. Pallone’s letter is provided below.

March 10, 2006

The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
Department of State
2201 C Street, NW
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Secretary Rice:

I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with the reports of the State Department’s decision to withdraw Ambassador John Evans from Armenia. Based on news reports, I am outraged that the State Department is recalling Ambassador Evans as retaliation for statements he made in recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

I am sure you are aware of courageous public statements Ambassador Evans made last year in response to a question about the tragic events that began in 1915, “I will today call it the Armenian Genocide.”

Ambassador Evans is an expert on the subject. He has studied the history of Armenia, and based on his substantial studies of the issue, he was willing to go on the record and define the systematic extermination of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children as genocide.

To this day, the Republic of Turkey refuses to acknowledge the fact that this massive crime against humanity took place on soil under its control, and in the name of Turkish nationalism. Unfortunately, some 90 years later, the U.S. State Department continues to support Turkey’s denials despite all evidence to the contrary.

It is simply unacceptable for this administration to continue to penalize the ambassador for his comments. Ambassador Evans did a courageous thing; his statements did not contradict U.S. policy, but rather articulated the same message that this Administration has sent to the public. The only difference in this case is that Ambassador Evans assigned a word to define the actions taken against the Armenians.

This was a refreshing break from a pattern on the part of the State Department of using evasive and euphemistic terminology to obscure the full reality of the Armenian Genocide. Ambassador Evans pointed out that, “No American official has ever denied it,” and went on to say that, “I think we, the U.S. government, owe you, our fellow citizens a more frank and honest way of discussing this problem.”

Ambassador Evans was merely recounting the historical record, which has been attested to by over 120 Holocaust and genocide scholars from around the world.

I do not believe it is possible for any Ambassador to Armenia to function with any credibility if he does not recognize the genocide. Any representative of the United of States on the ground in Armenia is faced with countless occasions where the genocide is discussed or commemorated.

It is simply wrong for the State Department to punish Ambassador Evans for statements he made that are factually correct. Accordingly, I am asking you for an explanation as to why Ambassador Evans was removed from his post.

I am outraged that the U.S. State Department is now penalizing ambassadors for telling the truth. This is the wrong message to send to the world. I look forward to a timely response from your office.

Sincerely,

[signed]
FRANK PALLONE, JR.
Member of Congress