[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 43 (Tuesday, April 19, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[Congressional Record: April 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
79TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Mr. KENNEDY. Mr. President, this Sunday, April 24, marks the 79th
anniversary of the commencement of one of the most tragic events in
recorded history: the extermination of more than 1\1/2\ million
Armenian men, women, and children during the final years of the Ottoman
empire.
Today, in recognition of this cruel and senseless outrage, we honor
the courage and the memory of the individuals who perished, and we
renew our commitment to stand firm against such crimes against
humanity--whether in Armenia, Bosnia, or Rwanda.
I commend the tireless efforts of the Armenian National Committee of
America, the Armenian Assembly of America, and other groups to ensure
that the memory of the victims of this genocide is not dimmed by the
passage of time.
These groups have also been instrumental in promoting a peaceful
settlement of the current conflict in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and
in educating all Americans about the issues facing the Armenian people.
Between 1915 and 1923, officials in the Ottoman empire carried out a
systematic campaign of genocide against all Armenians. In a July 16,
1915 telegram to the Secretary of State, U.S. Ambassador Henry
Morgenthau stated that,
Deportation of and excesses against peaceful Armenians is
increasing and from the harrowing reports of eyewitnesses it
appears that a campaign of race extermination is in progress
under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion.
In the course of this campaign, large numbers of innocent Armenian
civilians were murdered and many more were forced into exile.
Members of the Armenian leadership were executed. Those already
conscripted by the Ottoman army were disarmed, placed in work
battalions, and often starved to death.
Armenian civilians were deported from their homes and villages.
Women, children, and elderly Armenians were sent on forced death
marches, during which many were brutally assaulted and tortured. Within
a scant few years, over 1 million innocent Armenians were killed
through massacres, disease, and starvation.
These people had committed no crime. They were killed not for what
they had done, but for who they were, as part of an inhuman, racist
policy that robbed its victims of both life and dignity.
The bravery with with which the Armenians bore this tragedy is a
timeless tribute to their enduring faith.
In recognition of their remarkable courage, I have strongly supported
efforts to make April 24 a national day of remembrance for the Armenian
victims.
Miraculously, half a million refugees escaped across the Russian and
Arab borders, and many later made their way to Europe and the United
States. More than 130,000 Armenian orphans were sent to the United
States for adoption or foster care.
These Armenian Americans and their descendants have found security
and opportunity in this country and have made significant contributions
to every aspect of American life.
The Armenian people's courage and perseverance in surviving brutal
repression in their homeland is a monument to their endurance and their
will to live. Today, we honor both the victims and their descendants
who have continued to keep the faith with this proud heritage.
Since 1991, in spite of overwhelming challenges and difficulties, the
Armenian people have constructed a stable republic under which the
rights of all citizens are respected. President Ter-Petrosyan's
government strongly supports the ideals and principles of democracy and
stands as a model for other New Independent States.
Unfortunately, the Armenian people face continued violence and ethnic
hatred, the 6-year conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan for control
over Nagorno-Karabakh has claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people,
displaced over 1 million innocent civilians, and undermined progress
toward democracy and respect for human rights.
Thousands more have died in Armenia for lack of food, fuel, and
medical care due to the blockade by Azerbaijan of products for Armenia.
As we commemorate the tragic deaths at the beginning of this century,
we must redouble our efforts to end the current crisis.
In honoring the victims of the Armenian genocide, we also strengthen
our resolve to deal with injustice and conflict in other parts of the
world, and bring all peoples on our planet closer to peace.
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the 79th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The Armenian genocide marks an ignominious chapter in world history.
It reminds us, once again, how low unchecked hatred can drag the human
spirit, unleashing cruelty and brutality. As we memorialize the
Armenians who died needlessly in the genocide, we must resolve never to
forget how they suffered at the hands of their oppressors.
Nor can we forget how the Armenian people suffer today as the country
struggles to cope with the devastating impact of Azerbaijan's blockade.
The blockade has put a strangle-hold on the Armenian people. Basic
necessities--like food and heating oil--are in scarce supply. Such
shortages endanger the lives of many in Armenia, especially during the
harsh winter months.
Fortunately, the United States is able to provide some humanitarian
assistance. We've provided home heating oil. We've provided seed stock
to assist the Armenians in combating food shortages. As a member of the
Senate Foreign Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I have worked to
set aside this and other humanitarian assistance for Armenia to help
the people meet these life threatening challenges.
While our humanitarian assistance can help alleviate the pain, it
cannot erase the blockade. Only the Government of Azerbaijan can do
that.
