[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 49 (Wednesday, April 23, 1997)]
[House]
[Pages H1758-H1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 7, 1997, the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone] is 
recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the minority leader.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as my colleagues and I do 
every year at this time to join in remembrance and commemoration of one 
of the most horrible events of the 20th century and, in fact, in all of 
human history. That is the systematic extermination of 1.5 million 
Armenian men, women, and children during the final years of the Ottoman 
Turkish empire. This was the first genocide of the 20th century, a 
precursor to the Nazi Holocaust and the other cases of ethnic cleansing 
and mass extermination of peoples in our time in Bosnia and Central 
Africa and in other parts of the world.
  We must, Mr. Speaker, call what happened to the Armenian people 
between the years 1915 and 1923 by its correct name, and that is 
genocide. Tomorrow, Thursday, April 24, marks the 82d anniversary of 
the beginning of the Armenian genocide. Armenian-Americans

[[Page H1759]]

throughout the United States and people of conscience everywhere are 
commemorating this event in various ways.
  Our annual tradition of holding a special order here in the House of 
Representatives on or near the anniversary of the genocide is always a 
proud moment for this institution, a time where Members come together 
on a bipartisan basis to remember, to try to counter the indifference 
and the outright distortions of history. Yet, regrettably, I would say 
incredibly, the United States does not officially recognize the 
Armenian genocide. Bowing to strong pressure from Turkey, the U.S. 
State Department has, for more than 15 years, shied away from referring 
to the tragic events of 1915 to 1923 by the word ``genocide.''
  Successive U.S. Presidents have annually issued proclamations on the 
anniversary of the genocide expressing sorrow for the massacres and 
solidarity with the victims and survivors, but always stopping short of 
using the word ``genocide,'' thus minimizing and not accurately 
conveying what really happened beginning 82 years ago.
  In the 1970's, the U.S. House passed a resolution officially 
recognizing the genocide, but it did not become law. In June 1996, just 
last year, during debate on the foreign operations appropriations bill, 
the House passed, by more than 300 votes in favor, an amendment 
withholding economic assistance to Turkey until and unless that country 
acknowledged the genocide. But again, that provision was removed in 
conference.
  Today, there are some 30 countries from Australia to Russia to 
Lebanon that have adopted resolutions officially recognizing the 
Armenian genocide. When I speak to Armenian-American groups, many 
people are shocked to learn that the United States does not officially 
recognize the genocide. Armenian-Americans love this country and are 
very proud of the stands, the brave stands that we have taken 
throughout our history. Many people, Armenian-Americans and people of 
other ethnic backgrounds, probably just naturally assume that the 
United States, usually at the forefront of defending human rights and 
the cause of confronting history head on, including the difficult parts 
of history, that we would have been in the lead in this effort to 
remember the past. The fact that we have failed to go on record 
proclaiming the truth about the Armenian genocide must be rectified.
  The United States should go on record clearly and unambiguously 
recognizing the Armenian genocide in setting aside April 24 as a day of 
remembrance. To that end, I urge renewed effort on the part of Congress 
to pass a resolution that puts the United States firmly on record on 
the side of the truth, and I pledge to keep up the pressure on the 
President to call the genocide by its proper name.
   Mr. Speaker, I have a lot more comments that I would like to make 
about the genocide this evening, but I would like now, if I could, to 
yield to the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. McGovern], who has 
joined me on many occasions on the floor on Special Orders, and I am 
very pleased to see him here tonight on this occasion.
  Mr. McGOVERN. I want to thank the gentleman from New Jersey for 
organizing this time so that we might come together in remembrance of 
this terrible chapter in human history.
  While there are some nations that object to the term ``genocide,'' 
what took place in Armenia between the years of 1915 and 1923 was 
exactly that, a genocide. Whole communities were wiped off the face of 
the map. Over 1.5 million men, women, and children were deported, 
forced into slave labor, tortured, and exterminated by the Ottoman 
government of Turkey.
  What happened in those years was more than just a series of massacres 
carried out by the Turkish Government during a time of instability, 
revolution, and war. It was the first example of genocide of the 20th 
century, a precursor to the Nazi Holocaust and the other cases of 
ethnic cleansing and massive extermination that have so haunted our 
times.
  With the rise of totalitarian regimes in Europe during the 1920's and 
1930's and the outbreak of World War II, the genocide perpetrated 
against the people of Armenia was largely forgotten. It has often been 
said that Adolph Hitler, when planning the Nazi strategy of 
extermination of the Jews that culminated in the final solution, 
remarked, who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians? Well, 
we remember, and we must always remember. Forgetting history not only 
dishonors the victims and the survivors, it encourages tyrants to 
believe that they can kill with impunity.
  Most of the survivors of the Armenian genocide have now passed away, 
while the few who are still living are very old now.

                              {time}  1930

  Their sons and their daughters, their grandchildren and great 
grandchildren, will continue to speak out about their family's history 
and tragedy. It is out of respect for them that we add our voices here 
today on the floor of the U.S. Congress. It is with great sorrow and 
with a sense of disbelief that I find the United States has yet to 
recognize the Armenian genocide.
  There are official statements each year observing the massacres that 
took place at the beginning of the century, but for reasons of 
political expedience, and bowing to Turkish pressure, the United States 
has never recognized these mass exterminations as genocide, this in 
spite of the fact that the U.S. National Archives, which is right here 
in Washington, DC, holds the most comprehensive documentation in the 
world on the Armenian genocide.
  Some 30 nations, from Australia to Russia to Lebanon, have adopted 
resolutions officially recognizing the Armenian genocide. The United 
States should go on record clearly and unambiguously recognizing the 
Armenian genocide, and setting aside April 24 as a day of remembrance.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 55 that 
honors the victims of the Armenian genocide and calls upon the United 
States to recognize the genocide and encourage the Republic of Turkey 
to acknowledge and commemorate the atrocity committed against the 
Armenian population from 1915 to 1923.
  As a Member of the National Caucus on Armenian Issues formed in 1995 
by the gentleman from New Jersey [Mr. Pallone] and our colleague, the 
gentleman from Illinois [Mr. Porter], I am committed to being a voice 
for a stronger partnership between the United States and the Armenia of 
today.
  But the gentleman from New Jersey also brought us together this 
evening not only to remember the past, but to praise the spirit and 
contributions of Armenian-Americans who are integral members of our 
cities and communities. The gentleman from New Jersey may not be aware 
that the first Armenian community in the United States was established 
at the end of the 19th century in the city of Worcester, in what is now 
the Third Congressional District of Massachusetts, which I have the 
privilege of representing. The very first Armenian church was built in 
Worcester. So the history of my district and the history of the 
Armenian people in America are deeply linked.
  That history continues today, for operating just outside the town of 
Franklin, MA, in the center of my district, is the Armenian Youth 
Federation Summer Camp, where for the past 40 summers over 500 Armenian 
young people from across the country come together in fellowship.
  There are 1,400 Armenian families in the Third Congressional District 
in Massachusetts, active members in the communities of Worcester, 
Shrewsbury, Holden, Westborough, Franklin, Medway, and elsewhere. They 
are involved in supporting the educational institutions of the 
district, an issue that is a high priority for me in my work here in 
the U.S. Congress. They have made their mark in business, the 
professions, and the arts. We are all enriched by their presence.
  It is on their behalf that I have come here today to remember and to 
honor the past, to praise and respect the courage of the present, and 
to make a commitment to work for a better future for all Armenians.
  I just want to again thank the gentleman from New Jersey for allowing 
me to have this opportunity, and thank him for his leadership on this 
issue.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the comments made by the 
gentleman from Massachusetts, and I know that the Armenian community is 
a very large one in Massachusetts and continues to grow. Basically, I 
think in

[[Page H1760]]

many ways it was the first State that really did have a large Armenian 
community, so I thank the gentleman for joining us tonight.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to report some good news on this issue. 
That is that on Monday, just this past Monday, April 21, the California 
General Assembly unanimously passed a resolution recognizing the 
Armenian genocide, as well as the more recent anti-Armenian pogroms 
committed in Azerbaijan.
  Assemblyman Howard Kaloogian, a Republican representing north San 
Diego, authored the resolution and guided its passage through the 
legislature of that State. I know members of the California delegation 
will be joining this special order today, and I know they are very 
proud of their State today because of what happened with this 
resolution.
  I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Horn].
  Mr. HORN. I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Speaker, and 
particularly for his initiative in getting this hour for a number of us 
to speak to the terrible, sad history that has been suffered by the 
Armenians from the Turks.
  Mr. Speaker, I have come to this House floor again, along with the 
gentleman from New Jersey and many other colleagues, to remember the 
82d anniversary of the beginning of the massacre that would ultimately 
claim over 1\1/2\ million Armenian dead, and untold suffering by those 
who came after them.
  I have followed the history, both distant and recent, of Armenia for 
many years. Mr. Speaker, out of personal interest and as a result of my 
interactions with many fine individuals who are members of the 
American-Armenian community in Long Beach and Fresno, CA, I have had a 
long-held interest in this matter.
  It is particularly sad for me that this House must gather year after 
year to commemorate this tragic event and to secure recognition in 
memory for it, and press for the acknowledgment of this terrible 
tragedy and shameful place in history by Turkey.
  Unfortunately, the sad history of this massacre that took place in 
Turkey so many years ago is often overlooked. This leaves the 
historical reality of the plight of the Armenian people vulnerable to 
efforts to minimize or even deny the terror that was unleashed against 
their ancestors, unleashed in the first decade and a half of this 
century.
  Because the events 82 years ago are so distant, this House is very 
right to draw the attention of the Nation to it. But it must be even 
more forceful, and the U.S. Government, through its diplomatic efforts, 
should pressure the government of Turkey to admit the role that their 
predecessors many years ago at that time played in this assault.
  The continued denial by the Turkish government, our ally in NATO, of 
this massacre, and that it occurred on its soil, and that Turks were 
actively involved, only serves to denigrate the memory of those who 
died and those who suffered and those who suffer today, thinking of 
their ancestors.
  As a nation we must not forget the sad history of a larger power 
unleashed on a vigorous and creative people to obliterate their whole 
culture. The Armenian massacre is among the most terrible chapters of 
the 21st century, along with what Stalin did, along with what Mao did, 
along with what Hitler did, along with what Pol Pot did in Cambodia.
  This House must remain vigilant to the efforts of historical 
revisionism and the attempt to make de minimis, as the lawyers would 
say, this terrible tragedy when 1.5 million Armenians were killed and 
many others maimed and wounded, or else we should be faced with the 
prospect of witnessing this type of tragedy again.
  I hope that those who want to be members of the European Community, 
those who want to continue in NATO, will admit what those that came 
before them did, just as this Nation has admitted its mistakes in both 
slavery, how black Americans have been treated, how Indian Americans 
have been treated, how Hispanic-Americans have been treated, and how 
the Japanese-Americans in the Second World War were treated.
  This Nation's greatness is because we have the capacity to say we 
were wrong, our ancestors were wrong, and we try to do something about 
it to remedy what has been left of this proud colony of vigorous 
people.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Horn] for the statement that he made, and again, his State just this 
past week passed this resolution commemorating and recognizing the 
genocide for what it is, and certainly everyone in California can be 
proud of that fact. I appreciate the gentleman's comments.
  Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from California mentioned, and I would 
like to reiterate again, the problem, or certainly one of the most 
serious problems we face, is the fact that Turkey goes right on denying 
that the genocide ever took place.
  Yesterday my office received, as I am sure many other offices did, a 
document from the Turkish Democracy Foundation. This document repeats 
the well-worn claims that the genocide did not happen, or that the 
number of victims is overstated, or that relocation of a certain 
portion of the population was limited, et cetera, et cetera.
  The document concludes, and I will quote: ``The U.S. Congress is not 
the proper place to discuss historically controversial issues, and it 
should not pass historical judgments.''
  I would like to say right now on the floor, with all due respect to 
the Turkish Democracy Foundation, I would say that the Congress is the 
proper place to discuss the genocide, as well as classrooms and civic 
organizations and religious institutions throughout this country. We 
must not deny the truth. Our responsibility on the floor is to make 
sure that the truth is told, and told over and over again, so that 
genocide does not occur again. That is the point we need to make.
  Just to give some facts, again, and these are simple, documented 
facts, on April 24 of 1915 some 200 Armenian religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders from Constantinople or Istanbul were arrested and 
exiled in one fell swoop, silencing the leading representatives of the 
Armenian community in the Ottoman capital. This was the symbolic 
beginning of the genocide, the occasion we commemorate tonight.
  But over the years from 1915 to 1923, as the gentleman mentioned, 
there were over 1.5 million men, women and children were deported, 
forced into slave labor, tortured and exterminated by the government of 
the Young Turk Committee. The deportations and killings finally ended 
with the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, although 
efforts to erase all traces of the Armenian presence in the area 
continued.
  After years of imprisonment, slave labor, acts of torture and 1.5 
million murders, the Turks tried to erase the evidence of the Armenian 
presence in the region by changing place names and destroying Armenian 
culture and religious monuments. But this entire shameful and appalling 
period of history meets every definition of the term ``genocide.''
  Turkey has to come to terms with its past. After all, Mr. Speaker, 
Turkey is a member of NATO. The gentleman from California mentioned 
that it is a member of NATO, a defense alliance that was basically set 
up to defend freedom. Many of our NATO allies, as well as some of the 
eastern and central European nations moving toward NATO membership, 
have very painful and horrible aspects of their history, in some cases 
very recent history. But some have done a better job than others in 
confronting their past. Turkey, at least at the official level, has 
made no attempt to face up to the truth. Those independent Turkish 
voices that have tried to tell the truth have been intimidated into 
silence.
  Mr. Speaker, I mention this again only because there is such merit in 
the fact that, for example, in the case of Nazi Germany, that the 
German Government recognized that the Holocaust took place. They give 
reparations for the Holocaust. They commemorate the Holocaust. They put 
up memorials to the Holocaust. That makes such a difference in terms of 
the Jewish people, to recognize that the German Government acknowledges 
that this took place and it was a terrible thing. When Turkey refuses 
to acknowledge it, it is almost as if the genocide continues to occur, 
because the government officially will not recognize it.

