[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H2173-H2180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, as my colleagues and I do 
every year at this time, in a proud but solemn tradition to remember 
and pay tribute to the victims of one of history's worst crimes against 
humanity, the Armenian genocide of 1915 to 1923.
  This evening my colleagues will be discussing various aspects of this 
tragedy, including what actually happened, how it affected the victims, 
the survivors and their descendents, how the perpetrators and their 
descendants have responded, the reaction of the United States and other 
major nations, and what lessons the Armenian genocide teaches us today.
  Since we are constrained by time limitations, I will also be 
submitting for the Record some additional information.
  Mr. Speaker, the Armenian genocide was the systematic extermination, 
the murder of 1.5 Armenian men, women, and children during the Ottoman 
Turkish empire. This is of the first genocide of the 20th century, but 
sadly, not the last. Sadder still, at the dawn of the 21st century we 
continue to see the phenomenon of genocide. Such is the danger of 
ignoring or forgetting the lessons of the Armenian genocide.
  April 24 marks the 85th anniversary of the unleashing of the Armenian 
genocide. On that dark day in 1915, some 200 Armenian religious, 
political, and intellectual leaders from the Turkish capital of 
Constantinople, now Istanbul, were arrested and exiled in one fell 
swoop, silencing the leading representatives of the Armenian community 
in the Ottoman capital.
  This was the beginning of the genocide. Over the years from 1915 to 
1923, millions of men, women, and children were deported, forced into 
slave labor, and tortured by the government of the Young Turk 
Committee, and 1.5 million of them were killed.
  The deportations and killings finally ended with the establishment of 
the Republic of Turkey in 1923, although efforts to erase all traces of 
the Armenian presence in the area continued. To this day, the 
Republican of Turkey refuses to acknowledge the fact that this massive 
crime against humanity took place on soil under its control and in the 
name of Turkish nationalism.
  Not only does Turkey deny that the genocide ever took place, it has 
mounted an aggressive effort to try to present an alternative and false 
version of history, using its extensive financial and lobbying 
resources in this country.
  Recently the Turkish government signed a $1.8 million contract for 
the lobbying services of three very prominent former members of this 
House to argue Turkey's case in the halls of power here in Washington. 
While the major focus of their efforts is trying to secure a $4 billion 
attack helicopter sale, two of these lobbyists and former Congressmen, 
according to the April 8 edition of the National Journal, were recently 
here on Capitol Hill trying to persuade leaders of this House not to 
support legislation affirming U.S. recognition of the genocide.
  Mr. Speaker, the sponsors of that legislation, House Resolution 398, 
the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Bonior), will also be speaking tonight. I want to praise 
them for taking the lead on this bipartisan initiative which currently 
has 38 cosponsors and which has obviously caused some concern within 
the Turkish government.
  I regret to say that the United States still does not officially 
recognize the Armenian genocide. Bowing to strong pressure from Turkey, 
the U.S. State Department and American presidents of both parties have 
for more than 15 years shied away from referring to the tragic events 
of 1915 through 1923 by the word ``genocide'', thus minimizing and not 
accurately conveying what really happened beginning 85 years ago.
  This legislation is an effort to address this shameful lapse in our 
own Nation's record as a champion of human rights and historical fact.
  Mr. Speaker, the Armenian people are united in suffering and the 
spirit of remembrance with the Jewish people, who were, of course, also 
the victims of genocide in the 20th century. I wanted to cite a letter 
from Mrs. Rima Feller-Varzhapetyan, president of the Jewish community 
of Armenia.
  In a letter to the Congress of the United States, which I will submit 
for the Record, Mrs. Varzhapetyan wrote, ``Had the world recognized and 
condemned the genocide at the time, it is unlikely that the word 
Holocaust would have become known to the Jewish people.''
  She also states, ``We believe that what happened to Armenians at the 
beginning of the century is not an issue

[[Page H2174]]

 for only Armenians. It is a cruel crime against humanity.'' She 
concludes, ``Believing that Turkey's membership in the European Union 
should require its acknowledgment of responsibility for the Armenian 
genocide, which will benefit the Turkish people as well, the Jewish 
community of Armenia urges the Congress of the United States to speak 
up in support of the interests of the Armenians, and to recognize the 
genocide of Armenians as they recognize the Jewish Holocaust.''
