[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 57 (Monday, April 26, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                84TH COMMEMORATION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 21, 1999

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, as the horrors in Kosovo continue to 
unfold, we must not forget the other horrible acts against humanity 
that preceded it. That is why it is important today that we remember 
the Armenian Genocide, and honor the memory of the 1.5 million 
Armenians who died between 1915 and 1923.
  The Armenian Genocide started in 1915, when the Turkish government 
rounded up and killed Armenian soldiers. Then, on April 24, 1915, the 
government turned its attention to slaughtering Armenian intellectuals. 
They were killed because of their ethnicity, the first group in the 
20th Century killed not for what they did, but for who they were.
  By the time the bloodshed of the genocide ended, the victims included 
the aged, women and children who had been forced from their homes and 
marched to relocation camps, beaten and brutalized along the way. In 
addition to the 1.5 million dead, over 500,000 Armenians were chased 
from their homeland.
  It is important that we make the time, every year, to remember the 
victims of the Armenian genocide. Given global events, that 
commemoration seems more poignant now. We hope that, by remembering the 
bloodshed and atrocities committed against the Armenians, we can 
prevent this kind of tragedy from repeating itself. Unfortunately, 
these events have again proven us wrong.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we must continue to talk about the Armenian 
genocide. We must keep alive the memory of those who lost their lives 
during the eight years of bloodshed in Armenia. We must educate other 
nations who have not recognized that the Armenian genocide occurred. 
Above all, we must remain vigilant.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Armenian-Americans--the survivors and their 
descendants--who continue to educate the world about the tragedy of the 
Armenian Genocide and make valuable contributions to our shared 
American culture. Because of their efforts, the world will not be 
allowed to forget the memory of the victims of the first 20th Century 
holocaust.

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