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[Congressional Record: April 26, 2005 (House)]
[Page H2521-H2526]
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[DOCID:cr26ap05-109]
90TH COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to commemorate the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, which actually took place on
April 24, last Sunday. As the first genocide of the 20th Century, it is
imperative that we remember this atrocity and collectively demand
reaffirmation of this crime against humanity.
Just this week I was joined by my co-chair of the Armenian Caucus and
176 additional Members of Congress in sending yet another joint
congressional letter to President Bush urging him to use the word
“genocide” in his April 24 statement. With over 178 signatures, which
is 9 more than last year, the message in this letter is loud and clear:
that 90 years is too long to wait for justice to be served and proper
recognition to be made.
Mr. Speaker, I received today a copy of President Bush’s statement
with regard to the April 24 commemoration, and, unfortunately, once
again he did not use the term “genocide.” And I think that is
unfortunate because it has been consistently the case that this
Congress and the United States in general over the last 90 years has
referred to the Armenian genocide as a genocide, and it is unfortunate
that the President continues not to use the term.
This past Wednesday the Caucus, with the cooperation of the Armenian
American community, organized a commemorative event on Capitol Hill in
the Cannon Caucus room. We were joined by over 350 members of the
community as well as numerous Senators and Members of Congress who all
spoke on one message: that the United States owes it to the Armenian
American community, to the 1.5 million that were massacred in the
genocide, and to its own history to reaffirm what is a fact.
As we saw on Wednesday night and as we have seen time and time again,
the United States has a proud history of action and response to the
Armenian genocide. During a time when hundreds of thousands were left
orphaned and starving, a time when a nation was on the verge of
complete extermination, the U.S. chose to step up. Individuals like
Ambassador Morgenthau and Leslie Davis witnessed the atrocities
firsthand, and their conscience did not allow them to simply look the
other way. It is now time that the U.S. stops looking the other way,
reaffirms what we all know to be fact, and properly recognizes the
Armenian genocide.
I wanted to mention that I was very proud earlier this year when our
Ambassador to Armenia, Ambassador Evans, referred to the Armenian
genocide as a genocide, and it was unfortunate that he was essentially
rebuked by the State Department because of the words he used. Because
the fact of the matter is that when we talk about the Armenian
genocide, we are simply acknowledging historical fact, and we feel very
strongly that if at the time when the genocide occurred, the world and
the United States, if we had taken more notice and had tried to prevent
it, I think it would have served as a lesson so that the Nazi Holocaust
against the Jews and so many other atrocities that took place in the
20th century would not have occurred. If we are going to see a
situation in the future in this 21st century when we do not repeat the
mistakes of the past, we must acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
We know even now, history in the last 100 years has witnessed more
horrible episodes since the Armenian genocide. As we speak, the
Sudanese Government is taking a page out of the Turkish Government’s
denial playbook and continuing the vicious cycle of genocide denial in
what is happening in Darfur. If we are ever to live in a world where
crimes do not go unpunished and fundamental human rights are respected
and preserved, we must come to recognize the Armenian genocide, thus
allowing for proper reparations and restitutions to be made.
I was very upset, Mr. Speaker, on Saturday when I read in the New
York Times that the Turkish envoy to the United States continued to say
that the only reason why Armenians and Americans wanted the genocide
recognized was because they wanted restitution or they wanted
reparations. That is simply not true. But it is also true that
restitution and reparations must be made. For those who commit a state-
sponsored genocide or a state-sponsored massacre, it is important that
the state, in this case, Turkey, acknowledge that it occurred and that
restitution and reparations are made, just as in the case with Germany
in the case of the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews.
Mr. Speaker, I look forward to introducing a genocide resolution with
my colleagues in the 109th Congress, and as we did in the 108th
Congress and the 106th. We will do everything in our power to get
legislation passed and reaffirm the U.S. record on the Armenian
genocide. Today the United States has the profound responsibility of
carrying on the tradition and the work of our predecessors in
continuing to combat genocide whenever and wherever it takes place. We
must show the world that individuals such as Ambassador Morgenthau did
not stay quiet 90 years ago, and we in Congress certainly owe it to
them not to stay quiet today.
Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. April 24, 2005 marked the day 90
years ago that began a bloody eight-year period during which 1.5
million Armenians lost their lives as a result of this tragic event.
We must take this opportunity to heal the wounds of those who
survived this calamity, as well as the Armenian people as a whole. Let
us officially acknowledge this regrettable moment in human history, as
formal recognition is nearly four generations overdue. By finally
closing this chapter, we would not only take positive steps towards
normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia, but also help to
prevent future tragedies.
I would also like to take this opportunity to commend Armenian
Americans nationwide for their contributions to our country. Through
the preservation of their heritage, faith and traditions, Armenian
Americans join the multitude of immigrants from many different cultures
who contribute to the rich diversity we celebrate together as a Nation.
Mr. Speaker, woven deeply into the fabric of our culture, Americans
stand for freedom and basic human rights for all. Let us further
demonstrate our deep conviction for the ideals we hold dear in our
resolute opposition to crimes against humanity and officially recognize
the Armenian Genocide.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, today we gather to remember and commemorate
the Armenian Genocide, one of the darkest chapters of World War I, and
the first of the series of genocides we saw in the 20th Century.
