[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.

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