Month: April 2007

[Congressional Record: April 16, 2007 (Senate)]
[Page S4474-S4475]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr16ap07-100]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I take this opportunity today to solemnly
commemorate the 92nd Anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the 20th century.
From 1915 until 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were brutally killed by the
Ottoman Turks in a systematic effort to eradicate the Armenian people.
There were unbearable acts of torture; men were separated from their
families and murdered; women and children were put on a forced march
across the Syrian desert without food or water.
Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913
to 1916, recalled:

When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these
deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a
whole race; they understood this well, and, in their
conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to
conceal the fact . . . I am confident that the whole history
of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this.
The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost
insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian
race in 1915.

However, we were to witness other such horrible genocides later,
including the Holocaust and the genocide in Darfur, which is happening
today.
As with later genocides, some have tried to deny that the Armenian
genocide happened. Shamefully, the Government of Turkey still refuses
to admit that genocide occurred.
In order for democracy and human rights to flourish, we must not
support efforts to rewrite and deny history. In the United States, we
strive to make human rights a fundamental component of our democracy.
It is long overdue for our nation to demand that the truth be told. We
must recognize the Armenian genocide in the name of democracy, fairness
and human rights.
At the beginning of the 21st century, as genocide is waged in Darfur,
it is

[[Page S4475]]

even more critical to recognize the first genocide of the 20th Century.
We must send a message that genocide and genocide denial will never be
tolerated.
To that end, I am proud to be an original cosponsor of Senator
Richard Durbin’s S. Res. 106, calling on the President to accurately
characterize the Armenian Genocide in his annual message around April
24 and to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects
appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to
human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United
States record relating to the Armenian genocide.
It is important that we recognize the Armenian genocide while its
survivors are still with us to tell their stories. We must recognize
the genocide for the survivors. We must recognize the genocide because
it is the right thing to do. We must recognize the Armenian genocide to
help shed light on the darkness and move toward a more humane world.

____________________

[Congressional Record: April 23, 2007 (House)]
[Page H3767]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr23ap07-107]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ellison). Under a previous order of the
House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5
minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleagues on the
Republican side for agreeing to let me reclaim the time. I will try to
limit my time to less than 5 minutes.
Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to commemorate the 92nd anniversary
of the Armenian genocide. As the first genocide of the 20th century, it
is morally imperative that we remember this atrocity and collectively
demand reaffirmation of this crime against humanity.
On April 24, 1915, 92 years ago tomorrow, that day marked the
beginning of the systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. Over the following 8 years, 11/2
million Armenians were tortured and murdered, and more than one-half
million were forced from their homeland into exile. These facts are
indisputable, but to this day the U.S. Congress has never properly
recognized the Armenian genocide.
The historical record, Mr. Speaker, on the Armenian genocide is
unambiguous and well-documented with overwhelming evidence. The U.S.
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morgenthau,
protested the slaughter of the Armenians to the Ottoman leaders. In a
cable to the U.S. State Department on July 16, 1915, Ambassador
Morgenthau stated that, “A campaign of race extermination is in
progress.”
Mr. Speaker, if America is going to live up to the standards we set
for ourselves, and continue to lead the world in affirming human rights
everywhere, we need to finally stand up and recognize the tragic events
that began in 1915 for what they were: the systematic elimination of a
people.
Despite pleas by Members of Congress and the Armenian-American
community and recognition by much of the international community,
President Bush continues to avoid any clear references to the Armenian
genocide, while consistently opposing legislation marking this crime
against humanity. Instead, he has chosen to succumb to shameless
threats by the Government of Turkey. I strongly believe that Turkey’s
policy of denying the Armenian genocide gives warrant to those who
perpetrate genocide everywhere, because denial is the last stage of
genocide. If the cycle is to end, there must be accountability. And
just as we would not permit denying the Holocaust, we cannot accept
Turkey’s falsification of the facts of 1915.
Mr. Speaker, I must say that in the last few months the Turkish
Government has made every effort to try to prevent the Armenian
genocide resolution from coming to the floor of the House of
Representatives. But I just want to show why denial is such a bad thing
in a sense. Last week, I came to the floor and I pointed out that when
the U.N. wanted to do a project or an exhibit at the United Nations
headquarters talking about the genocide in Rwanda, because the Turkish
Government protested the inclusion of the Armenian genocide, the
Rwandan genocide never took place. There again, if you deny one
genocide, you end up denying or impacting the other.
And the fact of the matter is that when some of my colleagues say to
me, “Well, why do you need to bring up something that occurred 92
years ago,” I say, “Because by denying this, the Turkish Government
continues to perpetrate genocide or oppression of its minorities.
Just a few weeks ago, there was something in the New York Times about
how the Turkish Government continues to persecute the Kurdish minority.
Many Kurds have been killed, driven from their homelands in the same
way Armenians were. The Kurds happen to be a Muslim people, not a
Christian people. That doesn’t matter. The Turkish Government
consistently oppresses minorities. They refuse also to open their
borders with Armenia. They have actually had a blockade of Armenia in
placed for several years, which contributes to the economic instability
of Armenia.
So this is something that must be done. It must be accomplished, that
we recognize this genocide if it continues in various ways in Turkey
today.
The second thing I would point out is that the Turkish Government has
been basically hiring lobbyists for millions of dollars to go around
and tell Members of Congress that if they pass the genocide resolution,
there will be dire consequences: Turkey will not allow supplies to go
to U.S. troops in Iraq.