  Mr. Speaker, there is additional information that I will include in 
my statement for the Record, but I wanted to conclude by praising the 
work of the Armenian American community in keeping the flame of memory 
burning. This week members of the Armenian Assembly of America held an 
advocacy day on Capitol Hill in which they urged the Members of 
Congress on several key issues, including the recognition of the 
genocide.
  On Sunday, April 16, the annual commemoration will be held in Times 
Square in New York City, and on Tuesday, May 2, after Congress returns 
from our spring recess, the Armenian National Committee will host the 
sixth annual Capitol Hill observance and reception marking the 
anniversary of the genocide.
  I am pleased to report that the Armenian Assembly has recently 
acquired a building not far from the White House here in Washington to 
use as the future site of the Armenian Genocide Museum.
  Mr. Speaker, I include for the Record the letter from Ms. 
Varzhapetyan.
  The letter referred to is as follows:
                                      Jewish Community of Armenia,


                                          Republic of Armenia,

                      Yerevan 375051, 2/1 Griboyedov St., off. 49.
     Congress of The United States of America
       On 24 April, 2000, 85-th anniversary of the Genocide of 
     Armenians--a horrifying crime, which occurred at the 
     beginning of this century--will be commemorated.
       Had the world recognized and condemned the Genocide at the 
     time, it is unlikely that the word Holocaust would have 
     become known to the Jewish people. Today the world is not 
     safeguarded against genocide. It can be repeated anywhere in 
     the world.
       We believe that what happened to Armenians at the beginning 
     of the century is not an issue for only Armenians. It is a 
     cruel crime against humanity.
       Taking into consideration that the Armenian Genocide was 
     recognized by the United Nations Human Rights Subcommission 
     in 1985, that it was recognized by member states of the 
     European Union in 1987, and by the Ottoman military tribunal 
     in 1919, the Jewish Community of Armenia believes that the 
     recognition of the 1915-1923 Armenian Genocide will 
     positively impact the resolution of a number of issues in the 
     Caucasus.
       Believing that Turkey's membership in the European Union 
     should require its acknowledgment of responsibility for the 
     Armenian Genocide--which will benefit the Turkish people as 
     well--the Jewish Community of Armenia urges Congress of The 
     United States of America to speak up in support of the 
     interests of the Armenians and to recognize the Genocide of 
     Armenians, as they recognized the Jewish Holocaust.
                                                Rima Varzhapetyan,
                                              Chairman of the JCA.

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of the one 
and a half million Armenians who perished in the Armenian Genocide of 
1915-1923.
  The Armenian Genocide was one of the most awful events in history. It 
was a horrible precedent for other twentieth-century genocides--from 
Nazi Germany to Cambodia, Bosnia, and Rwanda.
  This great tragedy is commemorated each year on April 24. On that day 
in 1915 hundreds of Armenian leaders in Constantinople were rounded up 
to be deported and killed.
  In the following years, Ottoman officials expelled millions of 
Armenians from homelands they had inhabited for over 2,500 years. 
Families--men, women, and children--were driven into the desert to die 
of starvation, disease, and exposure. Survivors tell of harrowing 
forced marches and long journeys packed into cattle cars like animals. 
In 1915, the New York Times carried reports of families burned alive in 
wooden houses or chained together and drowned in Lake Van.
  Mr. Speaker, the murder of innocent children can never be an act of 
self-defense, as the Ottomans claimed. As Henry Morgenthau, Sr., the 
United States Ambassador to Turkey, cabled to the U.S. Department in 
1915, the actions of the Ottoman Government constituted ``a campaign of 
race extermination * * * under pretence of a reprisal against 
rebellion.''
  Documents in the archives of the United States, Britain, France, 
Austria, the Vatican, and other nations confirm Ambassador Morgenthau's 
assessment. While the Turkish government claims it resources show 
otherwise, Turkey has never opened its archives to objective scholars.
  It is time for the world to deal honestly and openly with this great 
blemish on our common history.