The Armenian Genocide is sometimes called the “Forgotten Genocide.”
In fact, as most of you know, back in 1939, prior to the invasion of
Poland, Adolph Hitler argued that his plans for a Jewish holocaust
would, in the end, be tolerated by the West, stating: “After all, who
remembers the Armenians.” Who remembers the Armenians? Today, we
provide an answer: We Do! We Remember!
We do so because it is important, indeed it is essential to remember
and reflect upon these events, but we also do so because we know that
the Armenian people today struggle on an ongoing basis to confront and
surmount the legacies and the consequences of those dark days.
Consider, for a moment, what might have been.
At the end of the first World War, the American public was acutely
aware of the atrocities that had been committed against the Armenian
people from 1915 on–atrocities that we knew had resulted in the death
of more than 1 million Armenians and left the remaining Armenian
population starving and destitute.
At the time, U.S. Ambassador Henry Morganthau reported that “When
the Turkish
[[Page H2522]]
authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were simply
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.”
A military mission headed by Major General James Harbord in 1919 had
been sent to report on conditions in the region and make
recommendations to U.S. policy makers. General Harbord sent a clear
message about the defenselessness of the Armenians and the dangers they
still faced.
By the time of the Paris Peace negotiations at the end of the War,
President Wilson was committed to the notion of using the proposed
League of Nations to help the Armenians. In a September 6, 1919 speech
on the Treaty creating the League, he spoke of the Armenian Genocide,
“When I think of words piled upon words, of debate following debate,
when these unspeakable things that cannot be handled until the debate
is over are happening, in these pitiful parts of the world, I wonder
that men do not wake up to the moral responsibility of what they are
doing. Great peoples are driven out upon a desert, where there is no
food and can be none, and they are driven to die, and then men, women,
and children thrown into a common grave, so imperfectly covered up that
here and there is a pitiful arm stretched out to heaven, and there is
no pity in the world. When shall we wake up to the moral responsibility
of this great occasion?”
On May 24, 1920, Wilson proposed to create a U.S. mandate in Armenia,
in which we would have sent in troops to maintain the peace and provide
assistance to help the Armenian people establish a functioning
government and economy.
But the proposed U.S. mandate never occurred. Republican Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge from Massachusetts, the Chairman of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, who earlier had championed the cause of
the Armenians, refused to support President Wilson’s proposed Mandate.
Senator Lodge said at the time, “To invite this country to take charge
of that crossroads of the nations in Armenia, to commit itself to
sending its troops there for an indefinite period, and to bear the
expenses involved for an indefinite period, is something for which I
could never bring myself to vote.” And on June 1, 1920, he, along with
the other Republican isolationists in the Senate voted 34 to 43 and 34
to 41 against two Democratic amendments that would have fully or
partially authorized the Mandate.
And so, Armenia was left on its own, open to attack from both Turkey
and the Soviet Union. And the Armenians made a fateful decision. Rather
than accept Turkish dominance and the prospect of additional killings,
they signed an agreement with the Soviet leadership’s point man in the
Caucuses–a man named Josef Stalin–to join the Soviet Union. That
fateful decision led them to more than 60 years of Armenian suffering
under the yoke of the Communists.
So, as we all gather together to consider the legacy of the Armenian
genocide and the Diaspora it created, it is also appropriate for
America as a nation to consider what can be done to give something back
to those who, by tragic circumstances, were forced to live through
unspeakable atrocities during the Genocide only to then come under the
control of a brutal Soviet rule.
Armenia today faces enormous economic and political challenges: It
has hostile neighbors. It faces blockades that stifle trade and
economic opportunities. It needs economic and military assistance.
There is much that the U.S. government can and should do to assist
the Armenian people: We should grant Armenia Permanent Normal Trading
Relations status, so as to facilitate the growth of trade and economic
relations. We should provide Armenia with the economic and military
assistance it needs to develop its economy and ensure its security. We
should press for an end to the Turkish and Azerbaijani economic
blockades.
The writer Milan Kundera once wrote that “The struggle of man
against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” There are
those that would deny the Armenian Genocide, just as there are those
that deny the reality of the Nazi Holocaust. In commemorating the
Armenian Genocide, as we do this evening, we all collectively engage in
that struggle of memory against forgetting. But we do this not only to
remember the past, but to animate the future with a commitment to
prevent such things from ever happening again, and to strive towards
making a better future for the Armenian people, a people who have
suffered so much.
In September of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson spoke of his vision of
a future Armenia. He said, “Armenia is to be redeemed . . . So that at
last this great people, struggling through night after night of terror,
knowing not when they may come out into a time when they can enjoy
their rights as free people that they never dreamed they would be able
to exercise.”
It has taken Armenia decades to reach a point where its people could
enjoy their rights as a free people–the rights Wilson spoke of. Today,
we have an opportunity to help ensure that they can build a better
future. And so, I look forward to continuing to work with the Armenian-
American community and Members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenia
to address the issues facing this region, so that together we build
something positive, something hopeful, something good for the future–a
peaceful, prosperous Armenia with close ties to the United States.
Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide is fully documented in the U.S. archives and
through an overwhelming body of firsthand, governmental, and diplomatic
evidence. The only party denying the Armenian Genocide is the Turkish
government.
As a young man, I remember learning about the Armenian genocide by
listening to the experiences of the men and women who experienced it
firsthand. Many of the survivors of this experience fled to the United
States, and through time established communities throughout the
country, including my district.
California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the
United States. The California State Assembly designated April 24, 1997
as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-
23, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots
of 1990.”
Morally, it is wrong for the American people to be complicit in the
Turkish government’s effort to deny the suffering and death of over 1.5
million people.
Turkey’s denial of the Armenian Genocide sets a dangerous precedent
that makes future genocides more likely. Adolf Hitler, while planning
the Holocaust, silenced the potential reservations of his generals by
asking: “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?”
As a Nation that values the freedom of speech and assembly, we must
admit that this event occurred, and force Turkey to do likewise.
Additionally, we must ask the EU to refuse Turkey’s application to
join the EU until Turkey accepts their role in the genocide against the
Armenian people.
Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to remind the world that the
24th of April marked the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a
systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide of the Ottoman Empire.
Also, it marked yet another year without the U.S. formally recognizing
the atrocities that occurred. Considering how well documented the
genocide is in the U.S. archives and through an overwhelming body of
first-hand, governmental, and diplomatic evidence this is nothing less
than a disgrace. I also rise to reaffirm my support for the adoption of
the Genocide Resolution H. Res 193, which was introduced last Congress
by Rep. Pallone. Unfortunately, even though this legislation passed
unanimously out of my committee, had 110 co-sponsors and was placed on
the House calendar, it was not allowed to be brought to the floor for a
vote. The purpose of this legislation was prevent future genocides by
stressing the importance of remembering and learning the lessons of
past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide,
Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides in hopes of
preventing future atrocities. In addition, this resolution strengthened
America’s commitment to the universal values of the Genocide Convention
and asked the United States to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the
Genocide Convention.
As Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, it was an honor
to be instrumental in preparing the report last year which gained
unanimous approval at the committee level. The report described the
Armenian genocide in the following terms: “Beginning in 1915, the
Islamic Turkish state of the Ottoman Empire sought to end the
collective existence of the Christian Armenian population. From 1915
through 1918, during World War I, the Ottoman Empire subjected the
Armenian people to deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture,
massacre, and starvation. The atrocities were renewed between 1920 and
1923. It is estimated that one and a half million Armenians were killed
out of over two million Armenians who had lived in the Ottoman Empire.
It should be noted that these activities ceased with the institution of
the new Republic of Turkey in October, 1923.” Two weeks ago, I signed
onto a bipartisan letter to President Bush, asking him to properly
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian Genocide is fully documented in U.S. history. In a July
24, 1915 cable, American Consul Davis noted that, “I do not believe
there has ever been a massacre in the history of the world so general
and thorough as that which is now being perpetrated in this region or
that a more fiendish, diabolical scheme has ever been conceived by the
mind of man. What the order is officially and nominally to exile the
Armenians from these
[[Page H2523]]
Vilayets may mislead the outside world for a time, but the measure is
nothing but a massacre of the most atrocious nature. It would be that
even if all the people had allowed to perish on the road. As a greater
part of them, however, have been actually murdered and as there is no
doubt that this was done by order of the government, there can be no
pretense that the measure is anything else but a general massacre.”
Now more than ever as the world is gripped by unrest and terrorism,
the memory of the Genocide underscores our responsibility to help
convey our cherished tradition of respect for fundamental human rights
and opposition to mass slaughter. We owe it to the victims of the
Genocide to acknowledge what happened and to teach our students and
children about their suffering, so that we can fulfill our obligation
to ensure that genocide will never happen again. Our future generation
should be able to say, “I learned, I acknowledge, and I will work to
prevent it from happening again.”
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in commemoration of the 90th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This is both a somber and
encouraging day for both myself and many of my constituents, who are
survivors or ancestors of survivors. Somber in memory of the millions
who lost their lives, and encouraging in the success of the Armenian
American community of building new lives in the U.S., as well as an
independent Armenia.
April 28, 1915 will live as a day of infamy in the lives of all
Armenians, all over the world. It was this day that the Turkish
government ordered the deportation of 2.5 million Armenians out of the
Ottoman Empire. Within hours, Turkish forces had rounded up over 300
Armenian scholars, and deported or killed them. Over the next year, 1.5
million Armenians were killed or deported to concentration camps to
await certain death.
I have always supported the Armenian American community. However, my
support for the community does not only stem from the size of the
Armenian Community in Queens, but also because I see the strategic
importance of the Caucasus region for the United States.
In 2003, I had the opportunity to visit Armenia and to plant a tree
at the Genocide memorial. The independent country of Armenia is a
living testament to honor the memories of the survivors.
I believe that by failing to recognize these barbaric acts, one
becomes complicit in them. Let us never forget the 1.5 million
Armenians who perished in 1915 and 1916.
Mr. Speaker, again I commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide, and hope that April 28th, 1915 will never be forgotten. I
also ask that the New York Times story focusing on survivors of the
genocide be inserted into the Record. Their words and memories speak
louder than any speech we will hear today.