{time} 2220

They have actually taken to having Members of Congress called and
told that their own soldiers in Iraq might be threatened if they pass
the genocide resolution.
Well, again, this is the type of bullying that we, as a free
government, should not allow because bullying is essentially the same
thing that takes place when genocide takes place. Why should we give in
to the threats of a country that tries to bully our country over such
an important issue as the genocide?
Now, let me just mention, Mr. Speaker, to wrap up, that tomorrow
evening at 6:30 the Armenian Caucus, which I cochair, will host an
Armenian genocide commemoration event with the Armenian embassy, and I
hope that many of the Members will attend this.

____________________

Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Extensions)]
[Page E840]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr24ap07-13]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

speech of

HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

of new york

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and the representative of a
large and vibrant community of Armenian Americans, I rise to join my
colleagues in the sad commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
Today we declare to people living in every corner of our globe that
the Turkish and American governments must finally acknowledge what we
have long understood: that the unimaginable horror committed on Turkish
soil in the aftermath of World War I was, and is, an act of genocide.
The tragic events that began on April 24, 1915, which are well known to
all of us, should be part of the history curriculum in every Turkish
and American school. On that dark April day, more than 200 of Armenia’s
religious, political and intellectual leaders were arrested in
Constantinople and killed. Ultimately, more than 1.5 million Armenians
were systematically murdered at the hands of the Young Turks, and more
than 500,000 more were exiled from their native land.
On this 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the genocide, I join
with the chorus of voices that grows louder with each passing year. We
simply will not allow ice planned elimination of an entire people to
remain in the shadows of history. The Armenian Genocide must be
acknowledged, studied, and never, ever allowed to happen again.
Last year I joined with my colleagues in the Caucus in urging PBS not
to give a platform to the deniers of the genocide by canceling a
planned broadcast of a panel which included two scholars who deny the
Armenian Genocide. This panel was to follow the airing of a documentary
about the Armenian Genocide. Representative Anthony Weiner and I led a
successful effort to convince Channel Thirteen in New York City to pull
the plug on these genocide deniers. The parliaments of Canada, France,
and Switzerland have all passed resolutions affirming that the Armenian
people were indeed subjected to genocide. The United States must do the
same. I will not stop fighting until long overdue legislation
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide finally passes. I am hopeful that
this resolution will make it to the Floor for a vote before the full
House of Representatives this Congress.
An acknowledgment of the genocide is not our only objective. I remain
committed to ensuring that the U.S. government continues to provide
direct financial assistance to Armenia. Over the years, this aid has
played a critical role in the economic and political advancement of the
Armenian people. I have joined with my colleagues in requesting
military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the FY08 Foreign
Operations Appropriations bill.
We also have requested an adequate level of economic assistance for
Armenia and assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh. Legislation passed in the
109th Congress and signed into law to reauthorize the Export-Import
Bank included important language prohibiting the Bank from funding
railroad projects in the South Caucasus region that deliberately
exclude Armenia. American tax dollars should not be used to support
efforts to isolate Armenia, and these provisions would prevent that by
ensuring that U.S. funds are not used to support the construction of a
new railway that bypasses Armenia. A railway already exists that
connects the nations of Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, but because it
crosses Armenia, an expensive and unnecessary new railway had been
proposed. Allowing the exclusion of Armenia from important
transportation routes would stymie the emergence of this region as an
important East-West trade corridor. It is in our economic and security
interests to ensure that the aggression against Armenia comes to an
end.
On this solemn day, our message is clear: the world remembers the
Armenian genocide, and the governments of Turkey and the United States
must declare–once and for all–that they do, too.