That is why I am so opposed to efforts to provide foreign aid to the
Government of Azerbaijan as long as the blockade of Armenia remains in
place. I supported legislation to ban aid to Azerbaijan when the Senate
considered the Freedom Support Act, and I will continue to support the
ban until blockade is lifted. Azeri cruelty cannot be rewarded with
U.S. foreign assistance.
Mr. President, I hope my colleagues will join me in commemorating
this anniversary and vow to support efforts that will provide the
Armenian people an opportunity to live in peace.
Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, each April we pause to remember the first
great crime of the 20th century, the massacre of 1\1/2\ million
Armenians by the Ottoman empire and its successor state between 1915
and 1923. It is particularly appropriate that in this year, a year in
which ``Schindler's List'' won the Oscar for best motion picture, and a
year in which we are shamed by the continued ethnic cleansing in
Bosnia, that we take a moment to think back to the first European
genocide of this tragic century.
The international community did not act in 1915. the international
community was slow to act in the 1930's and 1940's. The international
community is just now acting in the 1990's. Every time we soberly
intone, ``never again.'' And every time the murderers catch us napping.
We do not get involved and stop the horror until tens of thousands or
even millions have died.
The American Armenian community has done much to enrich this country.
Armenia itself has now emerged as an independent state in which
Armenians can control their own destiny. This is, tragically, a state
forced to devote its resources to war rather than to building a
peaceful, prosperous life for its people. Nevertheless, these reasons
alone justify the statements I my colleagues are making today. But, Mr.
President, the real reason I stand here this morning, and the real
reason I am moved to remember the criminal events of 1915-23, is
because remembering is the only way to have any hope of rousing
ourselves to give meaning to the pledge of ``never again.''
Mr. JEFFORDS. Mr. President, April 24 marks the 79th anniversary of
one of history's greatest atrocities: The slaughter of more than 1
million Armenians. It is a day on which we mourn the victims and honor
their memory. But it is also a day on which we commemorate the triumph
of human courage and spirit over adversity. For this attempt to
annihilate a people did not succeed, nor did it quell the Armenian
desire for freedom and justice.
The Armenian people, with perseverance and pride, have maintained
their cultural and historical identity despite the oppression they
endured. Survivors of the massacre have not let the flame of freedom be
extinguished. Their children and grandchildren, many of whom live in
America, have continued to make positive contributions to the world
community. And many now are building the foundations of the free and
independent Armenian nation which has emerged from the ashes of the
Soviet Union.
Today we call attention to the tragic events of the past in order to
draw lessons for the future.
Mr. GLENN. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in
commemorating the 79th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Annual
remembrance of the tragedy of 1915-23 does not dim the horror. On April
24, 1915, some 200 Armenian religious, political and intellectual
leaders were arrested in Constantinople, exiled or taken to the
interior and executed. Similar atrocities followed in Armenian centers
across the Ottoman Empire. In a July 16 cable to the Secretary of
State, Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire,
reported--
Deportation of and excesses against peaceful Armenians is
increasing and from harrowing reports of eye witnesses it
appears that a campaign of race extermination is in process
under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion.
When the horror ended in 1923, 1.5 million Armenians have been killed
and another 0.5 million had been forced to flee their homeland.
Sadly, this was the first but by no means the last genocide of this
century. The Armenian tragedy was followed by the horrors of the
Holocaust, when Adolph Hitler is said to have asked, when contemplating
the ``final solution'', ``Who remembers the Armenians?'' The later part
of this century saw the massacre of Cambodians during the brutal reign
of the Khmer Rouge, Saddam Hussein's extermination campaigns against
Iraqi Kurdish and Shia populations, and even today the scourge of
ethnic cleaning in former Yugoslavia. It is distressing to look around
the post-cold war world and see more and more examples of religious,
ethnic, or tribal based conflict. A common denominator of all these
conflicts is that civilian populations are the innocent victims.
Today we pause to remember the 1\1/2\ million men, women, and
children who died or were forced to flee simply because they were
Armenians. It is not comfortable to regularly remind ourselves of this
past example of man's inhumanity to man or to see the daily reminders
on our television screens of other ongoing atrocities. But we cannot
erase history's ugly chapters or ignore present day horrors.
In the words of Edmund Burke, ``the only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.'' In solidarity with the
people of free Armenia and Armenian-Americans across the country, and
in memory of all victims of genocide, let us vow to strive never by our
indifference or inaction, to allow the scourge of genocide to be
visited upon any people anywhere on this Earth.
Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, today marks the 79th anniversary of the
Armenian genocide. Every year at this time we pay tribute to the memory
of 1\1/2\ million Armenian men, women and children who perished as a
result of the brutal and systematic policy of extermination
orchestrated by Ottoman rulers.
Countless victims and survivors have attested to what can be
characterized as one of the darkest periods and most tragic human
episodes in this century. Incredibly, the Armenian genocide, which
followed years of recorded massacres under Ottoman rule during the
latter part of the 19th century, continues to be denied as a matter of
course by modern day Turkish governments, despite a wealth of
historical and contemporaneous documentation and accounts by scholars
and historians.
In 1918, Henry Morgenthau, the distinguished U.S. Ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire, gave us valuable testimony in this regard. He wrote:
Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human
mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and
injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became
the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. 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. The
killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the
systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries,
treasures of art and history, in an attempt to eliminate all
traces of a noble civilization some three thousand years old.
As David Fromkin recounts in his noted book A Peace to End All Peace,
regarding the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman Turkish
leadership:
Ordered the deportation of the entire Armenian population
from the northeastern provinces to locations outside of
Anatolia. . . . Rape and beating were commonplace. Those who
were not killed at once were driven through mountains and
deserts without food, drink or shelter. Hundreds of thousands
of Armenians eventually succumbed or were killed.
In fact, Fromkin goes on to state that:
Observers at the time, who were by no means anti-Turk
reported that there was no evidence to support the claim that
an Armenian uprising had taken place prior to the
indiscriminate deportation and wholesale slaughter of the
community.
Diplomats and consular officials in the field, including German
Ambassador Hans Von Wangenheim, reported details of the atrocities.
Both the German and Austrian ambassadors, apprehensive about the scale
of the barbarity against the Armenians, conveyed their concerns to the
Ottoman leadership. In July 1915, Wangenheim related to the German
Chancellor that it was positively Ottoman policy to ``exterminate the
Armenian race in the Turkish empire'' and proceeded to advise Germany
to distance itself from the savage campaign.
In recent years, the Armenian community in the Caucasus has continued
to face adversity by enduring years of struggle under Soviet rule, a
catastrophic earthquake in 1988, an unrelenting and devastating
economic embargo, and hostile forces arrayed against the enclave of
Nargorno-Karabagh.
I remind my colleagues of the chilling words of Adolf Hitler when he
stated, scarcely two decades after the Armenian genocide as he referred
to the liquidation of the Polish intelligentsia and deportation of
millions of Poles in the fall of 1939:
It is only in this manner that we can acquire the vital
territory which we need. After all, who today remembers the
extermination of the Armenians?
Mr. President, we have not forgotten the Armenian genocide and
remember it for more than just the work of human cruelty and savagery.
It is fulfilling for us to acknowledge and come to terms with the past.
As we seek to do this, the past becomes part of our building for a
better future and inspires hope for the triumph of human spirit over
tragedy.
Perhaps the Armenian genocide's most vivid and enduring legacy, one
which is tangible and cannot be denied, has been its resulting
worldwide diaspora of Armenians--few families have been unaffected by
this experience, including Americans of Armenian origin. These
Americans share a deeply held adherence to the values of hard work,
education, religious faith, and importance of tradition and heritage.
The Nation and my State of Maryland are fortunate to have a thriving
and vibrant Armenian American community which has flourished and
contributed so generously to the well being and fabric of our society.
Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, today we commemorate the 79th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide--one of the great tragedies of
this century: the death of over 1.5 million Armenians and their exile
from their homeland.
Like the Nazi Holocaust, the liquidation of the kulaks in Ukraine and
Russia by Stalin, the killing fields of Cambodia. and the repulsive
ethnic cleansing underway in the Balkans, the Armenian tragedy is an
example of the horrors that have befallen ethnic groups during this
century. What can we learn from these tragedies? The first, and in some
ways, the most important lesson is to recognize the horror and to admit
that a tragedy occurred. That is what we are doing here today on the
floor of the U.S. Senate.
The horror that befell the Armenian people came about during the
collapse of the Ottoman Empire. The rule of law, such as it was, ceased
to exist as the empire crumbled. The victims of this chaos were the
Armenian people. And now, a similar situation has taken place in the
former Soviet Union, where the implosion of the Soviet Union has
created a crisis in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. Although history
seems to be repeating itself before our very eyes, I have hope for the
future.