[From the New York Times, Apr. 23, 2005]
Armenian Immigrants Recall a 90-Year-Old Tragedy
(By Corey Kilgannon)
A cheery sign in the New York Armenian Home in Flushing,
Queens, yesterday informed its elderly residents in colorful
letters of the current date, season and weather.
And of an anniversary: “Remember April 24, the Armenian
Genocide.”
A framed proclamation by Gov. George E. Pataki hung nearby,
declaring April 24 as Armenian Remembrance Day to commemorate
the Turkish massacres of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians
beginning in 1915. It called the killings “the 20th
century’s first such calculated effort to destroy people on a
massive scale” and added that “the Armenian Genocide led
academics to coin and utilize the very term genocide.”
It is doubtful that even with failing memories, any
residents at the home needed a reminder.
“This time of year, they all get disturbed and remember,”
said Jenny Akopyan, assistant director of the home.
Tomorrow, thousands of Armenian-Americans from across the
Northeast are expected to gather in Times Square to mark the
90th anniversary of the murders of their relatives and
forebears by Ottoman Turks during World War I.
On April 24, 1915, Turkish soldiers arrested hundreds of
Armenian leaders in Constantinople, then tortured and
executed them. The mass slaughter of Armenians over the next
several years is often called the first genocide of that
century and a precursor to the Holocaust.
The Armenian Home, on 45th Avenue in Flushing, opened in
1948 and has long housed many genocide survivors who escaped
by playing dead, fleeing or other means. Most of the
residents are from families decimated by the genocide, but
only a half dozen–all in their 90’s–actually escaped it as
children.
The most recent death of a survivor was in August: Lucy
Derderian, age 103, who “only survived the genocide because
her mother was smart enough to hide her under the dead bodies
during a massacre,” said Aghavni Ellian, the home’s
executive director.
Ms. Ellian walked into the home’s day room, where about two
dozen elderly Armenian immigrants sat watching “The Price Is
Right” on a large television next to an ornate Christian
shrine bedecked in crimson and gold. She carried a lamb dish
that had been delivered for later: madal, a roast blessed by
a priest and traditionally eaten on April 24.
The residents had just finished small cups of thick, strong
Armenian coffee. Few survivors could offer completely lucid
recollections, but each had some snippet of horror seared
into memory.
Gulumya Erberber, 93, said that Turkish soldiers had
beheaded her father, a wealthy academic, and seized his
riches and several houses. She was 3 years old then, and her
mother fled with the five children to a mountain village
where the townspeople did not speak Armenian but did help the
family.
Israel Arabian, 99, leaned on his cane and related how he
was forced to work for a Turkish officer who took Mr.
Arabian’s teenage sister “as a wife.” He ran away and grew
up in a Greek orphanage before eventually coming to New York
and settling in Queens.
Many Armenians bitterly denounce the Turkish government for
denying that the killings constituted genocide. In an
interview yesterday, Tuluy Tanc, minister counselor for the
Turkish Embassy in Washington, said the accusation of
genocide was “unfair and untrue,” a legal ploy to gain
reparations.
“We don’t see what happened as genocide, quote-unquote,”
Mr. Tanc said. “Unfortunate and tragic events took place
during World War I and bad things happened to Armenians, and
Muslims and Turks also.”
“The number killed is much less than they say–it’s more
like 300,000 Armenians who lost their lives,” he said,
adding that Turkish leaders had recently asked Armenia to set
up a commission to study the killings.
Onorik Eminian, 93, said she was a young child living in
the city of Izmir when the Turks killed her parents and other
relatives. She said she has never stopped having nightmares
about it, especially in April.
“I saw plenty, sir, plenty,” she said. “I saw them go in
and they broke our churches. They took old ladies, old like
me now, and shot them one by one. This I saw in front of my
eyes. They chopped the arms off our schoolteachers and hung
them from the trees in the street to teach us a lesson. We
watched our priest come delivering food, and they killed him
and threw the food into the street.”
“Are you sure you want to hear my sad story?” she asked.
“I was playing in front of our house when they came on
horses. My grandmother pulled me in. The Turks grabbed my
father–he was hiding Armenians in his coffee shop–and I
cried, `Daddy, Daddy, don’t go’ and I held onto his leg. Then
one soldier told me to shut up and hit me right here with a
rifle. Look, I still got the mark.”
Weeping, she pointed to a bump on her forehead between her
eyebrows and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
“I said, `Where’s my father?’ and they said, `Here’s your
father,’ and they held up his jacket and pants.”
She grew up in an orphanage, and eventually came to New
York, lived in Astoria and had two daughters who never saw
any mention of Armenian genocide in their history books.
“If you write this in the newspaper,” she said, “will
the Turks come here and kill me? I’m still afraid of them.”
Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in Commemoration of the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This yearly commemoration is a
testament to the lives and the legacy of the 1.5 million Armenians who
lost their lives, and it underscores our commitment to keeping the
Armenian nation and culture alive.