____________________

April 25, 2007

PRESS RELEASE
Western Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate
6252 Honolulu Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tel: (818) 248-7737
Fax: (818) 248-7745
E-mail: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Website: <;

UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE PRELATE
LECTURE ON THE FIRST MONTHS OF THE GENOCIDE
ORGANIZED BY ST. MARY’S CHURCH

The St. Mary’s Board of Trustees, under the auspices of H.E.
Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, and by the initiative of the
Western Prelacy Outreach Committee, has organized a lecture presentation on
the topic "The Armenian Prelacy of Aleppo during the first months of the
Genocide". The lecture will take place on Wednesday, May 2nd, 2007, at 7:00
p.m.

Professor Vahram Shemmassian, Chair of the Armenian Studies
Department at Cal State Northridge, has been invited to lecture on the
humanitarian missionof the Prelacy of Aleppo at the start of the Genocide,
including but not limited to offering a safe haven for those who survived
the massacres.

The topic is a new and interesting one that covers the first
months when Armenians were forced out of their homeland into a foreign land,
eventually resulting in the establishment of the Diaspora as we know it
today. With this lecture, we are offered the chance to become familiarized
with the self-less actions of those who served the Armenian people, such as
clergy of the Holy See of Cilicia, despite being subject to persecution and
constraints themselves.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

[Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Extensions)]
[Page E849]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr24ap07-48]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

speech of

HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

of illinois

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the victims
of the Armenian Genocide.
Today marks the anniversary of the deliberate campaign of genocide
perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. On April 24th, the Ottoman
government arrested an estimated 250 Armenian religious, political, and
intellectual leaders, which were taken to the interior of Turkey and
murdered. From 1915-1923, 1.5 million Armenians were killed and more
than 500,000 were forced from their homeland into exile.
In spite of overwhelming evidence, particularly American diplomatic
records from the time, some continue to deny the occurrence of this
brutal tragedy in human history. As a member of Congress, I represent a
significant population of Armenian survivors who have proudly preserved
their culture, traditions, and religion and have told the horrors of
the genocide to an often indifferent world.
We must continue to ensure future generations know and understand the
history of the Armenian Genocide in order to learn from the mistakes of
the past and prevent future atrocities. For that reason, I have again
cosponsored a resolution, H. Res. 106, that calls upon the president to
make recognition of the Armenian Genocide an official position of
United States foreign policy.
Mr. Speaker, it is time to fully recognize the Armenian Genocide in
order to right the historical record. By doing so we pay tribute to the
memory of all the individuals who suffered, their family members that
remain, and vow to never forget their sacrifices.

____________________

Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Senate)
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Ninety-two years ago today, on the night of April 24, 1915, the
Ottoman government launched a series of raids in which hundreds of
Armenian leaders and intellectuals were arrested and subsequently
deported or killed. This event marked the beginning of a systematic
campaign of murder, deportation, and forced starvation, during which as
many as 1.5 million Armenians perished and 500,000 were exiled by the
Ottoman government.
We are obliged to remember and speak about their suffering because
silence about such atrocities plants the seed for another tragedy.
On the eve of the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, seeking to allay the
fears of his aides, Adolf Hitler said: “Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?”
And today, the world is again witnessing genocide, one waged by a
government against its own people, one involving mass murder, ethnic
cleansing, and forced starvation. I am speaking, of course, about the
genocide in Darfur.
Let there be no mistake. The ongoing genocide in Darfur, carried out
by the Government of Sudan and its janjaweed militias, traces its roots
to the silence and quiescence of the international community during
previous episodes of genocide and ethnic cleansing, including the
Armenian genocide.
By acknowledging and learning from the Armenian genocide, then, we
become better positioned to prevent present and future atrocities.
Open discussion of the Armenian genocide serves another important
purpose. It enables the descendants of those involved in the Armenian
genocide–both perpetrators and victims–to mend the wounds that have
not yet healed.
As recently as January of this year, a Turkish-Armenian journalist,
Hrant Dink, was murdered because of his outspoken advocacy for Turkish
recognition of the Armenian genocide. This incident serves as an
important reminder that an open, informed, and tolerant discussion of
the genocide is critical.
California is home to many of the descendants of the genocide’s
survivors, who immigrated to the United States and, over the course of
a few decades, built strong and vibrant communities. Working closely
with the Armenian-American community over my many years in public
service, I know how alive and painful this issue continues to be for
many Armenian Americans.
So I rise before you today and ask that you join me in acknowledging
and commemorating the Armenian genocide. Together, let us send a strong
message that such atrocities will never be accepted, regardless of when
and where they take place.
And let us ensure that the legacy of the Armenian genocide is one of
reconciliation and hope.

