[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 153 (Wednesday, November 3, 1999)]
[Senate]
[Page S13836]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TRAGEDY IN ARMENIA

 Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I rise today to express my 
sorrow at last week's tragedy in the Armenian National Parliament. 
Prime Minister Sarkissian, Speaker Demirchian, and six other 
legislators were killed. While we may never know what motivated the 
gunmen to storm the building, we do know that a single act of terror 
was directed against individuals who were attempting to build and 
strengthen Armenia's democratic institutions. Armenia has made positive 
movement toward widespread democracy and free markets, and the leaders 
who lost their lives had played important roles in these reforms. As a 
result, this tragedy is truly a great loss for the Armenian people. For 
this reason, I have joined Senator Abraham in introducing a resolution 
condemning the incident.
  After months of progress on a range of issues, from the rule of law, 
to Nagorno-Karabakh, to fighting corruption, Armenia is faced with a 
huge obstacle to overcome. Just this past week, Armenia held local 
elections nation-wide that were deemed free and fair by independent 
observers. These elections were not without minor irregularities, but 
the overall impact has been to reaffirm and further strengthen the 
commitment of the Armenian people to an open election process.
  On the complex issue of peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, significant 
progress has been made recently. Bilateral meetings between President 
Kocharian and President Aliyev have been frequent and intensive in 
response to our encouragement for greater results. Just hours before 
the attack, Prime Minister Sarkissian had met with President Kocharian 
and Deputy Secretary of State Talbott to discuss the peace process. 
Clearly, it will be difficult for Armenia to move forward without 
Sarkissian's presence--difficult, but not impossible.
  Given the tremendous amount of progress Armenia has made since 
declaring independence from the Soviet Union, I am confident that the 
Armenian people will move past this tragic event and continue to build 
upon their successes. But the key to doing so is ongoing support from 
the United States. Together, our two countries have built strong ties, 
focusing upon a prosperous, secure and democratic future. It is 
critical that, in the midst of such overpowering grief, we renew our 
support for the people of Armenia and their leaders. As they continue 
to build upon the principles that the victims had worked to fulfill, 
the people of Armenia should know that the United States supports their 
efforts. I hope my colleagues will join me in sending this message to 
the Armenian people.

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