As we revisit this dark period in Armenian history, we must be
mindful of the lessons that can be learned from this tragedy. Blind
hatred and senseless prejudice tear at the very fabric of our society
even today. The victims of the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, ethnic
cleansing in Kosovo, Rwanda, and Sudan, and acts of vicious terrorism
remind us of the human cost of hate and implore us to prevent these
tragedies from happening again.
I want to join my colleagues in renewing our pledge to the Armenian
nation to ensure that Armenians around the world can live free of
threats to their existence and prosperity. Azerbaijan continues to
blockade Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh, denying the Armenian people the
food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance they need to lead
secure lives. A key component of this pledge is maintaining high levels
of assistance to Armenia. As Ranking Member of the House Foreign
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I will fight to maintain
funding for Armenia, which recently became eligible for special
Millennium Challenge Account funds.
We must also be cautious to balance our immediate foreign policy
needs with the long-time concerns we have had about both the Azerbaijan
and Turkish records. This includes reaffirming that the Section 907
waiver is not automatic and indefinite–it will be carefully evaluated.
And it also involves close monitoring of assistance given to Turkey.
Building a strong, prosperous Armenia is the best way to honor the
memory of the Genocide victims, and I am proud to be a partner in this
effort.
Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the somber
occasion of the
[[Page H2524]]
90th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and to call upon the
Administration to finally recognize this horrible crime for what it
truly was, systematic and deliberate murder.
The Armenian Genocide began on April 24, 1915, and within 8 years one
and a half million Armenians were tortured and killed. Tortures that
the Armenians were forced to endure included forced labor, rape,
kidnapping, and death marches under the guise of “temporary
relocation.” A grave injustice was intentionally committed by the
Ottoman Empire during these years, and it is imperative that we now
stand up and demand that this injustice be officially recognized by
Turkey, the United States, and the world.
The senseless crime of genocide is one of the most reprehensible acts
that can be committed by man. To attempt eradication of an entire
population based on a misguided prejudice is absolutely vile, and the
United States should do everything in its power to try and prevent such
atrocities from happening in the future. Only by explicitly defining
genocide and ensuring that all cases of genocide throughout history are
appropriately identified can we effectively deter this crime.
Particularly at this time of heightened vigilance around the world, it
is absolutely imperative that America take a strong stance against the
most troubling of all terrorist acts, mass killings.
We can not forget Adolph Hitler’s haunting remark to his military
staff prior to launching the Holocaust: “Who, after all, remembers the
annihilation of the Armenians.” Let us stand up as a country and let
the world know that we do remember.
Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, April 24, 2005 marked the 90th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Beginning in 1915, an estimated
one and a half million Armenians were systematically murdered over the
next eight years.
There were nearly two million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire
on the eve of W.W.I. In an organized campaign of ethnically motivated
genocide, the Ottoman Turks deported a million Armenians, separating
families and destroying livelihoods. Hundreds of thousands more were
murdered. They did not lose their lives, as common nomenclature refers
to the situation. They were murdered. Many others died of starvation,
exhaustion, and epidemics which ravaged the concentration camps.
On this 90th Anniversary, I join with my colleagues in Congress and
the Armenian community worldwide in commemorating this solemn day of
remembrance. In particular I commend the Armenian-Americans from my
district who departed from the All Saints Community Center in Glenview,
IL, to join dozens of Armenians from the Chicago area to peacefully
protest at the Turkish Consulate in Chicago. This sort of activism is
an important step to finally gaining official recognition of the
genocide.
This anniversary serves as a reminder of the horrible campaigns of
genocide that occurred in the past, from the Holocaust, to Rwanda, to
today’s atrocities in Darfur, Sudan. We must uphold our duties as
global defenders of human rights and give the Armenian community, as
the victims of the 20th Century’s first genocide, the recognition they
deserve.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in
commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
This past Sunday, April 24th, marked 90 years since the beginning to
one of history’s dark chapters. On that day in 1915, the government of
the Ottoman Empire began a brutal and systematic campaign of genocide
against the Armenian people. It started with the execution of some 300
Armenian leaders, professionals and intellectuals. By 1923, over 1.5
million Armenians had been killed, and another 500,000 had been
deported.
The Ottoman Empire claimed that it was acting to suppress civil
unrest among Armenians during World War I. The absurdity of this
justification for a reign of terror was pointed out at the time by no
less credible a witness than our own Ambassador to the Empire, Henry
Morganthau. His report to Washington described the Ottoman campaign as
one of “race extermination.”
The almost unimaginable pain and suffering endured by the Armenian
people has been compounded since by the refusal of the Ottoman Empire
and now the government of Turkey to acknowledge that the Genocide ever
even occurred. Generations of Turks have been raised to deny this
atrocity, perpetuating resentments and hostilities. By trying to defend
the indefensible, the government of Turkey has denied the Armenian
people, as well as its own people the chance to begin the process of
healing these wounds.
Mr. Speaker, 90 years is far, far too long for a people to wait for
an acknowledgment of the crimes committed against them. That is why I
am proud to support the resolution that will be introduced in the
coming days remembering the victims and honoring the survivors of the
Armenian Genocide. This resolution will appropriately recognize these
acts for what they were. Only with a common understanding of this dark
period can we move forward and work to prevent similar tragedies in the
future.
