[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 54 (Wednesday, April 30, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E797-E798]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE VICTIMS OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT A. WEYGAND

                            of rhode island

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 30, 1997

  Mr. WEYGAND. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Armenian community in 
Rhode Island, I would like to take the opportunity to recognize and 
commemorate the Congressional observance of the 82d anniversary of the 
Armenian Genocide, a solemn, yet historically significant event.
  We honor today the 1.5 million victims, who were massacred at the 
hands of the Ottoman Turks, and express our condolences to their 
descendants. The world has chosen to ignore this tragedy and because we 
must ensure that history does not repeat itself, we need to properly 
acknowledge the horrors of the Armenian Genocide.
  The Armenian Genocide was launched when efforts led by the Ottoman 
Empire led to the eradication and destruction of the Armenian people. 
As a result, over 300,000 people died in 1895 and 30,000 in 1909 before 
the West eventually interceded. The tumultuous events of World War I 
allowed the Turks to launch their next assault on the Armenian 
community. The period of 1915-23 marks one of the darkest periods of 
modern times--the first example of genocide in the 20th century. On 
April 24, 1915, 200 intellectuals, political and religious leaders from 
Constantinople were executed by Turkish officials. Throughout an 8-year 
period, Armenians were driven from their homes, forced to endure death 
marches, starved, and executed in mass numbers.

[[Page E798]]

  To this day, the Turkish Government does not recognize any of these 
occurrences and denies responsibility for the eradication of almost the 
entire Armenian population living in Turkey.
  I gather here today with my fellow colleagues and the Armenian 
community to proclaim that the genocide did indeed happen. 
Unfortunately, we cannot change the past, but we can all work together 
to ensure that these injustices never occur again in the course of 
humanity. By honoring the victims of the Armenian Genocide and sharing 
the grief of their families, we can begin to heal the many wounds.
  I would like to end with this thought from former President Theodore 
Roosevelt, who in 1915 stated:

       . . . the Armenian massacre was the greatest crime of the 
     war and the failure to deal radically with the horror means 
     that all talk of guaranteeing future peace of the world is 
     mischievous nonsense.

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