[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 55 (Wednesday, April 21, 1999)]
[House]
[Pages H2246-H2247]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MEMORIALIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. McNulty) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I join with my many colleagues today in 
remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide. But rather than 
repeat what has already been said, let me say a few words about the 
very positive spirit of the Armenian people, because they endured a 
great deal before, during and after the genocide, and they were under 
the totalitarian dictatorship of the Soviet Union for many decades.
  That all ended in 1991, and I was there to see it. I was one of the 
four international observers from the United States Congress to monitor 
that independence referendum. I went to the communities in the northern 
part of Armenia, and I watched in awe as 95 percent of all of the 
people over the age of 18 went out and voted in that referendum. And of 
course, the thought did not escape me how great it would be if we could 
get that kind of participation in our own democratic government here in 
the United States of America. But, as always, sometimes we take things 
for granted.
  But the Armenian people had been denied for so many years, they were 
so excited about this new opportunity, almost everyone was out in the 
streets, and that number, I am sure, Mr. Speaker, was not inflated 
because as best I could determine it, no one was in their homes. They 
were all out into the streets going to the polling places. I watched 
people stand in line literally for hours to get into these small 
polling places and vote.
  Then, after they voted, the other interesting thing was that they did 
not go home, because they had brought little covered dishes with them, 
and all of these little polling places across the country, they would 
have little banquets afterwards to celebrate what had just happened.
  What a great thrill it was to be with them the next day in the 
streets of Yerevan when they were celebrating the great victory, 
because 98 percent of the people who voted, of course, voted in favor 
of independence. It was a great thrill to be there with them when they 
danced and sang and shouted, Getze Haiastan, long live free and 
independent Armenia. That should be the cry of all freedom-loving 
people throughout the world today.

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