While we mark the loss and pain of the Armenian people every April
24th, it is my fervent hope that some day soon, it will no longer be
necessary to urge the recognition of these terrible events as genocide.
I am particularly disappointed that the President has once again failed
to lead on this issue. Once again, President Bush’s statement this
weekend studiously avoided proper recognition of this tragedy.
Mr. Speaker, I ask that all my colleagues take the time to reflect on
this anniversary, and that we renew our commitment to the victims of
the Armenian Genocide and to each other to never allow such human
suffering to occur again.
Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. We are familiar with these events.
Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children were driven from
their homes, starved, beaten, and shot. Government-orchestrated
intimidation, government-sponsored deportations, and government-
perpetrated slaughter are the hallmarks of the Armenian Genocide. They
are also the hallmarks of other genocides with which we are all too
familiar.
The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of its kind, but it was
not the last. It has served as a model of the Holocaust in Europe, the
Killing Fields of Cambodia, and religiously motivated atrocities in the
Sudan. We look regretfully and sorrowfully at the slaughter of so many
in these cases, as well we should. These events demonstrate man’s
inherent sinfulness and the evil that comes so easily. No one denies
the events in Europe, Asia, and Africa happened. Anyone rejecting these
mass slaughters is themselves rejected. And yet, many suffer some kind
of incredulity when it comes to the Armenian Genocide. We demand the
perpetrators of these other genocides are made to account for their
actions, but not the Armenian Genocide.
Photographs and eye witness account point overwhelmingly and
undoubtedly to the massacre of over one million human beings, but no
one has ever been held accountable. Ninety years after these events,
the perpetrators are no longer living. In this world, they can no
longer be held responsible for their actions. Their heirs, however,
should be made to acknowledge the deeds of their fathers. But they are
not.
Modern Turkey has made Armenian Genocide denial into an article of
faith. Genocide denial is taught in schools, and is supported by the
government. Anyone who deviates from the official line is considered a
traitor. Indeed, the government of Turkey works feverishly to prevent
any government from recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Recognition by
the legislative bodies of France, Italy, Switzerland, and Russia has
been met with harsh criticism from the Turkish government.
In 2000, only intense lobbying and ruthless pressure from Turkey
prevented this House from recognizing the Armenian Genocide. It is
shameful that the United States House of Representatives refuses to
reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. Official American records on the
Armenian Genocide are considered to be the most extensive in the world,
and yet we refuse to reaffirm what already has been acknowledged to be
the first genocide of the Twentieth Century. In past eras, American
officials, including U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau and President
Ronald Reagan, boldly declared the savage butchery in eastern Anatolia
and the Caucuses to be genocide.
By allowing Turkey to deny its past actions, we take a step
backwards. By not reaffirming the events of 90 years ago, we do not
live up to the ideals of our country. I reaffirm the Armenian Genocide
in the House of Representatives. I know that it happened. I remember.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in commemorating the
90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Today we solemnly remember the victims of the Ottoman Government’s 8-
year campaign of terror against its Armenian population. During this
brutal campaign, Armenian communities were systematically destroyed,
one and a half million innocent men, women, and children were murdered,
and over one million others were forcibly deported.
This somber anniversary is a tribute to the memory of the victims of
the Armenian Genocide, and a painful reminder that the world’s inaction
and denial 90 years ago left a tragic precedent for other acts of
senseless bloodshed. This year we marked the 60th anniversary of the
liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The road from Armenia
to Auschwitz was direct. If more attention had been centered on the
slaughter of innocent Armenians, perhaps the events of the Holocaust
might never have been allowed to occur.
And, as we speak today, government-supported Janjaweed militias
continue their systematic destruction of black Sudanese in Darfur.
Thousands have been murdered,
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raped, and starved to death, and over one million have been displaced
from their homes. The Armenian Genocide stands as a tragic precedent to
the brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing currently ravaging Darfur.
Today, we honor the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide,
and vow once more that genocide will not go unnoticed or unmourned. We
must stand up to governments that persecute their own people, and
reaffirm our unwavering commitment to fight all crimes against humanity
and the efforts to hide them from the rest of the world.
Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the anniversary
of a tragic event. April 24th 2005 marks a solemn occasion in world
history: the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to
1923, the Christian Armenian population endured a policy of systemic
killing implemented by the then-Ottoman and early Turkish Empires,
resulting in the ethnic slaughter of one and a half million Armenians.
Since that time, descendants of Armenian immigrants have proudly
clung to their identity, prospering in communities throughout the
world. Here in the United States, we are especially fortunate to have a
vibrant Armenian community that has greatly enriched American civic
life.
It is vital that we remember this dark period in history. Losing the
memory of this tragic event would only perpetuate the injustice. For
too long, the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th
Century, has been denied the recognition that it properly deserves. As
human beings, we all have a responsibility to keep events such as the
Armenian Genocide at the forefront of our collective historical memory.
We cannot begin to overcome the challenges of the future until we
acknowledge our past mistakes.
It is perhaps the tragedy of the 20th Century that a cataclysmic
occurrence such as the Armenian Genocide has to share a place in our
memory with other horrific events such as the wartime atrocities
perpetuated during WWII, the ethnic cleansings in Cambodia and Bosnia,
and the Rwandan genocide. I truly believe we must take the time and
make the effort to find reconciliation between the perpetrator and
victims of these events.