In early March, negotiators from Armenia and Azerbaijan reached a
preliminary accord on how to end the tragic 6-year conflict over the
disputed enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh--a conflict that has claimed the
lives of more than 15,000 people, and displaced over 1 million
refugees. Although there is much to be done, I am greatly encouraged by
this dialogue. I have joined a number of my colleagues in urging
President Clinton to seize the opportunity presented by these recent
events and help bring about a peaceful resolution of this tragic
conflict.
We have recommended to President Clinton that he invite the President
of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosian, to visit Washington in the coming
weeks to discuss opportunities for a negotiated settlement. Although
the Armenian people have suffered grievous losses during this brutal
war, President Ter-Petrosian's government is standing firm for the
ideals and principles of democracy. A meeting between these two leaders
would demonstrate America's support for democracy in the New
Independent States and our strong interest in resolving the conflict in
the Transcaucasus. We have also recommended that a Transcaucasus
Enterprise Fund, along the lines of the funds established for other
regions of the former Soviet Union, be created as an incentive for
regional integration and stability.
I am very much encouraged by the positive role the Conference on
Security and Cooperation in Europe has played in bringing together
representatives of the world community to deal with the Nagorno-
Karabakh conflict. The recent appointment of a new U.S. negotiator at
the CSCE is a hopeful sign. I urge him to facilitate and expedite
discussions on the CSCE and Russian peace proposals with respect to
this conflict and the future status of Karabakh. It is critical that he
make clear to the Governments of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and
Turkey that Washington is aware of the sensitive issues in the
Transcaucasus, concerned about the future of the peoples living there,
and eager to see a lifting of the blockage of Armenia and the free flow
of humanitarian supplies across all borders.
We must do whatever we can to stop the killing in Karabakh. We must
use all available resources to see that the tragedy which befell
Armenians in the first part of this century is not repeated as the
century comes to a close. Helping to end the violence in the region
would be a fitting tribute to the memory of all Armenians who have
given their lives for their nation and their heritage. Let us learn
from the lessons of the past and stop the bloodshed.
Mr. DeCONCINI. Mr. President, today we commemorate the massacre of
Armenians in Turkey during and after the First World War. We mourn the
dead, and express our condolences to their living descendants. During
that terrible tragedy, an estimated 1.5 million people were killed in
what historians call the first of this century's state-ordered
genocides against a minority group.
These victimized minorities have included ethnic-religious groups,
like the Armenians and the Jews, and those seen as class enemies, as in
Cambodia under Pol Pot. The range of the victims--geographial, ethnic,
religious and political--testifies to the universality of human cruelty
and fanaticism. The response of the survivors, however, testifies to
the indestructibility of the human spirit, even in the face of the most
dreadful catastrophes.
Many of the Armenians who survived the slaughter fled their native
lands and came to the United States. Here they found sanctuary and have
become an integral part of American life and the democratic political
process. But they never forgot their origins, their sorrow, and their
relatives across the ocean. In the small territory that became Soviet
Armenia, their fellow Armenians strove to develop their cultural
heritage. They defended their language and traditions and kept alive
their national consciousness in the face of Moscow's denationalizing
policies. At the same time, they maintained a sense of solidarity with
their conationals in the West. As the U.S.S.R. opened up in the late
1980s, this transoceanic unity became stronger, as Armenians in the
West returned to their roots to help in the struggle for national
liberation. In 1991, their common efforts culminated in the attainment
of independence, as Armenia joined the international community as a
member of the United Nations.
Independent Armenia, the realized promise and the living memorial to
the victims of 1915 and later years, has endured a difficult 3 years.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has cost thousands of lives, created
hundreds of refugees, and kept the entire region from enjoying the
blessings of independence. Blockaded by its neighbors, Armenia's people
have suffered through cold, hunger and deprivation. But their spirit
remains sturdy, and their sacrifices link them in an unbreakable bond
with past generations of Armenians.
I hope, as do we all, that future generations will not have to
sacrifice as their ancestors have. Nothing could honor the memory of
the victims of 1915 as much as a free, prosperous Armenia living in
peace with all its neighbors, and moving and impressing the world with
the spiritual and material products of the unbreakable Armenian spirit.
Mr. SIMON. Today we reflect on one of the worst crimes against
humanity committed in our century: the Turkish massacre of 1\1/2\
million Armenians beginning in 1915.
Nationalism based on notions of ethnic purity is not something most
Americans identify with or accept. So it is fitting that many of the
descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide found homes in the
United States. Armenians are a great and talented people. Their
achievements are disproportionate to their numbers. I have myself seen,
during a visit to Armenia last year, the fortitude of Armenians in
coping with post-Soviet economic dislocations, blockades by Turkey and
Azerbaijan, and the war over Nagorono-Karabakh. History and geography
have been unkind to the Armenians and I understand and join in the
sentiments of Armenians, like all victims of ethnic cleansing: ``never
again.''