[[Page H1761]]

  Mr. HORN. If the gentleman will continue to yield, Mr. Speaker, he 
mentioned it was the Turkish Democracy Foundation.
  Mr. PALLONE. Yes.
  Mr. HORN. They seem to feel that over 8 years, as the gentleman 
mentioned, from 1915 to 1923, that 1.5 million Armenians must have 
committed suicide. Of course, that is nonsense.
  Mr. PALLONE. I think the gentleman is right. I am not saying that 
they do not acknowledge that some people were killed, but they refuse 
to acknowledge the numbers, certainly, and they refuse to acknowledge 
there was any systematic effort to kill people in the nature of a 
genocide or ethnic cleansing.
  Of course, the fact that they are willing to say that a few people 
were murdered or a few people were involved in some conflict is simply 
not acceptable. That is not what happened. This was a systematic effort 
at the government level by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate a whole 
people.
  Mr. HORN. Exactly.
  Mr. PALLONE. If I could just say, I just want to say that in January 
I had the opportunity to go to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh and visited 
the genocide Memorial Museum, which was a really amazing place and 
really valuable to just be there to see it.
  But when I went into the museum, which is actually still being 
completed, it was almost embarrassing, because I went through a 
particular room where they had collected the various countries, and 
there are 30 now, that have recognized the genocide. The director of 
the museum, who was a wonderful man who basically, you know, made this 
his life ambition, to continue and complete this museum, sort of under 
his breath said, you know, the United States does not recognize the 
genocide, even though Russia and so many other countries have.
  It was really embarrassing to think that our country, the bastion of 
freedom, has not recognized the genocide when some of the other 
countries did, including Russia as one of the ones that did.
  The other thing was, it goes back to what we were saying before about 
the Turkish Government recognition. They are in the process of 
constructing in the museum a sort of memorial that looks like a court. 
In other words, it is in the round, and in the center is basically 
where the judge would sit, and then on each of the walls of this round 
room they have a testimony from eyewitness accounts, contemporary 
eyewitness accounts, of what occurred, including one from the U.S. 
Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the time, Henry Morgenthau.

                              {time}  1945

  He testified, repeating what actually happened, that it was genocide 
and what occurred. It was explained to me, but it needed no 
explanation, that this is their idea, the Armenian idea of the 
Nuremburg trial.
  In other words, that in the case of Germany and the Jewish Holocaust, 
trials were held and the people were brought to justice that in some, 
not all of them, but some of them who had perpetrated this crime. But 
in the case of Armenia, the Armenian genocide, no trial took place.
  So in a sense the museum is creating the trial using contemporary 
documents and eyewitness accounts. It just brought home again how 
important and how valuable from a cleansing point of view, if nothing 
else, it is to have a trial or have a public pronouncement by the 
government or the perpetrators that this took place and that we still 
do not have in the case of the Armenian genocide.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman will continue to yield, I 
would hope we would draft a bipartisan bill that would solve that 
problem.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, we have. There is legislation that has 
actually been introduced by the gentleman from California [Mr. 
Radanovich], I believe, and the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Bonior] on 
a bipartisan basis and obviously we would like to get that moved. I 
think we are moving in that direction with what we do tonight and with 
other actions and statements by our colleagues.
  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, let me, if I may, I wanted to just 
elaborate a little more, if I could, on why we attach such significance 
to insisting that the world community, including the United States, 
recognize the tragedy of the genocide and call it by its proper name.
  As I said, Turkey stubbornly maintains its disgraceful policy of 
denying that the genocide we solemnly remember today ever took place, 
despite the lack of factual or historical basis for Turkey's denial. 
From the eyewitness accounts of journalists and diplomats on the scene 
to the eloquent and horrifying testimony of the survivors, the historic 
record is clear: that in the name of Turkish nationalistic ideology, 
the rulers of the Ottoman Empire conceived, planned and executed a 
program to eliminate ethnic minorities. The primary victims of this 
cruel policy were the Armenians. At that time the word ``genocide'' had 
not been coined but genocide is what it was. And I said there were no 
Nuremburg trials.
  There has been no official atonement by the Turkish nation, and 
statements by me and other Members of Congress about the Armenian 
genocide are routinely met with contemptuous responses by Turkey's 
ambassador to the United States. But the denials of the revisionists 
fly in the face of the preponderance of evidence from American and 
other Western diplomats, from journalists on scene and from the 
survivors themselves, many of whom are still alive and some of whom are 
American citizens.
  The U.S. National Archives holds the most comprehensive documentation 
in the world on this historic tragedy, more than 30,000 pages. Formal 
protests were made by the U.S. Ambassador Henry Morganthau, and 
Congress approved of allowing a private relief agency to raise funds in 
the United States. American consular officials and private aid workers 
secretly housed Armenians, distributed aid and helped in their escape 
to other nations during the years from 1915 to 1923, and many times 
these Americans acted at great personal risk to themselves and in 
direct defiance of Turkish orders not to help the Armenians.
  We have to continue to persuade the leaders of the Republic of 
Turkey, a country that receives hundreds of millions of dollars each 
year in U.S. aid, to officially acknowledge the truth. As one way to 
make amends, Turkey should immediately lift its blockade of Armenia and 
accept the Armenian government's offer to normalize relations without 
preconditions. I believe that these steps would ultimately be in 
Turkey's long-term interest as well. By doing the right thing and 
accepting historical responsibility and improving relations with the 
nation of Armenia, Turkey can help its own cause in terms of gaining 
admission to the European community and recognition in other historical 
forums.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California [Mr. Sherman].
  Mr. SHERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise in memory of the victims of the 
Armenian genocide, one of the most tragic events of this century and, 
of course, the first genocide of this century.
  During the years 1915 to 1923, between a million and a half and 2 
million Armenians who were citizens of the Ottoman Empire died as a 
result of a concerted effort to annihilate the Armenian population. 
This genocide is an undeniable fact. It is time for the Turkish 
government to recognize history and to apologize, not only to the 
Armenian community but to humanity as a whole.
  I want to bring to my colleagues' attention a statement which the 
Holocaust Council issued in 1987 on the inclusion of the Armenian 
genocide in the U.S. Holocaust memorial museum, because I think it 
speaks volumes about the need to commemorate, to recognize and to 
remember the first genocide of this century.
  That statement read: The genocide of the Armenian citizens of the 
Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 will have a place in the U.S. 
Holocaust museum and its library. The fate of Armenians should be 
included in any discussion of genocide in the 20th century.
  I also want to bring to the attention of my colleagues perhaps the 
most famous statement uttered about the Armenian genocide, and that was 
the comment made by Adolf Hitler when he reached the conclusion that 
history would forgive him if he engaged in the genocide he was 
planning. He stated,

[[Page H1762]]

who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?
  Mr. Speaker, we here today speak of the annihilation.
  That is why we insist, we must insist that this body remember once 
again the Armenian genocide as one of the most important events of this 
century. The mistakes made by the west in reaction to that event or 
failure to react led in at least part to the annihilation of 6 million 
Jews and millions of others in the rest of this century.
  That is why I hope that before a single dime of American taxpayer 
dollars are spent in aid to Turkey, that Ankara must, among other 
things, recognize the Armenian genocide. There is a tendency to view 
history as something only of relevance to the past. But those who 
forget history or those who refuse to acknowledge history are doomed to 
repeat it.
  Today Turkey is not engaged in genocide against Armenians, but it is 
engaged in trying to strangle the Republic of Armenia by not allowing 
even humanitarian supplies to pass to this landlocked country. I note 
with regret that the State Department a few days ago informed those of 
us who are members of the House Committee on International Relations 
that once again it would waive the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. It is 
time for this act to carry out its purpose. It is time for Congress to 
evaluate whether Turkey should be given impunity to continue to 
blockade Armenia.

  When Congress passed the act involving humanitarian aid corridors, we 
were serious. And I look forward in future meetings of the Committee on 
International Relations to trying to put some teeth in that act, to 
give Congress the right to review whether or not it is really necessary 
for our security that we waive that act again and again.
  With that, I thank the gentleman for yielding to me.
  Mr. PALLONE. I thank the gentleman from California.
  He specifically mentioned the appropriation process and some of the 
provisions that the Armenia caucus, which the gentleman is a member of 
and that I am a member of, some of the things that we are trying to 
accomplish. It is sort of ironic in a way or coincidence that tomorrow, 
April 24, is not only the anniversary of the genocide but also the day 
when the appropriations subcommittee on foreign affairs or foreign 
operations is going to meet, and that has been, that subcommittee and 
the bill that comes to the floor has been the vehicle in the past for 
us to make a point on a number of issues.
  The gentleman mentioned the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act, which has 
been one of the main pieces of legislation that the caucus has worked 
on in the last few years. It really makes perfect sense.
  Here all we are really saying is that if one country, in this case it 
happens to be Turkey, but it could be any country, accepts U.S. 
assistance, they have to allow humanitarian assistance that the U.S. is 
providing to its neighbor to pass through that first country's borders.
  I cannot imagine anyone, I cannot imagine any American who would 
think that it would be possible for a country that receives American 
assistance to deny safe passage of humanitarian assistance through its 
borders to another country. I think if we told any of our constituents 
that the U.S. government allowed that first country to deny access, 
they would be outraged. Yet not only is that done routinely by Turkey 
through its blockade, but when we passed the Humanitarian Aid Corridor 
Act, we see year after year the administration coming forward and 
waiving it and saying, for national security reasons, whatever the 
reasons they gave, I thought were rather poor, it is okay to waive this 
corridor act and allow Turkey to blockade humanitarian assistance to 
Armenia. It just totally flies in the face of any notion of 
humanitarian assistance or human rights.
  Mr. SHERMAN. I think that perhaps some in the State Department are 
victims of continuing Cold War thinking. We are no longer engaged in a 
giant chess game against the evil empire of the Soviet Union. Certainly 
when we emerge as the sole superpower, that is the status that we will 
enjoy only so long as the world regards the United States as a bastion 
of decency and morality in foreign policy.
  Never in the history of the world has the rest of the world 
acquiesced to one country emerging as the sole superpower. It has 
happened in various regions. It has happened in the world before, but 
never with acquiescence.
  The reason we are trusted to play the role we play in the world is 
because we are, yes, we are concerned and I think perhaps should be 
even more concerned with our own national interest, but we also are 
guided by morality. And for us to ignore the strangulation of both 
economic and humanitarian aid that Turkey is imposing on Armenia is 
actually harmful to our national security interests because it calls 
into question the foundation, the ideological foundation that allows us 
to be the only world superpower.
  Another factor that I think is important, every time I go back to my 
district, and I was just there earlier today, people are concerned with 
how effectively our money is spent. They are willing to see the U.S. 
government do things that are good but only if the money is spent 
effectively.
  When we have an international aid program which aids Turkey on the 
one hand and allows Turkey to prevent the aid program from being 
effective, when the recipient is also the obstructor, then how do we go 
back to our districts and say we are paying for air freight into 
Yerevan because we cannot truck things through Turkey and at the same 
time we are spending money to provide aid to Turkey.
  What we need to do is insist that those who receive aid from the 
United States not prevent our aid programs around the world from being 
effective.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the gentleman's comments. I 
also wanted to make reference, I know that I was at the international 
relations subcommittee, one of the subcommittee hearings that the 
gentleman was a member of when we talked about trying to provide some 
assistance to Nagorno-Karabagh. I know the gentleman made reference to 
that.
  Again, if I could just mention that, and perhaps you would like to 
comment as well, right now under the Freedom Support Act, section 907, 
there is no direct assistance to Azerbaijan, no direct U.S. assistance, 
because they also have a blockade of Armenia. So Armenia is really 
effectively blockaded on almost all sides between Turkey and 
Azerbaijan. However, the U.S. continues to provide humanitarian 
assistance to Azerbaijan through nongovernmental organizations.
  Unfortunately, none of that assistance goes to Nagorno-Karabagh. 
Nagorno-Karabagh is an Armenian country, between Azerbaijan and 
Armenia, that fought a war of independence about 5 years ago, 
successfully, and is in the midst of trying to gain recognition by 
Azerbaijan and Turkey and other countries of its existence.
  And I was there in January at the same time that I went to Armenia. I 
will say, as I have said, that the humanitarian needs are great and 
there is absolutely no reason why the U.S. should provide 
nongovernmental assistance, if you will, to one side in this conflict, 
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabagh, when the need is just as great, if not 
greater.