Currently, we are confronted by a genocide unfolding in Sudan, where
tens of thousands die every month; we must not allow ourselves to turn
a blind eye.
Mr. Speaker, recognizing the Armenian Genocide will help heal the
wounds humanity has suffered in the past century. By acknowledging the
horrors of our past and working to protect our future, we take one step
closer to the goal of “never again.”
Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, “those who cannot remember the past are
condemned to repeat it.” That saying is as true today as it was almost
a hundred years ago when the philosopher George Santayana first wrote
it.
So, today we are here to remember. We are here to remember that the
Ottoman Empire brutally tortured and murdered 1.5 million Armenians 90
years ago and that half a million Armenians were forced to flee their
country. Let us also remember and honor those who survived the
genocide. Although few survivors of the Armenian Genocide are still
living today, those who endured the horrors of 1915 are heroes for all
time.
We are here to honor those who died and to call for recognition of
the Genocide carried about by the Ottoman Turkish government. We are
here to remember so we don’t repeat the same mistake, anywhere, in any
country of the world.
In my view, all Americans must recognize that the atrocities
committed from 1915 to 1923 constitute genocide. We do not use that
word lightly. But the word, itself, makes a powerful statement about
the horrors suffered by the Armenian people. As Samantha Powers, the
leading expert on genocide said in a letter to the editor of the New
York Times, “The extermination of Armenians is recognized as genocide
by the consensus of scholars of genocide and Holocaust worldwide. The
failure to acknowledge this trivializes a human rights crime of
enormous magnitude.” Today, the people of Armenia and her diaspora are
proudly seeking to rebuild their country.
From the ashes of despair born of the genocide, and from the ravages
of seven decades of communist rule, Armenians the world over are
striving to secure a safe and prosperous future for Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabagh.
As Armenian-Americans join with Armenians from throughout the world
to help to rebuild their homeland, and as they seek to secure an
economically prosperous state founded on firm democratic principles, I
will stand by them.
As a Member of the House leadership and the House International
Relations Committee, I promise to do all I can on behalf of Armenia and
to ensure that the Armenian genocide is recognized. In closing, I
remind you that Adolf Hitler once stated: “Who today remembers the
Armenians?”
I am here to say that we remember the Armenians. The children,
grandchildren, and great grandchildren of the survivors and of those
who perished, remember the Armenians. The friends and neighbors of
Armenia, remember the Armenians. And here in the United States, we
remember the Armenians.
Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to stand here today with my
colleagues to acknowledge this important event and to have the
opportunity to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide; one of the saddest chapters of history. We join the Armenian-
Americans across the nation and the Armenian community abroad to mourn
the loss of so many innocent lives.
In this turbulent century, we have witnessed humanity’s great
potential for good and bad–but the world has triumphed more often in
the last 90 years than it has disappointed. And yet, while focusing on
humanity’s successes is always more attractive than remembering any
failures, we as civilized peoples, countries and nations must not deny
the immorality of atrocities such as the Armenian Genocide.
The U.S. is fortunate to be home to an organized and active Armenian
community, whose members contribute and participate in every aspect of
civic life. This is one of the reasons that myself–along with 170
members of Congress–have asked President Bush to join us in
reaffirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide.
As a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and
an ardent supporter of Fresno’s Armenian-American community, I wish the
people of Armenia success in their efforts to bring about the lasting
peace and prosperity that they deserve. I pledge to continue my ongoing
efforts to sponsor initiatives that would build on our record towards
an inevitable, full and irrevocable U.S. affirmation of the Armenian
Genocide.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today we mark the 90th
anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. Every year we
participate in this solemn commemoration but this year it has a special
significance.
For the families of the victims and the survivors, the horrors of
that bygone era remain so painful that it is hard to believe how much
time has passed. The passage of years has not dimmed the memory or
eased the grief. Not a relative or friend has been forgotten, nor have
fond memories of native cities faded away.
Moreover, no accounting for mass murder has been made. Though many
governments and legislative bodies around the world have recognized the
Armenian Genocide, the Turkish Government consistently refuses to
acknowledge what happened. For Armenians everywhere, Turkey’s policy of
aggressive denial sharpens the feeling of loss, embittering the lives
of those who miraculously survived.
Today, those of us without Armenian blood share the sorrow of
Armenians everywhere. I had the privilege in September 2000 of chairing
hearings on the Armenian Genocide in the Subcommittee on International
Operations and Human Rights of the International Relations Committee.
The reading I have done over the years, which has included detailed
descriptions of the atrocities, shock me. But, I am resolved to speak
about this issue, loudly and often.
The Armenian Genocide has significance for all of us. It created a
monstrous precedent which launched a century of genocides. In numerous
countries and cultures, an ethnic group that controlled the state has
used its instruments of coercion to slaughter members of a minority
group, religion or class. It is enough to recall Adolf Hitler’s smug
remark, “Who remembers the Armenians?” to grasp the universality of
what happened to the Armenians.
