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




                 84TH ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Ney). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the thoughtful remarks of 
my colleague, the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Kasich), the chairman of the 
Committee on the Budget, before I begin my remarks.
  On this 84th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we take a moment 
to remind ourselves anew of the atrocities that people are capable of 
committing against others. The Armenian Genocide of 1915 to 1923 ranks 
among the most tragic episodes of the 20th century. It serves as a 
constant reminder for us to be on guard against the oppression of any 
people, particularly based on their race or religion. Too often during 
this century, the world has stood silent while whole races and 
religions were attacked and nearly annihilated. This cannot be allowed 
to happen again. Particularly as we face revived and brutal ethnic 
hatred in Kosovo, we must take this opportunity to reaffirm our 
commitment to the achievement of liberty and peace worldwide.
  I would also like to take a moment, thinking about the individuals 
who lost their lives during that Armenian genocide. One-and-a-half 
million innocent Armenians had their lives snuffed out mercilessly. 
When we try to contemplate the idea of one-and-a-half million lives, it 
is a staggering number, almost incomprehensible. But we must remember 
the victims of the genocide as they were. Not numbers, but mothers and 
fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and 
friends. Each and every victim had hopes, dreams and a life that 
deserved to be lived to the fullest. It is our duty to remember them 
today and everyday.
  As a member of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, we work every day 
with many of our colleagues to bring peace and stability to Armenia and 
its neighboring countries. Division and hatred can only lead to more 
division and hatred, as the genocide proved. Hopefully, the work of the 
caucus and of the others committed to the same cause will help ensure 
that an atrocity such as the genocide will never happen again. Kishar 
paree and Shnorhagalootyoon. I thank you for your time.

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