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U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans spoke Thursday to a filled Ackerman Union.

Over 100 students and faculty members gathered in Ackerman Thursday to welcome U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John M. Evans to UCLA.

People sat in chairs, stood and even sat on the ground during the hour and a half discussion to hear Evans’ report from Armenia and take part in the afternoon’s open forum.

During the event, Evans outlined the U.S.’s mission in Armenia and highlighted its three projected goals there: to bring greater stability and security to the Southern Caucasus, to build up the economies of the region in a broad-based and sustainable way, and to foster democratic institutions.

“We’ve had some victories and some setbacks,” Evans said.

Christina Ohanian, historian for the UCLA Armenian Students Association, said that the interaction between the ambassador and the local Armenian community was important.

“It’s important for the government to make such contact ... so that we can see what is going on first hand,” she said.

Evans was invited to UCLA by Modern Armenian History Professor Richard Hovannisian. Robin Phillips, the U.S. Agency for International Development director was also present.

Evans was sworn in as the ambassador to Armenia on Aug. 11, 2004 and is visiting major Armenian communities for exchanges and forums.

The Armenian population in Southern California has grown to more than 500,000 since 1915, and is now the largest Armenian community outside the country itself.

Armenia is a post-Soviet republic in the Caucasus. The country is landlocked and on only a small portion of historic Armenia, most of which is now in eastern Turkey. It was from this region that the Armenian population was massacred during the genocide of 1915.

The Caucasus region is located between the Black Sea to the west and the Caspian Sea to the east.

Armenia, a country slightly smaller than the state of Maryland, sustained years of conflict and turmoil that culminated on April 24, 1915, in a genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks against the Armenians.

One and a half million Armenians – 60 percent of that population – are believed by many to have been killed between the years of 1915 and 1923.

The Turkish government denies the genocide ever occurred and the United States refuses to term the events as genocide.

Over the centuries, Armenia, despite periods of autonomy, came under the control of various empires. In 1991, Armenia gained its independence from the Soviet Union.

Since then, the United States has played a major role in the development of the country.

The per capita level of assistance offered by the United States to Armenia is higher than any other former Soviet state, Evans said.

“From my perspective Armenia is headed in the right direction and progress has been remarkable. We need to be patient but also persistent,” he said.

“I think we’re making a difference,” Evans added.

Evans also said the United States supports free and fair elections in Armenia.

“I want to put to rest the idea that the U.S. is causing turmoil in the area. We are unabashedly in support of free leadership,” he said.

Many students agreed that the open forum and the opportunity to ask questions during the event were highlights of the experience.

“I was excited to see the ambassador and happy that he came even though I don’t agree with everything he said,” said Ani Nahapetian, a member of the Armenian Graduate Student Association of UCLA.

Many students say they believe the United States would be even more effective if it could recognize the genocide of 1915.

“The situation in Armenia is improving but there are glaring problems, the main one being the continued denial of the Armenian genocide by the U.S. government,” said Samvel Setyan, treasurer of the ASA.

“I feel that the United States, which stands for all of these ideals, is hypocritical by not recognizing that the genocide occurred,” said Gohar Gazazyan, a mass communications and history student and member of ASA.

But overall, students seemed optimistic about the future of Armenia.

“I got a positive vibe from the forum, but the problem is that there is still a lot left to be done,” Gazazyan said.