[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E739-E740]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. JOHN JOSEPH MOAKLEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 23, 1997

  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the millions 
of victims of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23.
  Although to some it may seem a long time ago, those 8 years witnessed 
one of this century's darkest chapters. Before planning the final 
solution in Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler said, ``who remembers the 
Armenians?'' Today's remembrance is testimony to their bravery and our 
memories.
  On April 24, 1915, Turkish officials rounded up and murdered over 200 
Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople. During the following 8 years, 
Armenians living under Ottoman rule

[[Page E740]]

suffered the losses of their homes, their property, and eventually, 
their lives.
  By 1923, only one in three Armenians had survived the genocide; 1.5 
million Armenians were killed and half a million were deported. But to 
this day, the Turkish Government denies the genocide took place on 
Turkish soil.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to add my name to the list of those who 
will not forget the genocide and will work to make sure that future 
generations remember as well.
  Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

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