[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 24, 1996)]
[House]
[Page H3792]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from New York [Mrs. Maloney] is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MALONEY. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the Congressional 
Caucus on Armenian Issues and the representative of a large and vibrant 
community of Armenian-Americans, I rise to remember, to commemorate the 
Armenian genocide.
  First, I would like to commend the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. 
Pallone] and the gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter], cochairs of the 
caucus, for all their hard work on this issue and other issues of human 
rights and international decency.
  April 24, 1996, marks the 81st anniversary of the beginning of the 
Armenian genocide. It was on that day in 1915 that over 200 Armenian 
religious, political, and intellectual leaders were arrested and 
subsequently murdered in central Turkey.
  This date marks the beginning of an organized campaign by the ``Young 
Turk'' government to eliminate the Armenians from the Ottoman Empire. 
Over the next 8 years, 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the 
Turks, and a half million more were deported.
  This tragedy is the first genocide of the 20th century and is well 
documented. The New York Times alone ran over 194 articles during the 
Turkish atrocities.
  As the United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry 
Morgenthau, Sr., has written: ``When the Turkish authorities gave the 
orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death 
warrant to a whole race. They understood this well and made no 
particular attempt to conceal the fact.''
  Mr. Speaker, the time has come for Congress to put our government 
unequivocally on the side of the truth in this tragedy. I commend our 
colleagues, the gentleman from Michigan, David Bonior, and the 
gentleman from Massachusetts, Peter Blute, for introducing House 
Resolution 47, which I have cosponsored. This resolution not only 
represents official United States recognition of the memory of those 
who died, but will also put pressure on the Turkish government to do 
what it has so far callously refused to do: acknowledge and commemorate 
the atrocities committed over 81 years ago.
  We must not condone Turkey's attempts at historical revisionism and 
denial of the Armenian genocide's occurrence.
  Another issue of great importance to Armenia and Armenian-Americans 
is the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. Mr. Speaker, I was in Greece 
several years ago and saw, firsthand, warehouses full of United States 
humanitarian aid destined Armenia which could not be sent because 
Turkey was refusing to allow its transport.
  While the situation has improved, this hateful practice must not be 
permitted by this Congress. We have addressed the issue on a temporary 
basis in the 1996 foreign aid appropriations bill, which included a 
temporary Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. We need to make this 
permanent.
  Nothing we can do or say will bring those who perished back to life, 
but we can imbue their memories with everlasting meaning by teaching 
the lessons of the Armenian genocide to future generations.
  Adolf Hitler, in 1939, cruelly justified the Holocaust with the 
haunting and hateful words, ``Who, after all, speaks today of the 
annihilation of the Armenians?''
  My fellow Members, tonight we remember the Armenians. We speak for 
the Armenians, and by doing so we salute their indomitable spirit. By 
remembering the past, by honoring the Armenians' marthyrdom and 
sacrifice, we will hopefully prevent similar atrocities in the future.

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