Mr. REED. Mr. President, today, on behalf of the Armenian population
of Rhode Island, and Armenians around the world, I wish to recognize
the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
On April 24, 1915, nationalists in the Ottoman Empire rounded up,
deported, and executed 200 Armenian community leaders, writers,
thinkers, and professionals in Constantinople, present day Istanbul.
Also on that day in Constantinople, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were
massacred in the streets and in their homes. These events sparked an 8-
year campaign of tyranny that impacted the lives of every Armenian in
Asia Minor. By 1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were murdered,
and another 500,000 were exiled.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morganthau, Sr.,
unsuccessfully pleaded President Wilson for intervention.
Unfortunately, the United States and the world tragically failed to
intervene on behalf of the Armenian people. Ambassador Morganthau would
later write in his memoir, “The great massacres and persecutions of
the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of
the Armenian race in 1915.”
Today, as a proud supporter of S. Res 106, legislation officially
recognizing the Armenian genocide, I urge the President to ensure that
the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record
relating to the Armenian genocide. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated
over 50 years after the Armenian genocide that: “Injustice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere . . . Whatever affects one directly,
affects all indirectly.” The time has come to officially recognize the
Armenian genocide.
The United States is proud to have Armenia as an ally in the
rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq. For the past 4 years, Armenian
soldiers have supported American and multinational force efforts in
Iraq. As part of the Polish-led multinational division in south-central
Iraq, Armenians have worked as truckdrivers, bomb detonators, and
doctors. Armenia has proclaimed their fight by not allowing others to
be left helpless as they were nearly a century ago.
We must study and remember the events of our past in order to be
better citizens of tomorrow. In instances such as the Armenian
genocide, I call on all nations, not just the United States, to educate
their youth to stand against hatred and prejudice of others in order to
deter future atrocities against humanity. We should be prepared to take
a vigilant stand against similar atrocities, such as the current
situation in Darfur, to not let history repeat itself.
We must honor the victims of the Armenian genocide by vowing to never
allow the world to stand idle to atrocities against humanity again.
Menk panav chenk mornar. We will never forget.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to add my voice to those asking
that today, the 24th of April, 2007, be a day of reflection and
remembrance for those Armenians who perished in the genocide that
occurred between 1915 and 1923.
As many as one and a half million Armenians lost their lives during
this systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted in Turkey while
the world was preoccupied by the First World War and its aftermath.
That the major powers, including the United States, did not prevent or
intervene at any point to stop this killing represents one of twentieth
century’s ugliest stains on humanity.
While today we all would like to believe that had world leaders been
acutely aware of the atrocities occurring they would have acted to stop
them, recent episodes make a clear that we as a people continue to
struggle with the obligation to speak out when our neighbor’s blood is
shed. In Bosnia, Rwanda, and right now in Darfur, the world has stood
by while hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians are slaughtered.
Any action on the part of the international community has been too
little and far too late.
Because I believe we cannot prevent future genocide unless we
recognize past genocide, I am a sponsor of Senate Resolution 106, which
calls upon the President to ensure that this Nation’s foreign policy
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record
relating to the Armenian genocide.
I join many of my colleagues today in urging the Senate to pass this
resolution.
Turkey is good friend of the United States and a critical ally in the
fight against terrorist networks. I hope that the ties that bind our
two nations only grow closer in the coming years, as we continue to
work through NATO to ensure cooperative security. And I will join my
colleagues in pressing for Turkey’s admittance to the European Union.
However, I believe that the Armenian genocide must be acknowledged.
Today, the 92nd anniversary commemorating this incident, we pause to
pay tribute to those who died and renew our commitment to ensuring that
similar atrocities never again occur.

[Congressional Record: April 23, 2007 (Extensions)]
[Page E834-E835]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr23ap07-50]

COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

of massachusetts

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a people who
despite murder, hardship, and betrayal have persevered. April 24, 2007,
marks the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Throughout three decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,
millions of Armenians were systematically uprooted from their homeland
of 3,000 years and deported or massacred. From 1894 through 1896, three
hundred thousand Armenians were ruthlessly murdered. Again in 1909,
thirty thousand Armenians were massacred in Cilicia, and their villages
were destroyed.
On April 24, 1915, two hundred Armenian religious, political, and
intellectual leaders were arbitrarily arrested, taken to Turkey and
murdered. This incident marks a dark and solemn period in the history
of the Armenian people. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire launched
a systematic campaign to exterminate Armenians. In 8 short years, more
than 1.5 million Armenians suffered through atrocities such as
deportation, forced slavery and torture. Most were ultimately murdered.
Many of our companions in the international community have already
taken this final step.