                              {time}  2000

  So one of the things that we are trying to do this year is to provide 
some humanitarian assistance, probably through nongovernmental 
organizations, to Nagorno-Karabagh.
  I know the gentleman at that hearing was very supportive of that and 
I appreciate that, and I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. SHERMAN. As a matter of fact, I think it is very important that 
if we are going to provide aid to that region of the world that we 
provide it to the one part of that region that has been wracked by 
warfare, and that is Nagorno-Karabagh. If there is any part of the 
Caucasus that needs our help, that is an area that should be receiving 
our help.
  Indeed, a portion of the aid that we provide to that region should go 
through nongovernmental organizations to the people of Nagorno-
Karabagh, and I will be working with the Armenians Issues Caucus and 
others, both in the committee and here on the floor, to make sure we 
provide that aid.
  Also at that same committee hearing I was more than a bit surprised 
and

[[Page H1763]]

certainly not impressed when I saw that the administration's plan for 
aid to the Newly Independent States, the states of the former Soviet 
Union, anticipated that going from 1997 to 1998 they would increase aid 
to Azerbaijan by $15 million and decrease aid to Armenia by $15 
million.
  Now, they assured me that that figure was a mere coincidence, but 
whether it is a coincidence or a plan, it can certainly be reversed. 
One way to deal with it, of course, is to simply not increase aid to 
Azerbaijan, a country that, as the gentleman points out, continues to 
blockade Armenia on the other side, with Azerbaijan on one side and 
Turkey on the other, to certainly not go along with the 
administration's plan to increase aid, but to use that increment of 
dollars to provide aid to the people of Nagorno-Karabagh.
  I hope that we would move in that direction and will be suggesting 
that to my colleagues not only here but in writing as well.
  Mr. PALLONE. There is no question that there is a need for 
humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabagh, and I have to say that I 
saw that firsthand. And I think the bottom line is that the United 
States policy needs to be more evenhanded. It does not make sense to 
say we are going to give money through the nongovernmental 
organizations to Azerbaijan and not to Nagorno-Karabagh.
  The other thing I wanted to say, if the gentleman would bear with me, 
is having been to Karabagh, and of course our caucus has brought this 
up on a bipartisan basis many, many times, the concern, the need I 
should say, for the United States to play a larger role in trying to 
bring a peaceful settlement to Nagorno-Karabagh.
  Obviously, there has been a cease-fire now in effect between 
Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabagh for a few years, and overall it has 
held. Although there was an incident last week where Azerbaijan did 
violate the cease-fire and there were some people actually killed, 
which was certainly unfortunate, but, overall, the cease-fire has held. 
But there needs to be a peaceful settlement of this conflict and I 
believe very strongly the only way that that will occur is if the 
United States plays an important role.
  Earlier this year the United States agreed to be the cochair of the 
MINS group, as it is called, which is a group of nations that are 
trying to come to a peaceful settlement with regard to Nagorno-
Karabagh. But, unfortunately, the United States really has not played a 
major role in trying to come to a peaceful settlement.
  In fact, I thought that the United States' position that it took back 
in late 1996, where the United States signed onto this Lisbon Accord, 
where they recognized Azerbaijan's territorial integrity, thereby 
assuming that Nagorno-Karabagh was part of Azerbaijan, but at the same 
time did not recognize Nagorno-Karabagh's self-determination.
  And we know there are two principles in international law, 
territorial integrity and self-determination. The United States was 
clearly siding with the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and not the 
self-determination of Nagorno-Karabagh.
  We need to turn that around and then the United States has to be an 
advocate for Nagorno-Karabagh's self-determination and then be willing 
to play a more significant role.
  We have seen the President, for example, get involved in the Bosnia 
situation, in the Dayton accords, we have seen the President play a 
major role in the Mideast, in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the 
same type of role needs to be played, I think personally by the 
President, but certainly to not continue this policy of not recognizing 
or not promoting Karabagh's self-determination.
  I bring this back again to the genocide issue because one of the 
things that was certainly brought home to me when I was in Nagorno-
Karabagh is the fact that the history of what has occurred in that 
region of the world not only at the time of the genocide between 1915 
and 1923, but certainly before and after makes it almost impossible for 
people who are Armenian, who live in Nagorno-Karabagh, to think that 
they can ever be protected or ever have any kind of security if they 
live under the suzerainty of Azerbaijan.
  I met a woman outside of Yerevan who was a refugee, and really a 
victim of three genocides. She was basically deported or had to escape 
from western Armenia at the time of the 1915 genocide; she went to 
Sushi, which is a town, a religious center, in Karabagh, and was 
expelled or deported from there a few years later; then she ended up in 
Baku, which is the capital of Azerbaijan, and she was about 5 or 6 
years ago she was expelled and deported from there and ended up in 
Yerevan.
  So there are people who in the course of their lives have been the 
victims of deportation or genocide on many occasions. They are never 
going to accept the notion that somehow they are part of Azerbaijan or 
that they can live peaceably under the suzerainty of Azerbaijan.
  That is why I believe very strongly that the United States has to 
recognize that fact. We cannot have another genocide in Karabagh, so 
the speak, and the only way we will make sure it does not happen is if 
we play a major role in trying to bring about a peaceful settlement.
  I yield to the gentleman.
  Mr. SHERMAN. I agree with the gentleman that one of the crowning 
glories of the second term of the administration of President Clinton 
would be to work for peace and achieve peace in the Caucasus. There is 
always a conflict between the concept of territorial integrity and the 
concept of self-determination, and when we look at the concept of self-
determination we see that that allows people to live under the 
government of their own choice.
  Our own country was born, perhaps the world's greatest exercise of 
the concept of self-determination, our own Declaration of Independence, 
and we set forth in that declaration some standards that ought to be 
applied. Because when you render a country apart, when you change 
borders, the whole world can be affected.
  We talked about the injustices imposed upon us by King George III. 
But they seem somewhat pale compared to the pogroms, compared to the 
aggression and the expulsions that the Armenian population of Nagorno-
Karabagh has had to suffer over the last decade. Certainly if we made 
the case for self-determination, Nagorno-Karabagh has as well.

  But also the argument for territorial integrity. There are borders 
and there are borders. The borders of Azerbaijan were drawn by Joseph 
Stalin for the purpose of dividing the Armenian people and placing 
Nagorno-Karabagh not for any logical reason except mischief, except 
division, except to deliberately cause peoples to be at conflict with 
each other.
  If there was ever a border that should not be given a lot of respect 
by the international community, it is a border drawn by Joseph Stalin 
for the purpose of oppressing peoples in the Caucasus. And when we 
weigh territorial integrity, where the integrity is a Joseph Stalin 
border and the right of self-determination for a people who have 
suffered, I think in ways that our Founding Fathers did not, the scales 
certainly are in the direction of recognizing the rights of the people 
of Nagorno-Karabagh.
  Mr. PALLONE. If I could, I think maybe we have another 5 or 10 
minutes in our special order, and I just wanted to take this 
opportunity, if I could, to mention that although we, the Members of 
the House, are doing this commemoration this evening, many Members, 
yourself, myself and other Members of the House and Senate will take 
part in a Capitol Hill commemoration ceremony that is organized by the 
Armenian National Committee next Wednesday, April 30.
  I wanted at this time, Mr. Speaker, to cite the work of both the 
great organizations representing the Armenian American community here 
in D.C., the Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian National 
Committee, and they both deserve praise for their continued hard work 
and dedication to both Armenia and the United States.
  The gentleman from California did mention the caucus, and if I could 
just say something briefly about the caucus. Two-and-a-half years ago 
Congressman Porter and myself founded the Congressional Caucus on 
Armenian Issues basically to be a voice for a stronger United States-
Armenia partnership and to better represent the interests of the 
Armenian American community. We now have 55 members.

[[Page H1764]]

  There is a lot of sympathy and moral support for Armenia in the 
Congress and the administration, among State legislators. Your own 
State I mentioned earlier passed a resolution recognizing the genocide 
just earlier this week, I believe. But the bottom line is we cannot kid 
ourselves. We are up against very strong forces.
  Unfortunately, the State Department, I believe, continues to take a 
basically pro-Turkey policy or adhere to a very pro-Turkey policy, and 
among United States and international business interests whose concerns 
with profits and sources of raw material often outweigh their concerns 
for the people of Armenia. So we have to constantly work against some 
of these others that are out there not really standing up for the 
concerns of Armenia and the concerns of the people of Karabagh.
  In closing today, if I could just say one thing. Obviously, there is 
a need to pay particular tribute to the survivors of the genocide. I 
was in Michigan, actually, over the weekend at a commemoration service 
and there were many survivors there, I would say maybe about 15 or so 
people who survived the genocide. Of course, they are usually in their 
late eighties or nineties, or even 100, and one of the gentlemen 
actually gave me a book that he signed that talked about his whole eye 
witness account of the years 1915 through 1923. And it really was 
amazing to talk to someone who could directly explain what went on 
then. But of course there are thousands of accounts like that in the 
archives, in the U.S. archives and around the world.
  I just wanted to mention, if I could, that we had many Members of 
Congress here tonight who wanted to join in this special order but 
because of the schedule, everything was a little crazy this evening. I 
think we have about 15 or 20 statements to submit for the Record.
  Mr. HAMILTON. Mr. Speaker, I want to join my colleagues today in 
remembering the tragedy endured by the Armenian people in the years 
1915-23.
  Extensive massacres of Armenians took place during that period in 
eastern Anatolia plains in an atmosphere akin to a horrible civil war. 
Those events have indelibly and permanently marked the consciousness of 
many Americans, including Americans of Armenian descent, who are 
commemorating April 24, 1997, as a national day of remembrance of man's 
inhumanity to man and a special day of remembrance for the Armenian 
victims of strife in the early years of this century.
  April 24 marks the 82d anniversary of the calamity. It is appropriate 
on this occasion to direct our attention and prayers to the memory of 
the vast number of victims who died in these tragic events.
  It is in the interest of all of us and in the interest of mankind 
that this type of tragedy not occur again. The leading organizations of 
the Armenian-American community have been seeking to work within our 
political system for a statement concerning these critical events in 
their heritage.
  The House of Representatives takes this occasion to honor the memory 
of the victims of the massacres of Armenians. No one can deny these 
events and the centrality of these events in modern Armenian history. I 
am proud to be associated today with my colleagues on this important 
day of remembrance.
  I would also like to salute the Republic of Armenia, and urge it to 
move forward in its democratic and economic reforms. Americans have an 
interest in the economic development of Armenia, its progress toward a 
free market economy, and its development of democratic institutions. We 
want to work with Armenia and its neighbors to insure peace, stability, 
and progress in their search for greater freedom and security. There is 
no better way to honor the misdeeds of the past than rededicating 
ourselves to a better future.
  Today in Europe, we have a chance to advance the cause of peace and 
stability more vigorously and on a wider scale than ever before. I 
salute all governments, private organizations, and individuals, 
including the Armenians, who are working toward this end. I hope that 
their efforts will make the world a safer place, where innocent people 
no longer suffer the unspeakable crimes of war and terror.
  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 82d anniversary of the 
Armenian Genocide, an act of mass murder that took 1.5 million Armenian 
lives and led to the exile of the Armenian nation from its historic 
homeland.
  It is of vital importance that we never forget what happened to the 
Armenian people. Indeed the only thing we can do for the victims is to 
remember, and we forget at our own peril.
  The Armenian Genocide, which began 15 years after the start of the 
20th century, was the first act of genocide of this century, but it was 
far from the last. The Armenian Genocide was followed by the Holocaust, 
Stalin's purges, and other acts of mass murder around the world.
  Adolf Hitler himself said that the world's indifference to the 
slaughter in Armenia indicated that there would be no global outcry if 
he undertook the mass murder of Jews and others he considered less than 
human. And he was right. It was only after the Holocaust that the cry 
``never again'' arose throughout the world. But it was too late for 
millions of victims. Too late for the 6 million Jews. Too late for the 
1.5 million Armenians.
  Today we recall the Armenian Genocide and we mourn its victims. We 
also pledge that we shall do everything we can to protect the Armenian 
nation against further aggression; in the Republic of Armenia, in 
Nagorno-Karabagh, or anywhere else.
  Unfortunately, there are some who still think it is acceptable to 
block the delivery of U.S. humanitarian assistance around the world. 
Despite our success in including the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act in 
the foreign operations appropriations bills for the last 2 years, 
Azerbaijan has continued its blockade of United States humanitarian 
assistance to Armenia.
  It is tragic that Azerbaijan's tactics have denied food and medicine 
to innocent men, women, and children in Armenia, and created thousands 
of refugees. The United States must stand firm against any dealings 
with Azerbaijan until it ends this immoral blockade. We must make clear 
that warfare and blockades aimed at civilians are unacceptable as means 
for resolving disputes.
  Mr. Speaker, after the Genocide, the Armenian people wiped away their 
tears and cried out, ``Let us never forget. Let us always remember the 
atrocities that have taken the lives of our parents and our children 
and our neighbors.''
  As the Armenian-American author William Saroyan wrote, ``Go ahead, 
destroy this race * * * Send them from their homes into the desert * * 
* Burn their homes and churches. Then see if they will not laugh again, 
see if they will not sing and pray again. For, when two of them meet 
anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a New Armenia.''
  I rise today to remember those cries and to make sure that they were 
not uttered in vain. The Armenian nation lives. We must do everything 
we can to ensure that it is never imperiled again.
  Mr. FRANKS of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my 
colleagues to commemorate the 82d anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
  April 24, 1915, marks the symbolic beginning of the campaign to 
extinguish the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. Over the 
course of nine long years, 1,500,000 Armenian men, women and children 
were deported, forced into slave labor, tortured, or exterminated. 
Another 500,000 had to flee their homes, some coming here to the United 
States. It is imperative, therefore, that we, as the elected 
representatives of the people of the United States, recognize and 
commemorate the Genocide of the Armenian people.
  Some today deny that the Armenian genocide ever occurred. Not only is 
there a preponderance of evidence to prove that it did, but there are a 
number of survivors, and children of survivors, who are living 
testaments to the horrors of the past. Our own National Archives holds 
more than 30,000 pages of documentation on this historic tragedy. With 
this overwhelming evidence, we cannot continue to allow the truth to be 
denied. Forgetting the past not only deprives us of the lessons that it 
has to teach, but it also shows a disrespect for the people who had to 
live it.
  It is also incumbent upon us, on the anniversary of the Armenian 
genocide, to speak out about the messages of hate and bigotry on the 
rise in this country. As we have learned in this country and witnesses 
abroad several times this century, hate must not be allowed to grow 
unchecked. We must continue to denounce messages of hate and bigotry 
and promote tolerance within our communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I think you for the opportunity to remember this tragic 
episode in world history.
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. 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 today to join 
my colleagues in the sad commemoration of 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 of their hard word on this issue and other issues of 
human rights.
  April 24, 1997 marks the 82nd 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.

