[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 48 (Monday, April 27, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3659-S3660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING THE ARMENIAN VICTIMS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

 Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I rise today to honor the memory 
of the ethnic Armenians who died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire 
from 1915-1923. Last week, we marked the 83rd anniversary of the 
beginning of a systematic, officially-sanctioned genocide that would 
eventually claim 1.5 million lives and force more than 250,000 to flee 
their homeland. As a result, there are fewer than 80,000 Armenians 
remaining in present-day Turkey.
  I have spoken about these events every year of my term, on or near 
this date, in order to remind the Senate--and to remind the American 
people--of the sacrifice of these 1.5 million people who were murdered 
simply because of their ethnicity. In a country where we cherish the 
ethnic diversity of our citizens and welcome legal immigrants from 
around the globe, we sometimes forget about the ethnic strife that 
existed--and continues to exist--all over the world.
  Unfortunately, ethnic conflict has led to genocide all too often, as 
we have seen during this decade in Bosnia, Rwanda, and elsewhere. More 
recently, there has been a resurgence of ethnic fighting in Kosovo, 
where the minority Serb population seeks to control the majority 
Albanian population.
  Mr. President, human rights violations have become all too 
commonplace in the modern world. Beatings, rapes, murders, and 
``disappearances'' have become routine weapons of war in battles where 
the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice. It is my strong view 
that the United States must continue to lead the fight for global human 
rights.
  The recent death of Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot--who died before he 
could be tried for the murders of millions of Cambodians--reinforces 
the urgency of bringing those responsible for genocide to justice. I 
applaud the efforts of the United Nations International Criminal 
Tribunal which is currently working to prosecute those responsible for 
the atrocities committed in Rwanda and the Former Yugoslavia.

[[Page S3660]]

  As we honor the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians whose 
annihilation began 83 years ago, we must also remember the countless 
other victims of ``ethnic cleansing'' around the globe, and recommit 
ourselves to the effort to punish those responsible for these 
unspeakable crimes.

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