  The United States can be proud of its role in opposing the genocide 
while it was taking place.
  Ambassador Morgenthau, with State Department approval, collected 
witness accounts and other evidence of atrocities, calling 
international attention to the genocide. A Concurrent Resolution of the 
United States Senate encouraged the President to set aside a day of 
sympathy for Armenian victims. Congress and President Wilson chartered 
the organization of Near East Relief, which provided over $100 million 
in aid for Armenian survivors and led to the adoption of 132,000 
Armenian orphans as foster children in the United States.
  Yet the international community failed to take decisive action 
against the criminals who planned and instigated this tragedy.
  After World War I, courts-martial sentenced the chief organizers of 
the Armenian Genocide to death, but the verdicts of the courts were not 
enforced. International standards were not asserted to hold Ottoman 
officials accountable.
  I have cosponsored legislation that would help redress this tragedy.
  H. Res. 398 would take steps to ensure that all Foreign Service 
officers and other United States officials dealing with human rights 
issues are familiar with the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of 
the failure to enforce judgments on the responsible officials.
  It would also recognize the seriousness of these events by calling on 
the President to refer to the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians following 
1915 as ``genocide.''
  In 1939, when Adolf Hitler was issuing orders for German ``Death 
Units'' to murder Polish and Jewish men, women, and children, he noted, 
``After all, who remembers the extermination of the Armenians?''
  Mr. Speaker, the Congress of the United States remembers the 
Armenians. I urge my colleagues to join me in condemning genocide and 
honoring the memory of 1.5 million innocent victims. Cosponsor H. Res. 
398.
  Mr. ACKERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to join with so many of my 
colleagues in recalling the horrors visited upon the Armenian people 
and to take a stand against those who would deny the past in order to 
shape the future. The Armenian Genocide, which occurred between 1915 
and 1923, resulted in the deliberate death of 1.5 million human souls, 
killed for the crime of their own existence.
  A shocking forerunner of still greater slaughter to come in the 20th 
century, the Armenian Genocide marked a critical point in history, when 
technology and ideology combined with the power of the state to make 
war on an entire people. The Ottoman Empire's campaign to eliminate the 
whole of the Armenian population existing within its borders was no 
accident, no mistake made by a minor functionary. Genocide was official 
policy and 1.5 million corpses were the result. The innocent, the 
harmless, the blameless, without regard to age, sex or status, they 
were the victims of deportation, starvation and massacre.
  When we here, in the House of Representatives, recall the deaths of 
the innocent of Armenia, we stand as witnesses to history and recognize 
the common bond of humanity. We acknowledge not just Armenians, but all 
the victims of vicious nationalism, ethnic and religious hatred, and 
pathological ideologies. The double tragedy of the Armenian Genocide, 
is first, that 1.5 million lives were snuffed out, and second, that the 
world, including the United States, not only did nothing, but again 
stood by as genocide took place on an even vaster scale across Europe 
only 16 years later.
  ``Never again.'' This is the simple lesson we as a nation have 
learned from the unprecedented slaughter of the innocent in the last 
century. Our armed forces are serving nobly around the world to make 
this dictum more than just words. If we are to be a just and honorable 
nation, we must do more than shrug our shoulders at atrocities. We, as 
a nation, must bear witness to history, and having acknowledged the 
horrors of the past, commit ourselves to preventing their repetition.
  Mr. Speaker, I am here today for one simple reason: to recall 
publicly that eighty-five years ago one-third of the Armenian people 
were put to death for the crime of their own existence. To deny this 
reality is to murder them again. We can not, we must not, allow their 
deaths to be stripped of meaning by allowing the crime committed 
against them to slowly slip into the mists of lost memory.
  Thanks to the strength and commitment of America's citizens of 
Armenian descent, their memory will not be lost. The victims of the 
Armenian Genocide will not be forgotten. I'd also like to commend and 
thank my colleagues Congressmen John Porter and Frank Pallone, the co-
chairmen of the Congressional Caucus of Armenian Issues. Thanks to 
their leadership, this House has again honorably fulfilled America's 
commitment to memory and justice.

[[Page H2175]]

  Mr. GILMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored that my colleagues have invited 
me to join in today's special order commemorating the tragic events 
that began in 1915.