[[Page H1765]]

  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.
  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.''
  As a supporter of human rights, I am appalled that the Turkish 
government is still refusing to acknowledge what happened and instead 
is attempting to rewrite history.
  In a sense, even more dismaying than Turkey's denial is the 
willingness of some officials in our own government to join in 
rewriting the history of the Armenian Genocide. It is imperative that 
we do not let political agendas get in the way of doing the right 
thing.
  Mr. Speaker, the issues surrounding the Armenian genocide should not 
go unresolved. I call upon the United States Government to demand 
complete accountability by the Turkish Government for the Armenian 
Genocide of 1915-1923. To heal the wounds of the past, the Turkish 
government must first recognize the responsibility of its country's 
leaders at that time for this catastrophe.
  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.
  The noted philosopher, George Santayana, has taught us that ``those 
who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' We should 
heed this wise principle and do all we can to ensure that the martyrdom 
of the Armenian people is not forgotten.
  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join my colleagues in this Special 
Order to commemorate the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Each 
year, I join Members of Congress from both sides of the political 
spectrum, representing areas from east coast to west coast to take part 
in this Special Order. We join together in this annual commemoration to 
bring awareness to a chapter in history so brutal and violent, that 75 
years later, the Turkish Government still refuses to admit their 
involvement.
  Each year, as I rise to pay tribute to over 1.5 million Armenians who 
were killed in this tragic event, I am amazed at how easily, and how 
well, the news of the Armenian genocide was squelched and then hidden. 
We all remember the now famous question posed by Adolf Hitler at the 
beginning of World War II--he said ``Who remembers the Armenians.'' 
Well, citizens of the world, this is just the problem. When tragedies 
of this magnitude take place, it is our responsibility to ensure that 
the story does not get forgotten. Let us teach our children that we 
will not tolerate human tragedy of this nature. Instead, as our world 
grows smaller every day, we must learn to live together in a global 
village. We must discover and treasure the differences among peoples 
around the world. We must promote tolerance and understanding. Only 
then will we have peace. When we remember the Armenian genocide we send 
a strong message to our global community that violence born of hatred 
and fear is unacceptable.
  The world has the responsibility to see that the crime of genocide 
does not go unpunished. Genocide cannot be allowed to be a policy of 
our international community. A crime unpunished and unrepented is a 
crime which can and will be repeated. Even today, as I speak, the 
present Turkish Government is enforcing a blockade of Armenia blocking 
American humanitarian assistance from reaching that country. This aid, 
supported by Congress, is prevented from being transported to Armenia 
by land. Such a violation of fundamental principles of humane conduct 
cannot be allowed to continue.
  There are still living survivors of the Armenian genocide in my 
district, and the horror of this ordeal is forever etched in their 
collective memories. Every year survivors participate in commemoration 
ceremonies in Boston, Lowell, and other areas around the Merrimack 
Valley. The commemoration offers an opportunity to reach out to the 
public in hopes that the media, the educated public, and citizens 
around the world will not ignore--or will not forget the tragedy 
suffered by the Armenians at the hands of the Turkish empire.
  I represent a large and active Armenian community in my district. 
They are hard working and proud of their heritage. As Representatives 
to the United States Congress, it is our duty to commemorate the 
Armenian genocide in the hope that future generations will never allow 
such a callous disregard for human rights to occur again.
  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank our two cochairmen of the 
Caucus on Armenian Issues, Congressman Porter of Illinois and 
Congressman Pallone of New Jersey, for arranging this Special Order 
today.
  I also want to take this opportunity to extend my best wishes to the 
Armenian-American community on this important occasion.
  The annual commemoration of the Armenian genocide is indeed an 
occasion of sad remembrance for Armenian-Americans.
  Over the years I have had the privilege of meeting and becoming 
friends with many Armenian-Americans who have lost relatives and 
friends in the tragic atrocities that began in 1915.
  I can well understand their grief and deep-seated feelings about this 
terrible event.
  There are others who have suffered from genocidal acts who know what 
it means to lose such loved ones.
  While we look back with sadness on the events that took place more 
than 80 years ago, we are reminded of how such atrocities can come 
about--and reminded as well that we must continue to try to prevent 
such tragedies in the future.
  Mr. Speaker, once again, I want to thank my colleagues for inviting 
me to join them in this Special Order.
  As we look to the future, let us wish the Armenian people success and 
prosperity as they continue to build their country's independence from 
communist domination--an independence won just a few years ago.
  An independent Armenia is the best guarantee that the terrible events 
that began 82 years ago will never be repeated.
  Mrs. MORELLA. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my colleagues today in 
commemorating the 82nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
  Eighty-two years ago, the rulers of the Ottoman Empire made a 
decision to attempt to eliminate the Armenian people living under their 
rule. Between 1915 and 1923, nearly 1.5 million Armenian people died 
and another 500,000 were deported.
  The purpose of this special order is really a dual one, and I thank 
the gentlemen from New Jersey and Illinois for organizing it. First and 
foremost, it is to show respect and remembrance to those Armenian 
people and their families who suffered during those 8 years at the 
beginning of this century. Secondly, we are here to recognize that if 
we are ever to witness a universal respect for human rights, we must 
begin by acknowledging the truth. And that is the fact that governments 
continue to commit atrocities against their own citizens while escaping 
the consequences of their actions, internally by means of repression 
and externally for reasons of political expediency.
  The events that took place under the rule of the Ottoman Empire 82 
years ago were real. Many people died and the results were, and still 
are, shocking. If we in the Congress continue to react with silence 
regarding these events and are unwilling to stand up and publicly 
condemn these terrible events, we effectively give our approval to 
abuses of power, such as the Armenian genocide.
  Mr. Speaker, all of us participating in this special order today 
realize that silence can mean acceptance when it comes to human rights 
abuses. And now it is our responsibility to make sure that everyone who 
is not here today realizes that they too must speak out against human 
rights violations. Not just violations of the past, but also against 
violations which are occurring in our world today. We must let the 
truth about these events be known and continue to speak out against all 
instances of man's inhumanity to man.
  Today nearly one million Armenians live in the U.S. They are a proud 
people who spent 70 years fighting Stalinist domination. Finally, in 
just the past 5 years, they have achieved freedom. But even that 
freedom will never allow them to forget the hardships suffered by their 
friends and families nearly a century ago, nor will they ever stop 
forcing us to recognize that these and similar acts must continue to be 
condemned by nations and people who hold the highest respect for human 
rights.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 82nd 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide. I am pleased to join my House 
colleagues on both sides of the aisle in remembering the terrible 
atrocities that were committed against the Armenian people earlier this 
century.
  Despite the efforts of some, there is no denying that the Armenian 
genocide occurred. History is clear that the Ottoman Empire engaged in 
a systematic attempt to destroy the Armenian people and their culture. 
It started on April 24, 1915, when over 200 religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders of the Armenian community in Istanbul were 
brutally executed. By 1923, over half the world's Armenian population--
an estimated 1.5 million men, women, and children--had been killed.
  The Armenians are an ancient and proud people. In the fourth century, 
they became the first nation to embrace Christianity. During World War 
I, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by an organization known as the Young 
Turk Committee and became allied with Germany. Amid fighting in the 
Ottoman Empire's eastern Anatolian provinces, the historic heartland of 
the Christian Armenians, Ottoman authorities

[[Page H1766]]

ordered the deportation and execution of all Armenians in the region. 
By the end of 1923, virtually the entire Armenian population of 
Anatolia and western Armenia had been either killed or deported.
  Despite the well documented fact that over 1.5 million Armenian were 
killed and hundreds of thousands more were exiled from their homes, 
there are some who still choose to believe that the genocide did not 
take place. The U.S. National Archives contain numerous reports 
detailing the process by which the Armenian population of the Ottoman 
Empire was systematically decimated. Further denial of the Armenian 
genocide by certain parties, either due to ignorance or malice, can 
only be seen as a misrepresentation of history and should be roundly 
condemned.
  While it is important to remember the horrible facts of history in 
order to help comfort the survivors, we must also remain eternally 
vigilant in order to protect Armenia from new and more hostile 
aggressors. Even now, as we rise to commemorate the accomplishments of 
the Armenian people and mourn the tragedies they have suffered, Turkey 
and other countries are attempting to break Armenia's spirit by 
engaging in a debilitating blockade against this free nation.
  Last year, I led the fight in the House of Representatives to free 
Armenia from Turkey's viscous blockade by offering an amendment to the 
fiscal year 1997 Foreign Operations appropriations bill. Under current 
law, U.S. economic assistance may not be given to any country that 
blocks humanitarian assistance from reaching another county. Despite 
the fact that Turkey has been blocking humanitarian aid for Armenia for 
many years, the President has used his waiver authority to keep 
economic assistance for Turkey intact. My amendment, which passed in 
the House by a bipartisan vote of 301 to 118, would have prevented the 
President from using waiver authority and would have cut off U.S. 
economic aid to Turkey unless it allowed humanitarian aid to reach 
Armenia. Unfortunately, my amendment was not included in the final 
version of the Foreign Operations appropriations bill and the Turkish 
blockade continues unabated.
  I am proud to say that a strong and vibrant Armenian-American 
community thrives in my district in northwest Indiana. My predecessor 
in the House, the late Adam Benjamin, was of Armenian heritage, and 
northwest Indiana's strong ties to Armenia continues to flourish. Mrs. 
Vickie Hovanessian and her husband, Dr. Raffi Hovanessian, residents of 
Indiana's First Congressional District are two Armenian-Americans who 
have contributed greatly to the quality of life in Armenia, as well as 
to the Armenian-American community in northwest Indiana.
  Although it has suffered greatly, Armenia is once again a strong, 
sovereign nation. Its people are determined to succeed, and I am proud 
of the steps that Armenia has made to promote democracy. It is my 
sincere hope that Armenia remains strongly committed to democratic 
ideals and that our two countries continue to remain close friends.
  In closing, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives John 
Porter and Frank Pallone, for organizing this special order to 
commemorate the 82nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Their 
efforts will not only help to console the victims and their families, 
but also serve as a reminder to remain vigilant in the fight to protect 
basic human rights and freedoms around the world.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, in my long association 
with the Armenian-American community, I have become very familiar with 
their pain by the act of genocide--and the further pain caused by a 
continuing attempt to deny that this genocide ever took place.
  From 1915 to 1923, 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were 
deported, forced into slave labor, tortured, and exterminated.
  The Armenian genocide was the model for subsequent efforts of 
religious and ethnic annihilation. The infamous quote by Hitler--``Who, 
after all, remembers the extermination of the Armenians?''--which is 
prominently displayed in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, serves as 
chilling affirmation of this fact.
  I am a proud cosponsor of House Concurrent Resolution 55, a 
resolution honoring the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide. 
As we reflect on the past, we must also take positive steps for the 
future of the men, women, and children of Armenia.
  Therefore, I am currently circulating for signature a letter to 
President Clinton to express Congress' grave concerns regarding U.S. 
efforts to mediate a settlement in the conflict between Nagorno-
Karabagh and Azerbaijan--to finally bring peace to that war-torn 
region.
  This letter stresses that all U.S. humanitarian assistance should be 
provided to all people in the Caucasus region who need it, irrespective 
of ethnicity. To date over $100 million in U.S. humanitarian assistance 
has been provided to Azerbaijan, despite that country's blockade of 
Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh. But U.S. policy prohibits direct U.S. 
humanitarian assistance to the people of Nagorno-Karabagh, a 
discriminatory practice which must be stopped.
  Finally, the letter protests the President's recent decision to waive 
the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. Last year, I worked hard with my 
colleagues to pass an amendment to the Foreign Operations 
Appropriations bill which would restrict the President's authority to 
waive the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act--a measure which I co-authored.
  Last year the amendment passed in the House but was not signed into 
law. This year we must pass legislation to ensure that the President's 
ability to waive this measure is restricted, and we must ensure that 
this language is signed into law.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my thoughts on one 
of the most appalling events in human history--the genocide of the 
Armenian people. I would like to thank Mr. Porter of Illinois and Mr. 
Pallone of New Jersey, the cochairs of the congressional caucus on 
Armenian issues, for holding this special order.
  It shames and saddens me to say that the human race is no stranger to 
genocide--the great purges in Russia, during which Stalin methodically 
killed millions of Russians; the Holocaust, in which 6 million Jews 
were systemtically slaughtered by the Nazis; and less well known, but 
certainly just as significant, the Armenian genocide in which 1.5 
million Armenians were exterminated by the Ottoman Turks. The number of 
people who died during this tradegy was almost equal to the entire 
population of Nevada.
  I feel a special kinship to the Armenian people. As many of you know, 
I am a Greek-American, and my ancestors, too, suffered at the hands of 
the Ottoman Turks.
  In fact, every March, I conduct a special order in this Chamber to 
commemorate Greek Independence Day. On that day, 176 years ago, the 
Greeks mounted a revolution which eventually freed them from the 
tyranny of the Ottoman Empire.
  Unfortunately, the Armenians were not as fortunate as their Greek 
brothers and sisters. Between 1915 and 1923, 1\1/2\ million Armenians 
were murdered and hundreds of thousands were driven from their homes by 
the Ottoman Turks. They were people like you and me. People with 
families and friends, hopes and dreams and they were all destroyed by 
the Ottoman Turks.
  Today, I want to acknowledge this dark moment in history and remember 
the Armenian people who tragically lost their lives. We in Congress 
must always remember tumultuous moments in history where people 
suffered because they were different. Of course, we all want to forget 
these horrific tragedies in our history and bury them in the past. 
However, it is only through the painful process of acknowledging and 
remembering that we can keep similar dark moments from happening in the 
future. In closing, I want to share a passage inscribed in the stone of 
Israel's National Holocaust Museum. ``Forgetfulness leads to exile, 
while remembrance is the secret of redemption.'' We must never forget 
these words.
  Mr. Speaker, this Sunday is Easter for the Christian orthodox faiths. 
It is a time for us to reflect on and to celebrate the glory of 
redemption. Hopefully, tonight many will hear our speeches and will 
take the time to remember those who lost their lives during the 
Armenian tragedy. By reflecting tonight on this sad event in history. I 
am hopeful that we are preventing similar tradegies from occurring in 
the future.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, on April 24, 1915, 200 American political 
and intellectual leaders from Istanbul were arrested and exiled. This 
action had the effect of silencing the leading voices of the American 
community in the Ottoman capital, and it is considered the symbolic 
beginning of the genocide. Over the years from 1915 to 1923, 1.5 
million men, women, and children were deported, forced into slave 
labor, tortured and exterminated by the government of the Young Turk 
Committee. During this dark time, the Turks of the Ottoman Empire 
carried out a systematic policy of eliminating the Christian Armenian 
minority within its bounds. The deportations and killings finally ended 
with the establishment of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, although 
efforts to erase all traces of the Armenian presence in the area 
continued.
  What happened in the Ottoman Empire during 1915 until 1923 was more 
than a series of massacres in a time of instability, revolution, and 
war. It was the first example of genocide in the 20th century, a 
precursor to the Nazi Holocaust, and other cases of ethnic cleansing 
and mass exterminations in our own time, and we must never ever forget 
it. To forget history not only dishonors the victims and survivors--it 
encourages other tyrants to believe that they can commit such heinous 
acts with impunity.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a time for solemn reflection. But this act of 
remembrance also affords us the opportunity to celebrate the incredible