[[Page E835]]

The European Parliament and the United Nations have recognized and
reaffirmed the Armenian Genocide as historical fact, as have the
Russian and Greek parliaments, the Canadian House of Commons, the
Lebanese Chamber of Deputies and the French National Assembly. It is
time for America to join the chorus and acknowledge the Armenians who
suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And let me stress that I
am not speaking of the government of modern day Turkey, but rather its
predecessor, which many of Turkey’s present day leaders helped to
remove from power.
As I have in the past, as a member of the Congressional Armenian
Caucus, I will continue to work with my colleagues and with the
Armenian-Americans in my district to promote investment and prosperity
in Armenia. And, I sincerely hope that this year, the U.S. will have
the opportunity and courage to speak in support of the millions of
Armenians who suffered because of their heritage.

____________________

[Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (House)]
[Page H4027]
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ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

(Mr. COSTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1
minute.)
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 96th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
On March 24, 1915, 300 Armenian leaders were rounded up and deported
and killed under the orders from the young Turk Government. And so
began the genocide that lasted for 7 years, resulting in an estimated
over 1.5 million Armenian deaths. To this day, unfortunately, the
Turkish Government denies that this occurred.
Ladies and gentlemen, Members of the House, I just returned from
Darfur with a group of our colleagues 2 weeks ago. Over 450,000 people
have been killed and millions displaced in Darfur; yet government
officials claim there in Darfur and Sudan that there is no genocide,
that the situation is overblown.
Yesterday Rwanda, today Darfur. And we can remember the
Holocaust. Clearly, silence is genocide’s best ally. It is time that
the Congress end this silence and pass the Armenian genocide
resolution. The message will be clear: the United States of America
will never forget and never stand for those who support genocide.

____________________

[Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Extensions)]
[Page E850]
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[DOCID:cr24ap07-50]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

speech of

HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

of maryland

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to commemorate the
anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century. More than 90
years ago, the Ottoman Empire organized a campaign to exterminate 1.5
million Armenians. The world watched as this horror unfolded before
them, and did nothing.
As the first genocide of the 21st century–this time in Darfur–began
to take shape, the world again hesitated, this time to debate for
months the definition of genocide, as thousands died and thousands more
were displaced. Today, 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur and
2.5 million driven from their homes. And so, I rise Mr. Speaker not
only to acknowledge and remember the horrific events that befell the
Armenian people at the dawn of the last century, but also to highlight
the horrific events occurring one hundred years later in Darfur at the
dawn of this century.
For the past few years, as the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
approached, I hoped that year would be the year a solution to the
crisis would come. But, this year, instead of speaking of how the
lessons of the Armenian Genocide helped unite the world around a
solution for Darfur, I can only report of ongoing suffering and
continued killings.
As the world pauses today to remember those who suffered and died
during the Armenian Genocide, we need to ask ourselves if we have
really absorbed the lessons of that tragedy–and, if we are really
doing all that can be done to bring this century’s genocide to an end.

____________________

[Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Extensions)]
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[DOCID:cr24ap07-27]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

speech of

HON. MICHAEL R. McNULTY

of new york

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I join today with many of my colleagues in
remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide.

[[Page E844]]

Today, April 24th, is the 92nd anniversary of this human tragedy.
From 1915 to 1923, the world witnessed the first genocide of the 20th
century. This was clearly one of the world’s greatest tragedies–the
deliberate and systematic Ottoman annihilation of 1.5 million Armenian
men, women, and children.
Furthermore, another 500,000 refugees fled and escaped to various
points around the world–effectively eliminating the Armenian
population of the Ottoman Empire.
From these ashes arose hope and promise in 1991–and I was blessed to
see it. I was one of the four international observers from the United
States Congress to monitor Armenia’s independence referendum. I went to
the communities in the northern part of Armenia, and I watched in awe
as 95 percent of the people over the age of 18 went out and voted.
The Armenian people had been denied freedom for so many years and,
clearly, they were very excited about this new opportunity. Almost no
one stayed home. They were all out in the streets going to the polling
places. I watched in amazement as people stood in line for hours to get
into these small polling places and vote.
Then, after they voted, the other interesting thing was that they did
not go home. They had brought covered dishes with them, and all of
these polling places had little banquets afterward to celebrate what
had just happened.
What a great thrill it was to join them the next day in the streets
of Yerevan when they were celebrating their great victory. Ninety-eight
percent of the people who voted cast their ballots in favor of
independence. It was a wonderful experience to be there with them when
they danced and sang and shouted, `Ketse azat ankakh Hayastan’–long
live free and independent Armenia! That should be the cry of freedom-
loving people everywhere.

____________________