  I know how important this commemoration is to those Armenian-
Americans descended from the survivors of the massacres carried out 
during World War I, almost eighty-five years ago.
  Indeed, hundreds of thousands of Armenians died at that time as a 
result of brutal actions taken by the Turkish Ottoman Empire.
  While the men and women who died during those tragic days would not 
live to see it, the Armenian nation has now re-emerged, despite the 
suffering its people endured under the Ottoman Empire and during the 
following eight decades of communist dictatorship under the former 
Soviet Union.
  As I have said before, the independent state of Armenia stands today 
as clear proof that indeed the Armenian people have survived the 
challenges of the past--and will survive the challenges of the future 
as well.
  Through assistance and diplomatic support, the United States is 
helping Armenia to build a new future.
  Today, Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join us in looking to the 
past and in commemorating those hundreds of thousands of innocents who 
lost their lives some eighty-five years ago.
  Mr. DOOLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my 
colleagues in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
  This terrible human tragedy must not be forgotten. Like the 
Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide stands as a tragic example of the 
human suffering that results from hatred and intolerance.
  One and a half million Armenian people were massacred by the Ottoman 
Turkish Empire between 1915 and 1923. More than 500,000 Armenians were 
exiled from a homeland that their ancestors had occupied for more than 
3,000 years. A race of people was nearly eliminated.
  It would be an even greater tragedy to forget that the Armenian 
Genocide ever happened. To not recognize the horror of such events 
almost assures their repetition in the future. Adolf Hitler, in 
preparing his genocide plans for the Jews, predicted that no one would 
remember the atrocities he was about to unleash. After all, he asked, 
``Who remembers the Armenians?''
  Our statements today are intended to preserve the memory of the 
Armenian loss, and to remind the world that the Turkish government--to 
this day--refuses to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. The truth of 
this tragedy can never and should never be denied.
  And we must also be mindful of the current suffering of the Armenian, 
where the Armenian people are still immersed in tragedy and violence. 
The unrest between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues in Nagorno-
Karabakh. Thousands of innocent people have already perished in this 
dispute, and many more have been displaced and are homeless.
  In the face of this difficult situation we have an opportunity for 
reconciliation. Now is the time for Armenia and its neighbors to come 
together and work toward building relationships that will assure 
lasting peace.
  Meanwhile, in America, the Armenian-American community continues to 
thrive and to provide assistance and solidarity to its countrymen and 
women abroad. The Armenian-American community is bound together by 
strong generational and family ties, an enduring work ethic and a proud 
sense of ethnic heritage. Today we recall the tragedy of their past, 
not to place blame, but to answer a fundamental question, ``Who 
remembers the Armenians?''
  Our commemoration of the Armenian Genocide speaks directly to that, 
and I answer, we do.
  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 85th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  After decades of ethnic and religious persecution, Armenians living 
within the Ottoman Empire joined together with the purpose of restoring 
freedom and self-determination to the Armenian people. In retaliation, 
the Sultan ordered the mass deportation of over 1,750,000 Armenians 
from their villages and homes and towards Mesopotamia. They left behind 
all they had known for a dozen generations and began a horrifying trek 
across an uninhabitable desert. These innocent families were either 
slaughtered by their captors, or died from dehydration and exhaustion 
by the hundreds of thousands. An estimated 1,500,000 men, women and 
children died during the course of this deadly exodus.
  This upcoming April 24 we will pause, as we do each year, to remember 
those innocents who were so viciously murdered. We will join with all 
Armenian Americans and Armenians throughout the world in recognizing 
this horrifying genocide of their people, and by remembering we will 
make the promise to Armenians everywhere that this atrocity will never 
be repeated.
  I have introduced H. Res. 398, commemorating the Armenian Genocide 
Resolution and insuring that no one further will deny this brutal 
chapter in human history. I ask that you join with me as I express my 
profound sorrow for the lost lives of millions, and as I celebrate the 
lives of their children and grandchildren who live on today. For by 
honoring the living, we most faithfully remember those who suffered a 
merciless death in the desert some 85 years ago.