[[Page H1767]]

resilience of the human spirit when faced with the most horrendous 
disasters and challenges. Armenia itself and the Armenia diaspora have 
managed to rebuild their shattered, destroyed communities. This 
determination to overcome such an atrocious past is written clearly in 
the faces of those of Armenia descent. On a national level, the 
struggle for existence and a better future is an everyday fact of life 
for the young independent, democratic, Republic of Armenia. The 
successes that so many Armenian-Americans have found in this country 
also peaks volumes on this subject.
  Despite the incontrovertible evidence of the historical fact of the 
Armenian genocide, modern Turkey continues to deny that this horrific 
event ever happened. While various Turkish sources express the view 
that certain unfortunate incidents took place, there is an overall 
denial that there was ever a systematic, ethnically based policy 
targeting the Armenian people. There are those who say we should not 
offend our Turkish allies by using the word ``genocide'', but 
friendship takes no refuge in relationship based upon dishonesty. There 
was a genocide in which over 1.5 million people, including women and 
children, lost their lives and over 500,000 Armenians were exiled, 
eradicating the historic Armenian homeland in Anatolia--a community 
which had existed there since the time of Christ.

  Let us remind ourselves that the United States, and the rest of the 
world, we did little to prevent these crimes against humanity, despite 
the frequent and detailed reports that Ambassador Morganthal sent back 
to Washington from his post in Istanbul. Turkey's historic difficulties 
in respecting minority rights have not gone away, and they are 
continuing now in a different form against another minority people. 
Today in Turkey, another campaign of ethnic dissolution is being waged 
by the Turkish Government against yet another minority, the Kurdish 
people. For years now, Turkish troops have pursued a scorched Earth 
policy in southeastern Turkey--burning and tearing down over 2,000 
Kurdish villages, and displacing over 2 million innocent civilians. 
Turkey has also crossed into the border in Iraq to launch attacks on 
Kurdish refugee camps. Our Government has stood idly and allowed this 
to happen and, moreover, has defended Turkey's actions against innocent 
civilians by cloaking them in the guise of antiterrorism. Once again, 
our Embassy has provided comprehensive reports of what is occurring in 
Turkey, and once again, we are ignoring these reports. As we stand here 
once again to commemorate this sad day in the long history of the 
Armenian people, we should realize that we are our brother's keeper, 
and we do have a responsibility to stand up and be honest about both 
the past and the present. History ignored is history repeated.
  We have made great progress in helping to establish a new Armenia, an 
Armenia that is free and democratic, and forging ahead to 
provide, through economic and political freedom, a better life for its 
people and greater stability for its future. Armenia is a struggling 
young country that does reflect the values that we stand for and 
believe in, and by supporting Armenia we will extend those values 
across the world.

  Mr. Speaker, we also want to support Turkey and have a strong 
relationship with this important ally. We understand the importance of 
a free and democratic Turkey. But we also understand that it is 
important for Turkey to look honestly at its past, and acknowledge what 
the world knows to be true. It is time that Turkey reexamine its 
military campaign against its Kurdish minority. Now is the time for 
Turkey to join the community of Western nations, but that means that 
they must stop committing human rights abuses against their own people 
and build better relationships with their neighbors. We can and should 
be a strong supporter of Turkey's efforts to move in this direction.
  Unfortunately, I believe that our administration continues to send 
the wrong signals to Turkey in this regard. In the fiscal year 1997 
omnibus appropriations bill, the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act was made 
permanent law, barring the provision of U.S. assistance to any country 
which blockades U.S. assistance to another country. Last week, however, 
President Clinton again waived this provision for Turkey in spite of 
her continuing blockade of U.S. assistance to Armenia. By doing so, he 
is telling Turkey that the United States does not really care whether 
they lift the blockade or not, and that we would rather waste U.S. tax 
dollars than stand on our principles. I firmly believe that this is not 
the message we should be sending.
  This observance of the 82d anniversary of the Armenian genocide is an 
important acknowledgment of the past, and an important inducement to 
take action in the present. I thank my colleagues for joining me and 
the cochairman of the Armenian issues caucus, the Honorable Frank 
Pallone of New Jersey, in this most worthwhile endeavor.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, beginning on the night of April 24 in 1915, 
the religious and intellectual leaders of the Armenian community of 
Constantinople were taken from their beds, imprisoned, tortured, and 
killed.
  In the days that followed, the remaining males over 15 years of age 
were gathered in cities, towns and villages throughout Ottoman Turkey, 
roped together, marched to nearby uninhabited areas, and killed.
  Innocent women and children were forced to march through barren 
wastelands--urged on by whips and clubs--denied food and water.
  And when they dared to step out of line, they were repeatedly 
attacked, robbed, raped * * * and ultimately killed.
  One and one-half million Armenians lay dead, and a homeland which had 
stood for 3,000 years was destroyed.
  Mr. Speaker, we come to the floor this evening to remember the 
victims--and the survivors--of the Armenian Genocide.
  As we come to this floor, we do so with the knowledge that all of us 
have a responsibility to remember the victims, to speak out and to make 
sure that tragedies like this are never allowed to happen again.
  Now more than ever, those of us who embrace democracy have a 
responsibility to speak out for all those who live under tyranny.
  Mr. Speaker, we must pause today and say ``Never again.''
  We can never forget that in 1939, another leader used the Armenian 
genocide as justification for his own genocide.
  This leader said, and I quote: ``I have given orders to my Death 
Units to exterminate without mercy or pity men, women, and children 
belonging to the Polish-speaking race. After all,'' Adolf Hitler asked, 
``who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians?''
  Mr. Speaker, it is up to all of us to remember.
  For centuries, the Armenian people have shown great courage and great 
strength.
  The least we can do is match their courage with our commitment.
  Because in the end, we are their voices and we must do all we can to 
remember.
  Because if we don't, nobody else will.
  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow marks the 82nd anniversary 
of the Armenian Genocide. As Armenians gather around the world to 
commemorate the anniversary of this event, it is important for all of 
us to remember the significance of this tragedy. For, it is only be 
remembering past horrors that we will not allow them to be repeated.
  As many of my colleagues know, 1.5 million Armenians were subjected 
to this century's first systematic extermination based on their 
ethnicity, something we know all to commonly now as genocide. Between 
1915 and 1923, the Ottoman empire implemented a deliberate policy of 
deporting, torturing, starving and massacring Armenians throughout the 
lands under their rule. Many of the Armenian survivors and those 
deported emigrated to the United States. At that time, the United 
States condemned the brutal acts of the Ottoman Empire and even 
provided humanitarian assistance to survivors, in the largest relief 
effort ever organized by our country.
  Today, there are those that refuse to recognize the sins of the 
past--despite the overwhelming evidence of the Armenian Genocide. We 
must stare history in the face no matter how terrible. The cost of not 
being honest about the past threatens our future. That is why I urge 
the President, the Senate, and every Member of this body to send a 
unified message to the world that we do remember the victims of the 
Armenian Genocide. Let us not allow any nation to forget or disavow 
that this tragedy ever happened.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend Armenian-Americans, who 
continue their vigilance on the issue of the Armenian Genocide and who 
continue to make invaluable contributions to our shared American 
culture. I would also like to take this opportunity to commend the 
Republic of Armenia, a fledgling democracy of 3.3 million people, for 
working to enact economic and democratic reforms while developing 
important ties to the United States. We welcome Armenia into our 
growing assembly of free nations and look forward to working with the 
Armenian people to insure that they realize the fruits of liberty and 
democracy.
  Ms. ESHOO. Mr. Speaker, let me begin by thanking Representatives 
Pallone and Porter for their work on behalf of Armenia, and in 
particular for organizing this special order in remembrance of the 
Armenian Genocide.
  Today marks the 82nd anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian 
Genocide, an event that foreshadowed many dark moments to come in this 
century.
  In its final days, the Ottoman Empire systematically exterminated 1.5 
million Armenians, and the forcibly deported 500,000 more. These tragic 
events began on April 24, 1915 when leaders of the Armenian community 
living in Constantinople were arrested and killed.
  Tragically the genocide lasted for eight years until 1923 and the 
international community never mounted any serious effort to bring it to 
an end. Armenians were deprived of their homes and businesses. Families 
were torn

[[Page H1768]]

