[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[House]
[Page H4486]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


      COMMEMORATING THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Rhode Island [Mr. Kennedy] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to support the 
commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. For the 
thousands of Rhode Islanders from my district of Armenian descent who 
lost family members in this genocide, today is a particularly somber 
day.
  But whether you are of Armenian descent or not, this day would be 
even more tragic if we did not remember. There is a quote that I think 
is particularly important today, and it goes as this:

       First, they came for the socialists, and I did not speak 
     out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the 
     trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a 
     trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not 
     speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and 
     there was no one left to speak for me.

  This quote is telling, because it can be said as much for the 
Armenian genocide as the Jewish Holocaust. In fact, it has not been 
lost on historians of this century that the failure to recognize the 
Armenian genocide for what it was made it easier, not harder, for evil 
minds like Hitler to believe that they could do the same.
  Today, we in Congress are solemnly observing the tragedy of the 
Armenian genocide not only to honor the memory of those who died but, 
in doing so, to ensure that such horrors will never occur again.

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