UPDATE : SENATORS BOXER AND MENENDEZ PLACE "HOLD" ON BRYZA NOMINATION
23-09-2010 11:00:34 | USA | Press release
Senators Spoke Forcefully Against Controversial U.S. Ambassador
to Azerbaijan Nominee during Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Meeting
WASHINGTON, DC - The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)
has learned that both Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Robert
Menendez (D-NJ) have jointly placed a "hold" on U.S. Ambassador to
Azerbaijan nominee Matthew Bryza, reported the Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA).
The Senators' decision followed a Senate Foreign Relations
Committee voice vote yesterday approving his nomination, despite
serious concerns regarding the Ambassador-designate's unusually
close ties to Azerbaijani government officials, his troubling track
record as a senior diplomat dealing with the Caucasus, and
persistent conflict of interest issues related to the Caspian
energy industry. Senators Robert Menendez (D-NJ) and Boxer both
spoke and voted against the Bryza nomination.
"Thanks to Senators Boxer & Menendez, U.S. diplomacy dodged a
bullet today," said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA.
"It would have been a serious mistake - both for U.S. strategic
interests and for hopes of lasting peace in the Caucasus - to have
sent Matt Bryza to Baku amid escalating threats of renewed war by
Azerbaijan's leaders. Given his track record, he clearly would
have been the wrong diplomat, at the wrong time, in exactly the
wrong post. We are deeply grateful to Senators Boxer and Menendez
for preventing this grave diplomatic misstep."
Hamparian added, "Our nation's important diplomatic work in
Azerbaijan can now get off to a fresh start, one without the bias
and baggage that Matt Bryza would have brought to this pivotal
position. Our hope now is that the President will nominate a new
candidate who will openly stand up to Azerbaijan's aggression and
forcefully deter its march toward renewed war against Nagorno
Karabakh."
The hold by Senators Boxer and Menendez prevents fast-tracked
Senate consideration of the Bryza nomination, effectively blocking
his confirmation for this ambassadorial post. Senator Robert
Menendez (D-NJ) took a similar action in 2006, preventing the
appointment of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia nominee Richard Hoagland,
who denied the Armenian Genocide during his Senate confirmation process.