[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]

 
             THE 79TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to draw attention to the 79th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which is being commemorated 
today. It is important to recall and recount the tragedy that befell 
the Armenians 79 years ago, not only to keep alive the memory of the 
past but also to make sure that it can never happen again in the 
future.
  Mr. President, in the early part of World War I, the Ottoman Turkish 
Army began a prolonged campaign to separate Armenian troops from the 
rest of its forces, fearing them disloyal. The turning point came on 
April 24, 1915, when Turkish leaders arrested 200 Armenian religious, 
political, and intellectual leaders in Constantinople. Many of them 
were executed.
  On May 27, 1915, the Armenian Genocide was officially launched with 
the edict of deportation. This edict legalized the murder of Armenian 
men and set in place a policy of forced death marches in the Syrian 
desert for Armenian women, children, and elderly. During the next 7 
years appropriately 1.5 million Armenians were killed as a result of 
this policy of genocide.
  Mr. President, our history is riddled with examples when we have 
closed our eyes to the murder of an entire people, with predictable and 
horrible results. The Armenian Genocide is one such example, and in 
commemorating it today we remind ourselves that we must never let such 
a tragedy happen again.

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