apart and individuals were robbed of their freedom and dignity. 
Hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee their homeland 
or risk death, and 1.5 million people lost their lives.
  As the only Member of Congress of Armenian descent, I believe what we 
are doing here tonight is important, not only because we honor the 
memory of the men, women and children who lost their lives, but also 
the millions of those who survived and have contributed to our nation.
  We cannot lapse in our efforts to speak out and teach about the 
atrocities of the past. When the international community stands silent, 
as they did in 1915, we allow the evil to flourish. When we commemorate 
the Armenian Genocide we fight not only against forgetting, but also 
against tolerating a future that brings misery to vulnerable people 
wherever they may live.
  We must continue to fight against those who want to obscure, minimize 
or even deny that the Armenian Genocide occurred, and memory is our 
weapon, the memory of survivors, victims, and their relatives. The 
memory is also alive in modern Armenia, where in the wake of the Soviet 
Union's collapse, fledgling democracy is taking hold.
  It is my hope that as we come together tonight to remember the past, 
we also renew our commitment to a secure and prosperous Armenia. This 
will only come through full enforcement of the Humanitarian Corridor 
Act, and a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabagh 
based upon self-determination.
  As an Armenian-American I am grateful so many of my colleagues have 
participated in this remembrance of the 82nd anniversary of the 
Armenian Genocide. I am also proud of the contributions so many 
Armenians have made to our nation. Their legacy ensures that we will 
never forget this tragic chapter in history.
  Mr. MANTON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
remembering the 82nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. I especially 
want to thank Congressman Frank Pallone and Congressman John Porter for 
arranging this important special order in observance of this tragic 
event in world history.
  Beginning with the arrests of hundreds of intellectual and political 
leaders in 1915, the Ottoman Turkish Empire began the systematic 
process of genocide against the Armenian people. In addition to the 
blatant killings of millions of innocent people, there were works of 
deportation, rape, slavery and other unspeakable acts.
  The persecution and mistreatment of the Armenian peoples continues 
today through the conflict regarding Nagoro-Karabagh. Since 1988, this 
contentious situation has left more than 1,500 Armenians dead and 
uprooted hundreds of families, forcing them to flee to other parts of 
this unstable region. However, I believe hope is on the horizon with 
the recent induction of Robert Kocharian as the new Prime Minister of 
Armenia. I am confident his courage and leadership will play an 
important role in bringing this conflict to an end.
  Mr. Speaker, this historic event can no longer be denied. Vast 
amounts of documentation exist in the United States' Archives and in 
the U.S. Embassy in Istanbul, as well as in the public domain, which 
lend proof that the horrific events surrounding this tragic period took 
place. It is important that we as Members of Congress continue to 
officially recognize the Genocide because it is a part of our world 
history, just as historically important as World War II, and just as 
tragic as the Holocaust. However, it is a shame and an outrage that the 
Genocide is still not recognized by many nations.
  It is also important that we continue to mark this event on an annual 
basis. Although most of the survivors of the Genocide are, 
unfortunately, no longer with us, their relatives continue to remember 
and mourn the loss of life. I am proud that New York State is one of 
the few states which has offered a human rights/genocide curricula for 
teachers to use at their discretion, including the story of the 
Armenian Genocide. Education programs such as this allow our children 
to learn about the unfortunate and sad aspects of our world's history, 
such as the tragic past in Armenian history, hopefully ensuring a 
peaceful existence for future generations. A wise man once said that 
those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Congressional Armenia Caucus, I urge 
my colleagues in joining me as a member of this bipartisan organization 
dedicated to ensuring a strong U.S.-Armenia relationship and lending 
our support for issues affecting Armenians and Armenian-Americans. In 
addition, I urge them to join me as cosponsors of two pieces of 
legislation on this important issue: H.R. 500 would provide additional 
assistance to Armenia in FY 1997; and H.J. Res. 55, honors the memory 
of the victims of the Armenian genocide.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh for 
their courage, and wish them well in their struggle to strengthen their 
democracy. I will continue to support their efforts to ensure a stable 
future for their people.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 82nd 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide and urge an end to the denial of 
this atrocity by the government of Turkey. Denial of an event which 
cost the lives of one and a half million human beings should not and 
must not be allowed to continue.
  Throughout 1915 and 1916, the ``Young Turk'' government of the 
Ottoman Empire conducted a systematic campaign of murder and oppression 
against the Armenian minority throughout the country; first, rounding 
up and killing all Armenian political, military, and intellectual 
leaders, and then, by forcing the remaining Armenians from their homes 
and ``relocating'' them to camps in the desert where they died from 
thirst and starvation.
  At the time, the Armenian genocide was condemned by nearly all 
European powers. The United States, while neutral at this stage of the 
war, condemned the massacres and acted as the chief spokesman of behalf 
of the Armenians and issued strong protests against the reprehensible 
actions of the Ottoman government.
  Diplomatic dispatches and newspaper reports tell of deportations, 
beatings, and mass killing. Our own Ambassador, Henry Morgenthau Sr. 
wrote in 1915, ``* * * it appears that a campaign of race extermination 
is in progress under a pretext of reprisal against rebellion.'' 
Numerous articles appeared in the New York Times throughout August, 
September, and October of 1915. The articles cite eyewitness accounts 
from American, Greek, Bulgarian, Turkish, German, and British citizens 
as well as those from Armenians themselves which tell of widespread 
atrocities including forced deportations, mass starvation, deliberate 
drowning, and the sale of women and girls into slavery.
  Throughout the ``relocation,'' American missionaries and relief 
workers in Turkey risked their lives to save as many people as 
possible, namely orphaned children, and brought them to the United 
States which formed the foundation of today's Armenian-American 
community. At home in the United States, Americans collected and 
donated millions of dollars to help feed the survivors of this human 
tragedy.
  Following the war, the post-war government of Turkey held war crime 
trials and sentenced to death the major leaders responsible for the 
atrocity calling the fact ``proven and verified'' and describing the 
decision to eradicate the Armenians ``the result of extensive and 
profound deliberations.'' Repentance soon gave way to denial, as 
Turkey's post-war government was replaced by Nationalists who made war 
criminals into national heroes.
  Today, despite all the facts, eyewitness accounts, recognition by 
countries throughout the world, and the findings of their own post-war 
courts, the government of Turkey still refuses to acknowledge the 
genocide ever occurred. Instead, they claim, as did the Ottoman Empire 
before them, that they only ``relocated'' the Armenians from the 
eastern ``war zone'' to a more secure location and that the deaths were 
caused by the ``brutalities of war.''
  Indeed, the government of Turkey goes one step further calling the 
Armenians ``traitors'' who collaborated with the enemies of the Ottoman 
Empire during war. The government of Turkey even claims that 2.5 
million widely disbursed Armenian men, women, and children were a 
direct threat militarily to the 17 million and mobilized Turks. As 
evidence they cite a few scattered incidents of self-defense by 
Armenians against Turkish death squads.
  We cannot allow such blatant disregard and denial to go on. Genocide 
is genocide, no matter how, when, or where it happens. To deny is to 
accept.
  We need to remember and commemorate this horrible chapter in human 
history not only for the survivors and their families, but for 
ourselves. Respect for human rights and individual diversity are the 
cornerstones of our society. We cannot afford to forget the past, lest 
we doom the world to a similar such fate in the future.
  To me, and to my constituents, the Armenian genocide is not just a 
footnote in history. In Detroit and its surrounding suburbs lives the 
third largest Armenian-American community in the United States many of 
whom are the children and grandchildren of genocide survivors or actual 
survivors themselves.
  Mr. Speaker, for myself and my constituents, I rise today to urge the 
government of Turkey to end its denial and accept its past, no matter 
how painful. Only then can we all move forward to the future and stop 
these atrocities from repeating themselves over and over again.
  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Mr. 
Pallone and Mr. Porter, for giving us this opportunity to remind the 
world that we will never forget the

[[Page H1769]]

Armenian genocide even when the descendants of the Ottoman Empire 
refuse to accept responsibility for this crime against humanity.
  In 1944, noted jurist and scholar, Raphael Lemkin looked to a 
previous generation when he coined the word ``genocide'' to describe 
the systematic annihilation of the Jewish people by the Nazis. Lemkin 
was thinking of the Turkish attempt in 1915 to extinguish from this 
earth the ancient community of Armenians living within the Ottoman 
Empire. Ironically, Hitler had also referred to the extermination of 
the Armenians when he spoke of his plans for the Jewish people in 1939: 
``Who, after all, speaks today of the Armenians,'' Hitler said.
  During World War I, Turkish rulers tried to eradicate all traces of 
this culturally rich and historic people. At least one and a half 
million Armenians were massacred and 500 thousand deported. We owe it 
to the survivors and their descendants to remind the world of this 
tragic event. We owe it to Turkey and to the Turkish people who face 
continued recriminations in this chamber and throughout the civilized 
world for as long as the Ankara government stonewalls and rejects 
historical fact. We owe it to the Bosnians and Rwandans who wonder if 
the perpetrators of modern day atrocities will be brought to justice. 
The stench of genocide must not be allowed to waft over future 
generations.
  In 1991, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, a free Armenia 
emerged. This tiny, landlocked nation is attempting to embrace 
democratic ideals as it struggles to gain its footing amidst hostile 
neighbors. These proud people are defying the odds to retake their 
place among the community of nations.
  I must also express my deep gratitude to the survivors of the 
Armenian genocide who sought refuge in the United States and to their 
descendants. As someone who represents a city rich in cultural 
diversity, I can say without reservation that the Armenian people have 
enriched San Francisco, the State of California, and this nation with 
their splendid heritage, their commitment to family values, their work 
ethic, and their contributions to their communities in their adopted 
homeland.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today in 
commemorating the 82d anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
  We observe the Armenian genocide today so as not to forget. We 
remember the horrific conflagration that engulfed the lives of 1.5 
million innocent Armenian men, women, and children so that governments 
around the world will know that they will be held accountable for their 
bloody deeds by the consciousness of mankind. In one of the darkest 
chapters of the 21st century, the Government of the Ottoman Empire 
systematically implemented a policy of extermination against its 
Armenian population through ruthless marches of forced starvation and 
endless waves of bloody massacres.
  Eight decades have now come and gone since the tragic event unfolded 
and, yet, the Turkish Government continues to deny the undeniable. The 
Armenian genocide is a historical fact that has been indelibly etched 
in the annals of history. It cannot be erased from our collective 
memory.
  To heal the open wounds of the past, the Turkish Government has a 
moral obligation to acknowledge and recognize the Armenian genocide. 
Turkey must come to terms with its past. It must also come to terms 
with its present actions against the Republic of Armenia.
  The Government of Turkey should immediately lift its illegal blockade 
of Armenia, which it has had in place since 1993. Turkey must also stop 
obstructing the delivery of United States humanitarian assistance to 
Armenia. This is not only unconscionable but it also damages American-
Turkish relations. Turkey is indeed an important ally of the United 
States. However, until Turkey faces up to its past and stops its silent 
but destructive campaign against the Republic of Armenia, American-
Turkish relations will continue to be strained.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, today we in Congress are 
solemnly observing the tragedy of the Armenian genocide.
  We honor the bravery and courage of those who survived and we honor 
the memory of those who perished.
  We speak out so that future generations of Americans will know the 
story of the first genocide of this century.
  Over 6 million people of Armenian descent live in this country. Many 
of them can still recount the persecution they faced during the Ottoman 
Empire and the stories of the night of April 24, 1915.
  That night must be remembered, not only for the atrocities which took 
place, but because we must never forget our duty to fight against human 
rights abuses, ethnic cleansings, genocides, and other atrocities.
  Unfortunately, we see the atrocities of the past being replayed 
today. In the former Yugoslavia, the terrors of the past have recently 
been replayed.
  By observing the Armenian genocide we make a strong statement. A 
statement that the atrocities of the past are not acceptable. They were 
not acceptable then and they are not acceptable today.
  It has been said many times that those who forget history are doomed 
to repeat it. Let us never repeat this history. We must all work to 
always remember and never forget the genocide, to cherish and preserve 
the Armenian culture, and to fight for human rights in this region.
  We owe that to those we honor today and to our Nation's Armenian-
Americans.
  Thank you.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, today I join with my colleagues in 
commemorating the 82d anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Along with 
the Armenian-American community in my district and with people of 
goodwill throughout the country, Congress today is observing the death 
of 1.5 million Armenians from the years 1915-1923.
  As we gather today, many of my constituents over the weekend 
participated in solemn requiem services held at their respective places 
of worship in the memory of the martyrs, consecrated a genocide 
monument in Ridgefield, NJ, held an observance ceremony in front of the 
Bergen County Court House in Hackensack, NJ, and attended a series of 
other events commemorating the Armenian genocide.
  And so let me offer my solidarity with those remembering the Armenian 
genocide today. And let me also emphasize that we should today not only 
remember the martyred, but as well, the survivors of the Armenian 
genocide. Those few survivors of the Armenian genocide are still living 
today, those who endured the horrors of 1915, are heroes for all time.
  Today, the people of Armenia and her Diaspora are proudly looking to 
rebuild their country. From the ashes of despair born of the genocide, 
and from the ravages of seven decades of Communist rule, Armenians the 
world over are striving to secure a safe and prosperous future for 
Armenian and Nagorno-Karabagh.
  As Armenian-Americans rebuild their homeland, and as they seek to 
secure an economically prosperous state, founded on firm democratic 
principles, I will stand by them.
  Let me conclude my brief remarks today by encouraging the young 
people of America to never forget the tragedy and lessons of 1915. 
Because as George Santayana once remarked, ``Those who forget history 
are condemned to repeat it.'' And if no clearer evidence of these 
prescient words are necessary let us remind one another today that 
before commencing the Holocaust, Hitler himself stated, ``Who today 
remembers the Armenians?''
  As a Jewish-American and being ever mindful of the Holocaust, I join 
with my colleagues today in observing the Armenian genocide. And I 
promise to stand firm against the shameful efforts of those who would 
rewrite the facts as it pertains to the Armenian genocide.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, today, April 23rd, 1997, the House of 
Representatives commemorates a bleak chapter in world history: the 
Armenian genocide of 1915-1923. To overlook or deny its existence is 
not only irresponsible, but also provides incentive to despots who have 
it within their evil designs to commit similar atrocities. Civilization 
and peaceful nations, like the United States, can ill afford failures 
of justice, let alone tolerate breakdowns of the magnitude of the 
Armenian genocide.
  On March 21, 1997, I introduced, along with Rep. David Bonior, H. 
Con. Res. 55, the Armenian genocide Resolution. This measure honors the 
memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide. As with similar 
resolutions in the past, this measure enjoys widespread bipartisan 
support. I believe the time has long since passed for all governments 
to publicly acknowledge and rebuke this fatal chapter in the history of 
human events.
  Mr. Speaker, the 1.5 million Armenians who lost their lives during 
the genocide deserve our utmost respect. The highest honor this House 
can bestow on the victims is to secure a formal recognition from the 
Turkish government that the genocide indeed occurred. It is for their 
honor that we must wage this principled fight.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to bring attention to the 81st 
anniversary of the genocide of the Armenian people. On April 24, 1915 
some 200 Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders were 
arrested and exiled from Istanbul, Turkey. Over the next eight years, 
1.5 million men, women, and children were forced into slave labor, 
tortured, exterminated, and deported by the government of the ``Young 
Turk Committee.''
  For more than 15 years the U.S. State Department has refrained from 
referring to the tragic period between 1915-1923 as ``genocide.'' 
Several former Presidents have issued proclamations on the anniversary 
of this event, expressing deep sorrow for the massacres, yet stopping 
short of declaring the tragedy as genocide. The U.S. should, in 
conjunction with the state of California and some 30 other nations, go 
on record to clearly and unambiguously recognize the Armenian massacres 
as

[[Page H1770]]

genocide, and set aside April 24th as a day of remembrance.
  Remembering the Armenian genocide is important not only for the 
Armenian people, but for the future generations of our global society. 
We must not forget and we must not repeat such tragic history.
  Mr. Speaker, what happened in the Ottoman Turkish Empire during the 
years of 1915-1923 was more than a series of massacres in a time of 
instability, revolution, and war. It was the first example of genocide 
in the 20th century. Calling this by its proper name is extremely 
important, both from the standpoint of the historical accuracy, and 
respect for the victims and survivors. Given the alarming number of 
conflicts in today's world that often verge on genocide, stating the 
truth about what happened in the history of the Armenian people, 
including commemorating this anniversary, can help strengthen our 
determination to prevent genocide from occurring again.
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 82nd 
Anniversary of the Armenian genocide. On April 24th, 1915, the people 
of Armenia were subjected to long-term, organized deprivation and 
relocation. Eighty-two years later, we mark this date to remember the 
beginning of this systematic elimination of Armenian civilians, which 
lasted for over seven years. By 1923, 1.5 million Armenians had been 
massacred and 500,000 more deported.
  Many Armenian-Americans reside in my congressional district, and each 
year they mark this date with solemn commemoration. It is a day to 
reflect on the loss of property, freedom and dignity of those Armenians 
who were deported or killed under the Ottoman empire. We honor their 
memory and vow that such deprivation will never happen again.
  Mr. Speaker, we also mark this date to celebrate the contributions of 
millions of Armenians and Armenian-Americans since that awful time. As 
we continue to strengthen our bonds with the Armenian people, we must 
continue to be vigilant about remaining a strong friend of Armenian 
democracy through U.S. foreign policy. The Clinton Administration's 
recent decision to waive the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act does not 
bode well for long-term stabilization in this region. It is important 
for those of us in the Congress to continue to speak out in favor of 
Armenian human rights and free trade.
  I urge my colleagues to join me in commemorating this solemn 
anniversary.

