Epress.am News from Armenia
Armenian-Americans are suspicious of US President Barack Obama’s nominee to serve as ambassador to Armenia because he once worked for a man described as “consistently one of the most pro-Turkish and anti-Armenian representatives to serve in Congress,” reports the Washington Times.
The Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National Committee of America are urging members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to demand answers on key Armenian issues from John A. Heffern on Wednesday at a confirmation hearing on his nomination.
“Without prejudging [the] nominee …, he will have a steep hill to climb in explaining and distinguishing his views from those of former Congressman [Douglas] Bereuter,” the Armenian Assembly said. Bereuter, a Nebraska Republican, served in Congress from 1979 to 2004.
Armenian National Committee Executive Director Aram Hamparian urged all members of the committee to attend the hearing “to question” Heffern “about his qualifications and candidacy for this important diplomatic posting.”
He called for committee members to ask Heffern about the Obama administration’s views on a “truthful and just resolution of the Armenian genocide; a free and fair settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh based on democracy and self-determination; and the promotion of US-Armenia economic relations …”
Armenian-Americans have criticized Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for failing to keep campaign promises to recognize as genocide the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Turkish empire during World War I.
Obama and Clinton even opposed a congressional resolution commemorating the Armenian genocide, just as former US administrations have done to avoid angering Turkey, a key NATO ally.
Hamparian also is seeking a clearer administration position on the future of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The confirmation hearing on Heffern’s nomination begins at 3 pm local time in Room 419 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.