GOP senator opposes ambassador nominee

02 August, 2006
Piercelan Herald
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON - A Republican senator is planning to vote against President Bush ‘s nominee for ambassador to Armenia because the nominee has refused to refer to the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians as genocide.

The Bush administration does not question that Turkish troops killed or drove from their homes 1.5 million Armenians starting in 1915. But it has omitted the word "genocide" to describe it.

Turkey strongly objects to the use of the term, and U.S. policymakers are wary of antagonizing an important strategic NATO ally.

On Tuesday, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , on which Coleman serves, postponed a vote on Richard E. Hoagland‘s nomination until next month.

"I was brought up believing you never forget the Holocaust, never forget what happened. And I could not imagine how our ambassador to Israel could have any effectiveness if he couldn‘t recognize the Holocaust."

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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