                  [Armenia This Week, April 18, 1997]

        Clinton Waives Corridor Act Prohibition on Aid to Turkey

       For the second consecutive year the Clinton administration 
     waived the prohibition of aid to Turkey for violating the 
     Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. The legislation mandates the 
     suspension of aid to any nation that bars the transshipment 
     of U.S. humanitarian assistance to a third party. However, 
     the president can waive the halt in aid if the national 
     security interests of the United States are deemed to be 
     damaged by such an action.
       The Clinton administration expressed its rationale for the 
     waiver in a memorandum of justification, saying. ``It is very 
     much in our national security interests not to terminate U.S. 
     assistance programs for Turkey. Such a termination would 
     create significant difficulties in our bilateral relations, 
     affecting a broad range of national security interests. Such 
     a termination would also reduce prospects for the successful 
     resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.'' The statement 
     cites the rationale for Ankara to close its border with 
     Armenia, explaining that the action was taken, ``when local 
     Armenian forces seized large areas of Azerbaijan despite UN 
     Security Council resolutions calling for the withdrawal of 
     all occupying forces and the cessation of hostilities.'' It 
     also praised Turkey for opening an air corridor to Armenia in 
     1995 and for its promise to open the land border ``once 
     Armenia and Azerbaijan agree on a statement of principles for 
     a settlement of the [Karabagh] conflict.''
       Congressional and Armenian community reaction to the 
     Clinton waiver decision was quick and critical. Congressman 
     John Porter, a Republican from Illinois issued a sharp 
     rebuttal to the Clinton waiver action. He said, ``It is 
     unconscionable that the president continues to defend 
     Turkey's ongoing four-year blockade of Armenia.'' He noted 
     that a bipartisan decision was made by Congress to enact the 
     Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act. He added, ``The United States 
     must not tolerate countries blockading the delivery of 
     humanitarian aid to alleviate hunger and suffering to those 
     who need it.'' Congressman Frank Pallone, Democrat from New 
     Jersey, speaking on the floor of the House of 
     Representatives, noted, ``Maintaining good relations should 
     not entail turning a blind eye to the outrageous actions 
     committed by Turkey.''
       In the United States Senate, Rhode Island Democrat Jack 
     Reed criticized the Clinton waiver. He said, ``The 
     administration's decision is troubling. U.S. humanitarian aid 
     should not be held hostage by any country to further its own 
     political ends.''
       In Washington, the Armenian Assembly of America and the 
     Armenian National Committee issued statements criticizing the 
     administration action. The Assembly's Executive Director, 
     Ross Vartian, said: ``The president's use of the national 
     security waiver is outrageous. The administration's expressed 
     rationale not only justifies Turkey's blockade, it 
     demonstrates that they have not encouraged Turkey to lift the 
     embargo.'' Vartian also questioned the administration's 
     praise of Turkey's role in the Karabagh conflict 
     negotiations. He said, ``Turkey has discredited itself as a 
     neutral party by supplying arms and military training to 
     Azerbaijan.'' [Sources: State Department text, Armenian 
     Assembly press release 4-16]


      azeri says armenia has no alternative in karabagh settlement

       Vafa Gulizade, special adviser to Azerbaijan's president 
     Heidar Aliyev, declared that Armenia has no alternative 
     except to agree to autonomy of Nagorno Karabagh within 
     Azerbaijan. Gulizade denied the OSCE peace process was 
     ``stuck.'' He said, ``The ice has begun to melt and certain 
     changes are evident.'' [Source: Azg 4-16]


     border tensions remain high as incidents increase in frequency

       Incidents along the Armenian-Azerbaijan borders have 
     increased in frequency in recent weeks and tensions remain 
     high on the northeastern sector of the border. On April 16 
     three separate exchanges of fire took place in the area. No 
     casualties were reported. [Source: Noyan Tapan 4-17]


        azerbaijan violates conventional forces in europe treaty

       On the heels of a campaign charging that Armenia has 
     received Russian arms illegally, Baku itself was accused by a 
     representative of the International Human Rights Congress 
     (IHRC), Vitaly Danilov, of violating the Conventional Forces 
     in Europe (CFE) Treaty. IHRC operates within the framework of 
     the OSCE. At a press conference in Yerevan, Danilov said that 
     an April 10 analysis by IHRC showed that between 1992 and 
     1996, Azerbaijan purchased a volume of offensive armaments 
     that exceeded CFE quotes. In contrast, Danilov declared that 
     neither Armenia nor Georgia are in violation of the CFE 
     treaty. He said, ``it is only Azerbaijan that is violating 
     the treaty.'' According to the analysis, IHRC asserts that 
     Baku's allegations of illegal arms deliveries to Armenia 
     ``are motivated by efforts to reinforce Azerbaijan's military 
     superiority over its neighbors.'' The report also suggests 
     that Baku's most recent accusations against Russian arms to 
     Armenia, ``were aimed to impede the OSCE Minsk negotiations 
     on the Karabakh problem that were in progress in Moscow, thus 
     disturbing peace in the region.'' The IHRC report listed, by 
     category, statistics covering arms deliveries to Azerbaijan 
     by the Russian Federation. The document concludes with an 
     appeal to OSCE members to take diplomatic steps to compel 
     Azerbaijan to comply by the CFE treaty. [Source: Noyan Tapan 
     4-14]


        ARARKTSIAN ADDRESSES RUSSIA'S UPPER HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT

       Babken Ararktsian, chairman of Armenia's National Assembly, 
     reviewed Armeno-Russian relations in an address to Russia's 
     upper house of parliament. Ararktsian asserted that the twin 
     blockades of Armenia by Turkey and Azerbaijan coupled with 
     the after effects of the 1988 earthquake in Armenia created a 
     major energy crisis in Armenia. This, in turn, caused an 
     abrupt decline in economic production, which has been 
     overcome largely by international assistance. He said that 
     close Armeno-Russia relations and the economic integration of 
     the CIS were of importance to Armenia. Ararktsian expressed 
     concern about the eastward expansion of NATO. He also noted 
     the importance to Armenia's security of the Russian military 
     bases in Armenia. The visiting Chairman of the Armenian 
     National Assembly also praised Russia's peacekeeping role in 
     the Nagorno Karabagh crisis, especially for Moscow's 
     initiative in establishing the present cease-fire. [Source: 
     Noyan Tapan 4-17]


           EBRD CALLS ECONOMIC GROWTH IN ARMENIA `REMARKABLE'

       A report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and 
     Development (EBRD), says that the Armenian economy has been 
     growing at a brisk pace since 1994, despite border closures 
     and interruptions in the supply of energy. The report adds, 
     ``Armenia's success in achieving positive results is 
     remarkable in view of the deadlock caused by the long-running 
     dispute with Azerbaijan over the Nagorno Karabagh enclave.'' 
     The report cites a 5.8 percent growth in GDP in 1996 and 
     predicts 6 percent for 1997. Inflation in 1996 was set at 
     18.8 percent but EBRD expects it to fall by half in 1997. The 
     report advises that Armenia will continue to require large 
     capital inflows and that a vigorous response from the private 
     sector is needed ``if Armenia is to reap the benefits of its 
     courageous reforms.'' [Source: RFE/RL London report 4-16]


            REGIONAL TRILATERAL AGREEMENT SIGNED IN YEREVAN

       Armenia's Foreign Minister Alexander Arzoumanian signed a 
     mutual cooperation agreement in Yerevan with his counterparts 
     from Iran and Turkmenistan. The accord covers cooperation in 
     the spheres of trade, economic development, transportation, 
     energy, banking, and tourism.'' Meanwhile it was reported 
     that Armenia will begin receiving electrical energy from Iran 
     beginning May 1. Also, the possibility of natural gas imports 
     from Turkmenistan through Iran starting in 1998 depends on 
     the completion of

[[Page H1771]]

     pipeline links between Turkmenistan and Iran by the end of 
     1997. [Source: Azg 4-17]
  Mr. DREIER. Mr. Speaker, once again I am proud today to raise and 
join my colleagues to honor the lives of the 1.5 million men, women, 
and children who were brutally murdered in the inaugural genocide of 
the 20th century.
  Each year, Members of Congress come together to do more than simply 
remember that the Armenians were the first victims of what is sadly 
man's bloodiest century. Rather, we are dedicated to the fervent hope 
that raising the consciousness of past atrocities, such as those which 
befell the Armenian people, will help prevent similar tragedies in the 
future.
  It is often said that before embarking on his planned final solution 
to the ``Jewish problem,'' Adolph Hitler was heard to say ``Who 
remembers the Armenians?'' Elie Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor and 1986 
Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has said, ``He was right. No one 
remembered them.'' The Nazi Holocaust, the murder of millions of 
Russians and Ukrainians by the Soviet Government, and the bloody 
rampage of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, all had their seeds 
in Anatolia. Each of the murderous regimes depended upon people not 
remembering or caring.
  The collapse of the Soviet empire and the independence of Armenia 
have been important milestones on the road toward freedom for the 
Armenian people. While very serious conflicts remain to be resolved in 
the Caucasus region, April 24 will remain an important day for 
Armenians and Armenian-Americans, who are equally dedicated to 
remembering the past and working for a brighter future.
  Mr. FARR of California. Mr. Speaker, 82 years ago there began one of 
the most tragic events in modern history: the persecution of the 
Armenian population of Ottoman turkey, which led to the death or 
deportation of some 2 million men, women, and children--solely because 
of their ethnicity.
  Over a 10 year period, Turkish Armenians were subjected to arbitrary 
execution, torture, and forced labor. Armenian women were raped or 
forced into prostitution, and tens of thousands of men, women, and 
children were forced onto death marches that claimed their lives. When 
this horrified tragedy ended, as many as 1.5 million Armenians were 
dead, and hundreds of thousands of others became refugees. The Armenian 
genocide decimated the Armenian community in Turkey, reducing its size 
by some 90 percent.
  Many years have passed since these events, but we must never forget 
what happened to the Armenians of Ottoman turkey solely because of 
their ethnicity. First and foremost, it is a lesson in the terrible 
tragedy that can so easily result from hatred and bigotry--especially 
when a country sees political gain in supporting ethnic persecution.
  Sadly, our modern world is no stranger to events of ethnic atrocity. 
More recently, Bosnia and Rwanda have been scenes of massacres and 
human brutality caused by ethnic hatred and prejudice. It is for this 
reason that we must remember and commemorate the Armenian genocide of 
1915-23, to remind ourselves of how prejudice can lead to acts of great 
evil.
  Let us join Armenian-Americans and others in commemorating the 
terrible events of 82 years ago, working to protect the human rights of 
all people around the world, and preventing such a tragedy from 
happening again.
  Mrs. KENNELLY of Connecticut. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, we mark the 82d 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. I rise to commemorate the lives 
of the 1.5 million Armenians who were enslaved, tortured, and 
exterminated from 1915 to 1923 by the Ottoman Empire.
  On April 24, 1915, Armenian intellectuals, clergy, and leaders were 
rounded up and taken to their deaths. What was to follow was the ethnic 
cleansing of the native homeland of the Armenian people. Over a period 
of 8 years, 1.5 million Armenians were murdered and another 500,000 
were deported. Before World War I, over 2 million Armenians lived in 
the Ottoman empire. By 1923, the entire population of Anatolia and 
Western Armenia had been killed or deported.
  This was the first genocide of the 20th century, but, tragically, it 
was not the last. Prior to the invasion of Poland, Adolf Hitler asked, 
``Who today remembers the extermination of the Armenians?'' In a 
climate where no one remembered, the death camps because a reality.
  Today, as nations around the world continue to struggle for peace, it 
is more important than ever to remember--and to stand up to oppose 
genocide, systematic extermination, or ethnic cleansing. I have 
cosponsored House Concurrent Resolution 55, a resolution commemorating 
the Armenian genocide, because of my belief that we must never forget 
the victims of this terrible act, and that we must always be prepared 
to prevent further crimes against humanity.
  Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania. On April 24, we commemorate the 82d 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, a tragic passage in our world 
history which observed the systematic murder and relocation of 1.5 
million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. This tragedy, the first 
genocide of the 20th century, included the torture, starvation, and 
butchering of peaceful Armenians was a horrid example and foreshadowing 
of the race extermination of which politically and religiously 
intolerant regimes are capable.
  The Ottoman Turks decapitated the Armenian population by removing 
their religious, political, and intellectual leaders and placing them 
in exile to later be murdered. With their leadership removed, the Turks 
next deprived Armenians of 250,000 of their young, able-bodied men who 
were serving in the Ottoman army at the time. These men were disarmed, 
placed in forced labor battalions, and either starved or executed. 
Severed from their leadership and physical protection, the remaining 
Armenian population were deported from every city, town, and village in 
Asia Minor and Turkish Armenia. The ensuing march saw the torture, 
rape, and mutilation of defenseless women, children, and elderly before 
their subsequent death in the Syrian desert.
  The Armenian genocide was a carefully executed government plan which 
effectively eliminated the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. I 
recommend that in commemoration of this tragedy, we remember not only 
the many lives lost, but the spirit that lives on in the Armenian 
people. I have seen this fervor in the many Armenian-Americans that 
live in my congressional district today and I commend the countless 
contributions that they have made to America from the national level 
all the way down to local communities.
  Although the Ottoman Empire may have successfully executed their 
sinister plan to eliminate the presence of the Armenian population, 
they certainly failed to kill the cohesive Armenian community or their 
spirit with which they continue to bless the United States and other 
nations fortunate to have their presence.
  Mr. DOOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
commemorating the 82d anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  This terrible human tragedy must not and will not be forgotten. Like 
the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide stands as an historical example of 
the human suffering that results from hatred and intolerance.
  One and one-half million Armenian people were massacred by the 
Ottoman Turkish Empire between 1915 and 1923. More than 500,000 
Armenians were exiled from a homeland that their ancestors had occupied 
for more than 3,000 years. A race of people was nearly eliminated.
  However great the loss of human life and homeland that occurred 
during the genocide, a greater tragedy would be to forget that the 
Armenian Genocide ever happened. To not recognize the horror of such 
events almost assures their repetition in the future. Adolph Hitler, in 
preparing his genocide plans for the Jews, predicted that no one would 
remember the atrocities he was about to unleash. After all, he asked, 
``Who remembers the Armenians?''
  Our statements today are intended to preserve the memory of the 
Armenian loss, and to remind the world that the Turkish Government--to 
this day--refuses to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. The truth of 
this tragedy can never and should never be denied.
  This 82d anniversary also brings to mind the current suffering of the 
Armenian people, who are still immersed in tragedy and violence. The 
unrest between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues in Nagorno-Karabakh. 
Thousands of innocent people have already perished in this dispute, and 
still many more have been displaced and are homeless.
  In the face of this difficult situation comes an opportunity for 
reconciliation. Now is the time for Armenian and its neighbors, 
including Turkey, to come together, to work toward building 
relationships that will assure lasting peace.
  Meanwhile, in America, the Armenian-American community continues to 
thrive and to provide assistance and solidarity to its countrymen and 
women abroad. Now numbering nearly 1 million, the Armenian-American 
community is bound together by strong generational and family ties, an 
enduring work ethic and a proud sense of ethnic heritage. Today we 
recall the tragedy of their past, not to place blame, but to answer a 
fundamental question, ``Who remembers the Armenians?''
  Our commemoration of the Armenian Genocide speaks directly to that, 
and I answer--We do.
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, thank you for taking this time tonight 
to speak about this important topic to many people in this country, 
including many in my district in Michigan.
  Recently, our Armenian-American community lost a great hero, Alex 
Manoogian. A penniless Armenian immigrant who came to America in 1924, 
Manoogian was a kind benefactor, gentle-hearted leader, a talented 
inventor and a perfect model of the American dream.

