[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 71 (Tuesday, May 2, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6002-S6003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


             THE 80TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, this week we commemorate the 80th 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide--the death of over 1.5 million 
Armenians and their exile from their homeland.
  This terrible tragedy marked the beginning of an ugly period in human 
history where there have been attempts to systematically liquidate 
certain ethnic groups. The Nazi Holocaust, the extermination of the 
Kulaks by Stalin, and the ruthless murders of innocent Cambodians by 
the Khmer Rouge are all further examples of brutality against fellow 
human beings. Today, people are being killed in the Balkans, Rwanda, 
and Burundi once again because they are members of a different ethnic 
group.
  What can we learn from all these tragedies and especially the one we 
commemorate today? The first and foremost lesson is to acknowledge that 
a tragedy occurred and admit that it is a crime against all of 
humanity. Then we must never allow the world to forget what happened 
here and the fate of these people. This is why we mark this date in 
history--and why we must continue to do so.
  In 1915, the Ottoman Empire was in a state of collapse. The Empire 
was exhausting its last strength in fighting World War I. The economy 
was in tatters and the Government was in a state of confusion. The 
victims of this time of upheaval were the Armenian people who were 
either killed or forced to flee their homelands.
  [[Page S6003]] The Armenian people kept their culture and beliefs, 
and with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Nation of Armenia was 
born. This birth has been a troubled one.
  The tragic 7-year conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan has cost 
thousands of lives and displaced over a million people. I am very 
encouraged, however, by the cease-fire which has been in place in 
Nagorno-Karabakh for 1 year this month.
  I am also encouraged that Russia decided this past December to work 
with the Minsk Group of the OSCE to seek a peaceful solution in 
Nagorno-Karabakh. The Minsk Group, cochaired by Russia and Finland, has 
been meeting regularly to address the needs of all the concerned 
parties. The process is moving along slowly, but there is hope that a 
peacekeeping unit may soon be in Nagorno-Karabakh to ensure the safety 
of all people.
  The United States is eager to see a lifting of the blockade of 
Armenia and to see a return to the free flow of humanitarian aid in 
this region. We share the aspirations of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the 
other members of the OSCE Minsk Group for a peaceful solution to this 
troubling problem.
  We must do whatever we can to solve the situation in Nagorno-
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--either in Armenia or anywhere else in the world. On this, the 
80th anniversary of a terrible genocide, we must learn from the past 
and make sure that such a tragedy is never repeated.


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