  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I want to lend my voice to this 
important debate remembering the Armenian Genocide. While Turkey's 
brutal campaign against the Armenian people was initiated almost a 
century ago, its impact lives on in the hearts of all freedom-loving 
people. That is why we must continue to speak about it. We must remind 
the American people of the potential for such atrocities against ethnic 
groups, because history lessons that are not learned are too often 
repeated.
  After suffering three decades of persecution, deportation and 
massacre under the Ottoman Turks, the Armenian people were relieved 
when the brutal reign of Ottoman Turks Sultan Abdul Hamid came to an 
end in 1908. But that relief was short-lived, as the successor Young 
Turk dictators were working on a far more aggressive plan to deal with 
the Armenian people. By 1914, they were laying plans to eliminate the 
country's minorities--starting with the Armenian people. Segregating 
Armenians in the military, the Turks were able to work these people to 
death. That year, the government also organized other military units 
comprised of convicts for the express purpose of annihilating Armenian 
people.
  By the spring of 1915, the Turkish dictators were ready to execute 
their final solution: they began ordering massive deportation and 
massacres of Armenian people. April 24 marked the fruition of this 
plan, with the murder of nearly 200 Armenian religious, political and 
intellectual leaders--which set off the full scale campaign to 
eliminate the Armenian people. Men, women, and children alike were 
subjected to torture, starvation and brutal death--and every kind of 
unspeakable act against humanity--in the name of Turkish ethnic 
cleansing. 1.5 million Armenian people perished at the hands of this 
brutal regime.
  The U.S. has some of the most extensive documentation of this 
genocide against the Armenian people, but there has been no shortage of 
corroboration by other countries. The Armenian genocide has been 
recognized by the United Nations and around the globe, and the U.S. 
came to the aid of the survivors. But perhaps we were not vociferous 
enough in holding the perpetrators of this genocide accountable, and 
for shining the light of international shame upon them. For it was only 
a few decades later that we saw another genocide against humanity: the 
Holocaust. That is why we must continue to tell the story of Armenian 
genocide. It is a painful reminder that such vicious campaigns against 
a people have occurred, and that the potential for such human brutality 
exists in this world. We must remain mindful of the continued 
repression of Armenians today, and challenge those who would persecute 
these people. If we do not, future generations may be destined to 
relive such horrors against humanity.
  Mr. DAVIS of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory 
of those who lost their lives during the Armenian Genocide.
  The Armenians are an ancient people, having inhabited the highland 
region between the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean seas for almost 
3,000 years. Armenia was sometimes independent under its national 
dynasties, autonomous under native princes, or subjected to foreign 
rulers. The Armenians were among the first groups of people to adopt 
Christianity and to have developed a distinct national-religious 
culture.
  Turkey invaded Armenia in the beginning of the 11th century, AD and 
conquered the last Armenian kingdom three centuries later. Most of the 
territories which had formed the medieval Armenian kingdoms were 
incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. While the 
Armenians were included in the Ottoman Empire's multi-national and 
multi-religious state, they suffered discrimination, special taxes, 
prohibition to bear arms, and other second-class citizenship status.
  In spite of these restrictions, Armenians lived in relative peace 
until the late 1800's. When the Ottoman Empire started to strain under 
the weight of internal corruption and external challenges, the 
government increased oppression and intolerance against Armenians. The 
failure of the Ottoman system to prevent the further decline of its 
empire led to the overthrow of the government by a group of reformists 
known as the Young Turks. It would be under the Young Turks' rule 
between 1915 and 1918 that Armenians would be forcibly taken from their 
homeland and killed.

[[Page H2176]]

  Hundreds of thousands of Armenian men were rounded up and deported to 
Syria by way of train and forced caravan marches. Armenian women and 
children were subjected to indescribable cruelties prior to losing 
their lives as well. While many Armenians survived the conditions of 
the packed cattle cars, they did not survive the Syrian desert. Killed 
by bandits or conditions from desert heat and exhaustion, most victims 
of the forced caravan marches did not even reach the killing centers in 
Syria. While others perished in the concentration camps in the Syrian 
desert where disease, starvation, and other health conditions brought 
about their demise.
