The new US Ambassador may be sent to Yerevan "tomorrow or maybe after tomorrow"

PanARMENIAN.Net - The story with the appointment of the US Ambassador to Yerevan has been a hot topic for already 18 months. After the dismissal of the Ambassador John Evans in 2006 for using the term "the Armenian Genocide" in his speech to the Armenian Diaspora, the acting head of the diplomatic mission has been the temporary charge d'affaires. There are definitely some anomalies here, moreover if taking into consideration the fact that the candidacy of Richard Hoagland failed twice during the hearings of the commission on foreign affairs of the US Senate. Both times the veto belonged to the Senator from New Jersey Robert Menendez, who thought that the USA should be introduced in Yerevan by an Ambassador who has a distinct opinion about the Armenian Genocide, i.e. must qualify the mass killings of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in 1915 - 1923 as Genocide. Naturally, no candidate recognizes this, since it is not recognized by the official Washington. The truth is though, that there is a hope that this time the Armenian Community
will become more tolerant and will not insist on it. In fact, not allowing the confirmation of the Ambassador, the Armenians in America, pursuing their interests, risk the interests of America. And this, unfortunately, is not the first time that this has happened. It is quite clear that among the set tasks of the US foreign policy is the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, but in no country other country of the world does the Diaspora display as much pressure on the legislators in this issue as it does in the USA. Unwillingly there is this question rising in one; does the Armenian lobby in Washington indeed promote the Armenian interests? Yes, in the issue of helping and preserving parity with Azerbaijan the Armenian National Committee in America (ANCA) and the Armenian Assembly in America (AAA) act very considerably. But what concerns the Ambassador in the USA. perhaps it would be smarter to leave this question to the Senate and the White House. Otherwise it means that Armenia, Armenia, which is not of least importance to the US in its policy in South Caucasus, has been left without the highest diplomatic representative for almost two years.

In his article "Here we go again!" Arthur Sasunyan raises a very good question: why did Bush's Administration have to wait for 18 months and very suddenly, when it doesn't have much left to go with, decided to declare the name of the new Ambassador. "Where is the guarantee, that the Senator Menendez will not bring forward the issue of the Armenian Genocide? And what was the reason for the State Department to wait with this announcement till the parliamentary and presidential elections in Armenia were held? Could they possibly have any importance for the appointment of the Ambassador?" asks Sasunyan, and then adds that the State Department is making the same mistake and doesn't ask for the opinion of the Armenian Community in the USA about the candidacy of the Ambassador. Most probably the elections were indeed of some importance. In this aspect the USA has a bitter experience: "colorful revolutions" in the CIS is associated with the US Ambassadors. Maybe the US State Department needs to know the public opinion, however here it would be more reasonable to know the opinion of RA authorities. Yet, the most important thing now is that the ice is now broken and it is quite possible that by autumn, or maybe even earlier the US Ambassador to Armenia
will already be here.