That feeling is, I am sure, in the hearts of the refugees and
inhabitants trapped in Gorazde, subjected to bombardment from Serbian
tanks, artillery, mortars, and machineguns in a town which the world
community has declared to be a ``safe area.'' The hysteria and cruelty
which led to the Armenian massacres is still with us and, wherever it
occurs, Americans and their Government should decisively reject it--not
wring their hands and try to look the other way.
Armenians deserve a homeland which is as prosperous as the people are
industrious and talented, and which is as secure as the Armenian past
was difficult. In order to accomplish this, the war between Armenia and
Azerbaijan must end. The war has caused untold suffering in both
countries.
Today, as we memorialize 1\1/2\ million dead Armenians of a past
generation, I would urge the administration to redouble its efforts,
and its commitment, to work with the parties directly and with the
international community to stop the war.
Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the 79th
anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
The Armenian genocide, which began on April 24, 1915, subjected an
entire population to a campaign of genocide by the Turks, resulting in
the deaths of 1.5 million people, one-third of the population.
The genocide began with adult males being rounded up and taken from
their homes only to be slaughtered by the masses. This left the women,
children, and elderly defenseless when they were forced to walk in a
death march through the southern Anatolian Deserts. Faced with the
blistering heat of the day and the bitter cold of the night, they went
without food, water, or shelter. The hardship of the journey resulted
in the deaths of thousands more.
Despite the overwhelming evidence, Turkey continues to deny the
Armenian genocide. In an attempt to rewrite history by burying the
truth, the Turkish Government is refusing to acknowledge its past
guilt. This continued denial is an insult to the memory of the 1.5
million who perished at the hands of the Turks. Turkey must acknowledge
its guilt in the Armenian genocide and come to terms with its past.
I fear that we have we not learned anything from this experience.
Hitler said ``Who will remember the Armenians?'' No one did and 6
million Jews and 5 million others were extermi- nated. Then came Pol
Pot, who killed 1 million Cambodians. Now, to date, the Bosnian Serbs
have killed perhaps 200,000 people in Bosnia. When will the killing
stop? George Santayana said that those who fail to head the lessons of
history, are doomed to repeat them. Never has this been more true.
Mr. President, on this 79th anniversary of the massacres, let us
pause to remember the 1.5 million victims of Armenia and to all those
who have suffered similar crimes against humanity.
Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to join my colleagues in
commemorating the 79th anniversary of the horrific period of Armenian
slaughter during the years of 1915 to 1923.
From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Government systematically murdered 1.5
million Armenians, and drove 500,000 into exile. On April 24, 1915,
Armenian leaders were accosted and later executed. Soldiers serving in
the Ottoman army were disarmed and placed in labor camps where they
were executed or left to die of starvation. Armenians living in Asia
Minor and Turkish Armenia were deported, the men and older male youths
quickly removed from their families and executed. The remaining women
and children were led on death marches into the desert where they were
raped, tortured, and mutilated. Disease, starvation, and massacre
claimed the lives of most, and survivors were forced into foreign homes
and harems. On the eve of the First World War, 2.5 million Armenians
were living in the Ottoman empire. Following the Ottoman campaign of
terror, less than 100,000 remained.
The U.S. Government has rightfully denounced these atrocities and has
been generous in its efforts to assist survivors of these horrors. From
1915 to 1930, American relief efforts contributed over $100 million to
aid the survivors, and over 130,000 Armenian orphans became foster
children of the American people.
We must never desist in our reminders of the terrible events of this
war. For despite our reminders, Mr. President, today, tragically, we
see similar campaigns perpetrated on innocent peoples. Today we see the
equally ugly brutality characterized by the sanitized term of ``ethnic
cleansing.'' Most notably, we see it in the former Yugoslavia.
Mr. President, as we commemorate the brutal massacre of the Armenian
people by the Ottoman Government, let us also remind ourselves to keep
a vigilant watch on our world so that these horrors might not be
repeated again, and again, and again. And when they do occur, we must,
armed with the memory of past massacres, take stronger action. History
means nothing if we do not learn from it. These deaths should not be in
vain.
I yield the floor, Mr. President.
Mrs. FEINSTEIN addressed the Chair.
The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from California [Mrs.
Feinstein].
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Thank you very much, Mr. President.
____________________