[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H3785-H3786]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California [Mr. Radanovich] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, between 1915 and 1923 the Ottoman 
Turkish Empire committed a terrible genocide against Armenians. In a 
systematic and deliberate campaign to eliminate the Armenian people and 
erase their culture and history of 3,000 years the Turks committed this 
atrocity. As a result, over one-half million Armenians were massacred. 
The Armenian genocide is a historical fact, and has been recognized by 
academics and historians all over the world. The documentary evidence 
is irrefutable and beyond question. Unfortunately, the Turkish 
Government is still persisting in their denial that the genocide took 
place.

[[Page H3786]]

  Many survivors of the genocide have made the United States their new 
home. On April 24, 1996, Armenians all over the world will commemorate 
the 81st anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Commemoration activities 
will occur in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and in my district in 
Fresno, CA. I have the honor of representing thousands of Armenians in 
California's Nineteenth Congressional District, and I send my sincerest 
condolences on this solemn occasion to all members of the Armenian 
community. As a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, 
I intend to join my colleagues, Representatives Porter and Frank 
Pallone, in a special order on April 24, 1996 on the floor of the House 
of Representatives to commemorate the genocide victims.
  I am an original cosponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 47 which 
calls on Congress to officially recognize the Armenian genocide and 
encourages the Republic of Turkey to do the same. This legislation 
would call on the Government of Turkey to turn away from its denials of 
the Armenian genocide, and instead, to openly acknowledge this tragic 
chapter in its history. By doing so, the Turkish Government can help to 
raise the level of trust in a strategic, yet highly unstable, region of 
the world and facilitate the normalization of relations between Turkey 
and Armenia. I encourage my colleagues to vote for the passage of House 
Concurrent Resolution 47.
  Remembering this genocide against the Armenians will help ensure that 
this type of tragedy is never allowed to occur again.

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