Much has changed in the world since the mass, planned murder in
1915–two world wars, the fall of the Ottoman, Habsburg and Romanov
Empires, the rise of the American superpower and most recently, the
fall of the Soviet Union. One would have thought that we would have
grown wiser over the years. Alas, we have not learned the appropriate
lessons from the 20th century’s first genocide. Just a few years after
Rwanda, at this very moment, another genocide is taking place in
Darfur. Yet, instead of mounting a united response, the international
community has waffled or slithered away from responsibility, as
hundreds of thousands are slaughtered.
The record of man’s inhumanity to man is awful enough to produce a
feeling of resignation. But we must fight that tendency. We must
continue to remind the world of what occurred in 1915 and keep calling
on Turkey to won up. We must not restrain ourselves from speaking of
the Armenian Genocide. Along with many of my colleagues, I urge
President Bush to speak the truth to Ankara, which needs to come to
terms with its own past.
As this somber time, I want to note one optimistic point: OSCE
negotiators are guardedly hopeful about the prospects of resolving the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. True, we have experienced such moments
before and should not get our hopes up. Still, I am encouraged to hear
that there is at least some reason for hope. We all pray for a peaceful
solution to this conflict, which has caused over 30,000 deaths and many
more casualties. Next year,
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when we once again commemorate the Genocide of the Armenians, I hope
their descendants will be living in peace with their neighbors,
building a democratic, prosperous country that will be a light unto the
world.
Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the ninetieth
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. On the night of April 24, 1915,
the Ottoman Empire arrested over 200 Armenian community leaders in
Constantinople, thereby marking only the beginning of the horrendous
Armenian Genocide to come.
On the eve of World War I, an estimated two million Armenians lived
in the Ottoman Empire. Well over a million were deported and hundreds
of thousands were simply killed. Between 1915 and 1918, the Ottoman
Empire conducted other atrocities against Armenians which also included
abduction, torture, massacre and starvation. Armenians living in
Armenia and Anatolia were forcibly moved to Syria, where they were left
in the desert to die of hunger and thirst. In addition, there were
systematic murders; women and children were abducted from their homes
and abused. It has been estimated that one and half million Armenians
died as a result of this genocide from 1915 to 1923. By 1923 the entire
landmass of Asia Minor and historic West Armenia had been expunged of
its Armenian population.
On this important anniversary, it is a lasting lesson to people
everywhere that genocide must not only be opposed by all nations, but
that it must be universally recognized as a crime against humanity–no
matter where it occurs or against whom it is carried out.
Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 90th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, during which one and a half
million Armenians were tortured and murdered, and more than half a
million were forced from their homeland into exile. Despite
overwhelming documentation, the Turkish government has refused to admit
or apologize for these atrocious acts, or even acknowledge the Armenian
Genocide.
As Americans, we must guarantee that our foreign policy reflects our
values of justice, equality and responsibility. These values should
apply in all of our international interactions, including those with
Turkey, a NATO ally. Turkey wishes to increase its global profile
through accession to organizations such as the European Union. However,
if Turkey wishes to gain the world’s respect, it must earn it. It must
demonstrate its commitment to peace and democracy in the region. It
must reopen its borders, end its blockade of Armenia, and encourage
Azerbaijan to end its aggressive rhetoric. And most importantly, it
must accept responsibility for past injustices through an unconditional
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Only then can Turkey begin to
come to terms with its history. Only then can Armenians seek justice
from the Turkish government for the losses of so much and so many.
Last month, I was honored to lead a conference session for Rhode
Island students in which we discussed the genocide and what steps our
government should take to recognize that tragedy appropriately. I think
practically every student present that morning was amazed that, despite
overwhelming evidence and widespread support, Congress has not yet
passed the genocide resolution. It is time for Congress and the White
House to speak with one voice and ensure that our national ideals are
reflected in our foreign policy. Consequently, I joined many of my
colleagues in asking the President to recognize the Armenian Genocide
in unambiguous terms, and I will again cosponsor the Genocide
Resolution when it is reintroduced in the coming weeks.
As an ardent supporter of Rhode Island’s Armenian-American community
throughout my public service career, I am proud to join my colleagues
to today in honoring the victims of the genocide by paying tribute to
their memory, showing compassion for those who have suffered from such
prejudice, and never forgetting the pain that they have endured.
Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the past nine years, I have come to
the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to honor and remember
the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people by the Ottoman
Empire at the beginning of the 20th Century.
This year marks the 90th Anniversary of these heinous acts, which
drove so many survivors to the distant shores of the United States.
Those of us in central Massachusetts have learned the story of the
Armenian Genocide from our friends, neighbors and colleagues who are
direct survivors, or the children and grandchildren of those survivors.
I have been privileged to participate in many of the annual
remembrances of the Armenian Genocide held in Worcester, Massachusetts,
at the Armenian Church of Our Savior, one of the oldest Armenian
churches and congregations in America.
But I feel more privileged to have worked with the Armenian community
in Worcester to educate the community, and especially young people and
college students, about not only the Armenian Genocide, but about other
contemporary and even current genocides that are taking place around
the world. I am especially grateful that I will be able to collaborate
with them in the future on events that will focus on the genocide in
Darfur, Sudan.
May we all live to see and celebrate the day when we commemorate the
Armenian Genocide in a world where genocides no longer take place
against any people.