[[Page H1772]]

  He was one of the most important and influential leaders in the 
Armenian-American Community over the last century. As we commemorate 
the 82d anniversary of the genocide of millions of Armenians at the 
hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, I want to remember a bright light 
who this community misses dearly.
  And if he were here today he would be telling the story of his 
heritage. It is a story of sorrow, followed by a story of triumph. It 
is a story we must always remember so that this dark period can never 
happen again.
  I rise today to commemorate this dark period in history--those 8 
years staring in 1915 when over a million and a half of Armenian men, 
women and children were murdered by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
  While everyone has heard the story of Hitler and his systematic 
extermination of the Jewish people during World War II, the story of 
Armenian Genocide remains unknown to many.
  The Ottoman Turks were every bit as systematic as Adolph Hitler. 
After eliminating the Armenian leadership--most of which was done on 1 
day, April 24th, 1915--they then went after the male population. The 
Turks took their guns and put them into work camps where they labored 
until they died or were killed. Finally, the surviving women, children 
and elderly were marched out into the desert, where they were starved, 
raped, and tortured.
  Very few who left ever came back. They were stripped of their homes, 
property, freedom, dignity, and ultimately, their lives. By 1923, 1.5 
million Armenians had been massacred and 500,000 more had been 
deported.
  The mental images are nothing less than horrifying. The ghost-like 
silhouette of an Armenian man after weeks and months of starvation and 
torture in a labor camp. Women, children, and the elderly, forcibly 
marched into a wasteland, left to die.
  These images should be etched in the collective memory of every 
citizen of every country in the world.
  Unfortunately, there was no CNN to beam disturbing pictures into the 
world's living rooms to galvanize international opinion. There were no 
U.N. convoys to bring food for the hungry and medical treatment for the 
injured. There was only blood, hunger, and dust as thousands upon 
thousands of innocent victims died in agonizing obscurity.
  What troubles me most, beyond the scale of the atrocities, is that 
you can ask 10 people on the street what they know of the Armenian 
Genocide, and most will likely respond with silence.
  Most people are unaware that the Armenian Genocide ever happened.
  It wasn't until the 1980's that the world community officially 
recognized the genocide. And to this day, there are still some who 
dispute that classification.
  It is time for the world to remember the Armenian Genocide and give 
it its rightful place in history.
  If not for justice's sake, then for the important and painful lessons 
it lends to today's events.
  We in America have a special responsibility to remember those who 
died in those dark days. Our country was built with the sweat of 
millions of persecuted refugees, who came here from many places and at 
great risk, to simply embrace a better life and to be judged only by 
the excellence of their endeavors.
  Alex Manoogian is an example of this attitude.
  Sometimes, while we have enjoyed the fruits of freedom, democracy, 
and basic human rights for so long, we tend to take them for granted.
  This complacency sometimes allows us to forget that there are places 
where people have been systematically murdered because of who they are.
  So let us pay homage to those who fell victim to their Ottoman 
oppressors, but let us also go forth and tell the story of the 
forgotten holocaust to everyone we know.
  For the sake of the Armenian heritage, it is a story that must 
continue to be told.
  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, each year, for the past 5 or 6 years of my 
memory, my colleagues, Mr. Pallone and Mr. Porter, have organized this 
special congressional opportunity for this body to pause to honor the 
memory of the 1\1/2\ million Armenians who were killed between 1915 and 
1923 by agents of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in what is known in infamy 
as the Armenian Genocide. In essence, we retell a story of a moment in 
history, an event which began some 82 years ago. I have notices that 
each year, I find myself using the same words to tell this story, and I 
realize that this process of retelling the facts of genocide, committed 
against the people of Armenia is in itself a very important event. For 
in retelling this story of the horror which was perpetuated, we 
remember to be vigilant against the planting of the seeds of future 
atrocities.
  I would like to add that my district, the 34th Congressional 
District of California, has what I believe is the only monument in the 
United States which commemorates and records the genocide against the 
Armenian people. The citizens of the 34th Congressional District 
have strong feelings about today's commemoration, and on their behalf I 
am here today to share with you this retelling of an old and difficult 
story.
  Some would claim that our remembrance today fans the flames of 
atavistic hatred and that the issue of the Ottoman government's efforts 
to destroy the Armenian people is a matter best left to scholars and 
historians. I do not agree. For whatever ambiguities may be invoked in 
the historic record of these events, one fact remains undeniable: the 
death and suffering of Armenians on a massive scale happened, and is 
deserving of recognition and remembrance.
  This solemn occasion permits us to join in remembrance with the many 
Americans of Armenian ancestry, to remind this country of the tragic 
price paid by the Armenian community for its long pursuit of life, 
liberty, and freedom.
  Today, I rise, with my colleagues, to recall and remember one of the 
most tragic events in history and through this act of remembrance, to 
make public and vivid the memory of the ultimate price paid by the 
Armenian community by this blot against human civility.
  We come together each year with this act of commemoration, this year 
being the 82d anniversary of this genocide, to tell the stories of this 
atrocity so that we will not sink into ignorance of our capacity to 
taint human progress with acts of mass murder.
  The Armenian genocide was a deliberate act to kill, or deport, all 
Armenians from Asia Minor, and takes its place in history with other 
acts of genocide such as Stalin's destruction of the Kulaks, Hitler's 
calculated wrath on the Jews, Poles, and Romany Gypsy community in 
Central Europe, and Pol Pot's attempt to purge incorrect political 
thought from Cambodia by killing all of his people over the age of 15, 
and more recently, the ethnic cleansing atrocities in Bosnia and 
Ruanda.
  We do not have the ability to go back and correct acts of a previous 
time, or to right the wrongs of the past. If we had this capacity, 
perhaps we could have prevented the murders of millions of men, women 
and children.
  We can, however, do everything in our power to prevent such 
atrocities from occurring again. To do this, we must educate people 
about these horrible incidents, comfort the survivors and keep alive 
the memories of those who died.
  I encourage everyone to use this moment to think about the tragedy 
which was the Armenian genocide, to contemplate the massive loss of 
lives, and to ponder the loss of the human contributions which might 
have been.
  Although, the massacre we depict and describe started 82 years ago, 
the Armenian people continue to fight for their freedom and 
independence today, in Nagorno Karabakh.
  Again, this year, I would like to close my remarks with an urgent 
plea that we use this moment as an occasion to recommit ourselves to 
the spirit of human understanding, compassion, patience, and love.

  For these alone are the tools for overcoming our tragic, and uniquely 
human proclivity for resolving differences and conflicts by acts of 
violence.
  This century has been characterized as one of the bloodiest in our 
archives of human history. Certainly, the genocide perpetuated against 
the Armenian peoples has been a factor in this dismal record.
  The dawning of a new millennium offers our human race two paths. One 
continues along a road of destruction, distrust, and despair. Those who 
travel this path have lost their connection to the primal directives, 
which permit us as a society to maintain balance, continuity, and 
harmony.
  I would ask my colleagues, on this 82d anniversary of one of 
history's bloodiest massacres of human beings--and during a time of 
history when violent solutions to problems between peoples continue to 
hold sway--to contemplate the second path. The map to this path exists 
within the guiding teachings of all major world religions and are 
encapsulated in what Christians refer to as the 10 Commandments. I 
would ask my colleagues, no matter their religious or political 
persuasions and beliefs, to revisit these core teachings which form a 
common bond between all peoples. To use these common beliefs as the 
basis for action and understanding in these trying times. The surface 
differences between peoples, offer only an exciting diversity in form. 
At the core all peoples are united by common dreams, aspirations, and 
beliefs in a desire for harmony, decency, and peace with justice.
  Let these testimonies of the atrocities perpetuated against the 
Armenian people serve as a reminder that as a human race we can, and 
must, do better. It takes strength and wisdom to understand that the 
sword of compassion is indeed mightier than the sword of steel.
  Certainly, as we reflect over the conflicts of this closing century, 
we can only come to the conclusion that violence begets violence, 
hatred begets hatred and that only understanding patience, compassion, 
and love can open

[[Page H1773]]

the door to the realization of the dreams which we all hold for our 
children and for their children.
  Let our statements today, remembering and openly condemning the 
atrocity committed against the Armenians, help renew a commitment of 
the American people to oppose any and all instances of genocide. As we 
enter the new millennium let us commit ourselves to finding new and 
peaceful paths for resolving differences which inevitably arise.
  I thank you for the honor of sharing these thoughts and words with 
you today.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, together with my colleagues, 
to commemorate the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23. On this day, in 1915, 
over 200 Armenian leaders were systematically massacred by the Turkish 
Government. Yet these horrific murders were only a precursor to the 
brutality and aggressiveness that would follow. In just 8 years, over 
1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were murdered and an 
entire population was faced with annihilation. I stand today, not only 
to acknowledge and remember the horrors of this tragic event but to 
denounce the government of Turkey for their denial of these 
historically documented truths. The official position of the Turkish 
Government is that, during World War I, a series of internal conflicts 
contributed to the unfortunate deaths of many Armenians. This claim 
shamefully ignores the premeditated murder of these people. As Members 
of Congress and as human beings, it is our responsibility to defend the 
memories of those who needlessly suffered. We must preserve the dignity 
of lives destroyed by the cruelty of a government. Their plight 
deserves remembrance and the world deserves the truth. The Turkish 
Government's refusal to acknowledge the Armenian genocide is 
disgraceful and I find it to be an injustice, which should not be 
tolerated under any circumstances. It is essential to recognize the 
devastation that was incurred by ignoring the Armenian genocide and 
allowing such horrors to reoccur through the Holocaust. We remember the 
trauma befallen upon the Jews and we must now stand up for the 
suffering forced upon millions of Armenians. The world can no longer 
refute history. Instead we must come together as Armenians, as Jews and 
as human beings to guarantee that no person shall ever endure such pain 
again. I thank my colleagues, Congressman John Porter and Congressman 
Frank Pallone, for leading this effort in the House of Representatives, 
and am proud to be a member of the Armenian Issues Caucus in order to 
work on this issue of concern to all human beings.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I am appreciative of the 
efforts of my colleagues in taking out this special order and making it 
possible for us to reaffirm our absolute determination that the 
Armenian genocide will not go unnoticed. The world made a terrible 
mistake, with disastrous consequences, when it ignored the terrible 
crime committed by Turkey against the Armenian people 80 years and more 
ago. I continue to be baffled by the unwillingness of the current 
Turkish Government to acknowledge this horrible crime. I do not blame 
the current inhabitants of Turkey for the sins of their ancestors, but 
their refusal to acknowledge these terrible actions do them no credit.
  As do many of my colleagues, I greatly admire the fierce commitment 
of the current generation of Armenians to honor the memory of the 
innocent people who were slaughtered simply because they were Armenian. 
They do a great service for the world by not only commemorating their 
own ancestors, but by focusing world attention on the terrible 
consequences of allowing crimes like this to go unopposed and 
unnoticed. Remembering the Armenian genocide is both an important 
tribute to those who were slaughtered and one step in making sure that 
this does not happen again.


                             general leave

  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on this special order on the Armenian genocide.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, if the gentleman from California has 
nothing else, I would thank him for participating with me.

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