[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 45 (Wednesday, April 22, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H2216]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     COMMEMORATION OF THE 83rd ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, today I come to the floor again to 
commemorate the anniversary of one of the darkest stains on the history 
of Western civilization, the genocide of the Armenian people by the 
Ottoman Turkish Empire. I greatly appreciate the strong support of so 
many of our colleagues in this effort, especially that of the gentleman 
from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) my fellow cochairman of the Armenian 
Issues Caucus.
  I commend the gentleman for arranging this evening and for his 
continued dedication to these vitally important issues.
  Mr. Speaker, there is not a single Member here who wishes that we did 
not have to have this special order. We would like to believe that such 
a tragedy could have never happened, because it is painful to accept 
that man is capable of perpetuating and tolerating such atrocities. 
Unfortunately, however, we have seen over and over the tragic results 
of hatred and ignorance; the Holocaust, ethnic cleansing in the former 
Yugoslavia, the Rwandan genocide. And too often, the so-called 
civilized nations of the world have turned a blind eye.
  On April 24th, 1915, over 200 Armenian religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders were arrested in Istanbul and killed, marking the 
beginning of an 8-year campaign, which resulted in the destruction of 
the ethnic Armenian community, which had previously lived in Anatolia, 
in western Armenia. Between 1915 and 1923, approximately 1.5 million 
Armenians were killed, and more than 500,000 were exiled.
  The U.S. Government was aware of what was happening during these 
tragic years. The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry 
Morgenthau, Sr., sent back graphic descriptions of death marches and 
mass killings. Other Western diplomats did the same.
  Although the U.S. and others voiced concerns about the atrocities and 
sent humanitarian assistance, little was actually done to stop the 
massacres. The Armenian genocide was the first genocide of the modern 
age and has been recognized as a precursor of subsequent attempts to 
destroy a race through an official systematic effort.
  We must call this what it was, genocide, and we must never forget 
that it happened. Congress has consistently demanded recognition of the 
historical fact of the Armenian genocide. Unfortunately, the same 
cannot be said for our executive branch.
  The modern German Government, although not itself responsible for the 
horrors of the Holocaust, has taken responsibility for it and 
apologized for it. Yet the modern Turkish Government continues to deny 
that the Armenian genocide ever happened. Moreover, they have chosen to 
attack the messengers with smear campaigns and misinformation, rather 
than facing historical facts. A number of Members of Congress have been 
called names and accused of lying and treachery by the Turkish media 
for simply speaking the truth.
  Turkish refusal to acknowledge historical facts fits the pattern of 
denial that, unfortunately, we have come to expect; denial of torture, 
denial of repression of minorities, denial of political repression, 
denial of high-level corruption.
  Recently, however, some Turkish officials have realized that the only 
way Turkey can cement her position in the community of democratic 
nations is to admit these problems and deal with them.

  There is finally a national dialogue in Turkey about these human 
rights abuses. I have yet, however, to witness a change in rhetoric 
about the Armenian genocide. I hope that the fact that Turkey and 
Armenia may begin direct bilateral discussions to improve relations 
will signal real substantive change.
  Armenia and the Armenians will remain vigilant to assure that this 
tragic history is not repeated. The United States should do all it can 
in this regard as well, including a clear message about the historical 
fact of the Armenian genocide.
  I call on President Clinton to have the courage to speak plainly 
about what happened 83 years ago. We do Turkey no favors by 
facilitating her self-delusion, and we make ourselves hypocrites when 
we fail to sound the alarm on the human rights abuses occurring in 
Turkey, a close American ally today.
  Armenia has made amazing progression in rebuilding a society and a 
Nation, a triumph of the human spirit in the face of dramatic 
obstacles. Armenia is committed to democracy, market economics, and the 
rule of law, as evidenced by the recent peaceful free and successful 
Presidential elections.
  The time has come to recognize the history of the region, to admit 
the truth of the Armenian genocide, and to bring the nations and 
peoples together to live in peace and with a commitment that never 
again will an atrocity such as this be allowed to occur.

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