[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 58 (Wednesday, May 1, 1996)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E673-E674]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______


                               speech of

                        HON. WILLIAM O. LIPINSKI

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 1996

  Mr. LIPINSKI. Mr. Speaker, I rise today on behalf of the Armenian 
community in my district to mark the 81st anniversary of an unspeakable 
tragedy. I am referring to the genocide of 1.5 million of their people 
by the Ottoman Empire.
  On April 24, 1915, 200 Armenian religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders from Istanbul, taken to the interior of Turkey and 
summarily murdered. Thus began an 8-year campaign to eradicate or 
deport all Armenian citizens from Anatolia and western Armenia.
  Yet, today, many people are unaware of this vicious crime against 
humanity. There is little

[[Page E674]]

mention of it in our history books. It is not taught to our children in 
school. And now, the Turkish Government is funding Chairs of Turkish 
history at prestigious American universities in order to cleanse its 
image and deny its past. For example, the Republic of Turkey endowed 
Princeton University with $1.5 million for its Ataturk Chair of Turkish 
Studies. The professor who holds this chair is the former executive 
director of a Turkish institute that works to discredit scholarship 
which mentions the Armenian genocide.
  However, my colleagues and I are here today to let the Armenian 
people know that we will not forget. We will not forget the aggression 
of the Ottoman Empire against innocent lives, particularly those of 
women and children. We will not forget that when the genocide ended, 
half of the world's Armenian population had been decimated. We will not 
forget that by 1923, the Turks had successfully erased nearly all 
remnants of the Armenian culture which had existed in their homeland 
for 3,000 years.
  I stand here today to say that the genocide did happen. Nobody can 
erase the painful memories of the Armenian community. Nobody can deny 
the photos and historical references. Nobody can deny that few 
Armenians live where millions lived over 80 years ago. It is our 
responsibility and our duty to keep the memories of this tragedy alive. 
A world that forgets these tragedies is a world that will see them 
repeated again and again.
  We cannot right the terrible injustice inflicted upon the Armenian 
community and we can never heal the wounds. But by properly 
commemorating this tragedy, Armenians will be least know the world has 
not forgotten the misery of those years. Only then will Armenians begin 
to receive the justice they deserve.

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