[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 50 (Thursday, April 24, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S3693]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             REMEMBERING TURKEY'S GENOCIDE OF THE ARMENIANS

 Mr. D'AMATO. Mr. President, America has always been a haven 
for victims of oppression and it is fitting that Members of this body 
rise every year to mark April 24--the day that commemorates Turkey's 
genocide of the Armenians. In the first instance in the 20th century 
when a state declared war on a minority group, an estimated 1.5 million 
people were killed. We rise today to show our solidarity with the 
victims and our condemnation of the slaughterers.
  Many Armenian survivors came to the United States, where they found 
sanctuary. They have prospered and their vibrant community as a whole 
has become an integral part of American life and the democratic 
process. But while realizing and contributing to the American dream, 
they always remembered their Armenian origins, and never forgot their 
national sorrow. As Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Wiesel has written, 
the Armenian people are rooted firmly ``in their collective and 
immutable memory where death itself is vanquished, because the memory 
of death is received as a symbol, an instant of eternity.''
  Their sharing of the Armenian historical experience with non-
Armenians has served as a stark reminder for us all of the universality 
of human evil and the strength of the human spirit, even at the darkest 
moments. The resilience of the survivors and Armenians the world over 
have inspired in other peoples feelings of shared sorrow and 
admiration. We mourn with them, and simultaneously take pride in their 
ability to overcome a great historical injustice, the consciousness of 
which never disappears.
  Unhappily for them, Armenians have been called upon to be our 
teachers. From their terrible suffering we have learned that states may 
not make war upon minority groups, and the international community will 
neither tolerate nor forget such transgressions. From their ability to 
transcend the saddest moments of their history, we take heart and 
recommit ourselves to remembrance, celebration, and vigilance.

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