  This genocide, which was preceded by a series of massacres in 1894-
1896 and in 1909 and was followed by another series of massacres in 
1920, essentially dispersed Armenians and removed them from their 
historic homeland. The persecution of the Armenian people has left 
psychological scars among the survivors and their families. No person 
should have to endure the trauma and horrors that they have.
  On May 2, 1995, I had the honor of meeting the former Armenian 
Ambassador to the United States, Rouben Robert Shugarian, at a 
Congressional reception commemorating the 80th anniversary of the 
Armenian genocide. Ambassador Shugarian introduced me to several 
survivors of the 1915 genocide. This experience was a deeply moving and 
personal reminder of the 1.5 million Armenians who perished during the 
systematic extermination by the Ottoman Empire.
  It is important that we not only commemorate the Armenian Genocide, 
but honor the memory of those who lost their lives during this time. We 
must never forget this horrific and shameful time in world history so 
that it will never be repeated again.
  Mr. MARTINEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
commemorating the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  The spirits of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children who 
perished at the hands of the Ottoman Turks cry out for justice. The 
collective weight of their deaths hangs like the Sword of Damocles over 
Turkey's refusal to recognize the sins of its past.
  Mr. Speaker, eighty-five years after the brutal decapitation of the 
political, religious and economic leadership of Armenian society; 
eighty-five years after the forced marches of starvation; eighty-five 
years after its genocidal campaign against its Armenian population, the 
Turkish Government continues to deny the undeniable.
  Mr. Speaker, the Armenian Genocide is an historical fact--a fact that 
has been indelibly etched in the annals of history. It cannot be wiped 
away from our collective conscience. It cannot be denied. The 
systematic slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians stands as one of the 
darkest and bloodiest chapters of the twentieth century. From 1915 to 
1923, the government of the Ottoman Empire carried out a calculated 
policy of mass extermination against its Armenian citizens.
  The Turkish Government has a moral obligation to acknowledge the 
Armenian Genocide. Just as Germany has come to grips and atoned for the 
Jewish Holocaust, Turkey must recognize and atone for the Armenian 
Genocide. To heal the open wounds of the past, Turkey must come to 
terms with its past. Turkey must also come to terms with its present 
hostile actions against the Republic of Armenia.
  Mr. Speaker, the Government of Turkey should immediately lift its 
illegal blockade of Armenia. In addition, Turkey must stop obstructing 
the delivery of United States humanitarian assistance to Armenia. This 
is not only unconscionable but it also damages American-Turkish 
relations. Turkey is indeed an important ally of the United States. 
However, until Turkey faces up to its past and stops its silent but 
destructive campaign against the republic of Armenia, United States-
Turkey relations will not rise to their full potential.
  Mr. Speaker, the United States must continue to be a strong ally of 
Armenia. We must target our assistance to promote Armenian trade, long-
term economic self-sufficiency, and Democratic pluralism. We must also 
continue to support section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which is 
aimed at penalizing countries like Azerbaijan that prevent the 
transshipment of United States humanitarian relief through their 
territory.
  Finally, our government must speak with one voice when it comes to 
the matter of the Armenian Genocide. While Congress has used the word 
genocide to describe the actions of the Ottoman Government against its 
Armenian population, the United States Government has not been as 
forthcoming. It is time for the President to put diplomatic niceties 
and Turkish sensitivities aside, and speak directly to the American 
people and to the world. Genocide is the only word that does justice to 
the memory of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children that were 
victimized by the implementation of a deliberate, premeditated plan to 
eliminate them as a people from the face of the Earth. I stand here 
tonight to say that they have not been forgotten.
  Mr. WEYGAND. Mr. Speaker, I come before you today to recognize the 
Armenian Genocide. Over a period of nine years, more than one million 
Armenians were systematically persecuted, expelled, and displaced from 
their homeland in eastern Turkey. The horrific shadows of this 
prejudicial, killing campaign continues to haunt us. May this day of 
remembrance and the stories shared here reverberate through the Nation 
so that history is not able to repeat itself.
  Unfortunately, too few Americans know much about the suffering of the 
Armenian people from 1915 to 1923. During these years, the Young Turk 
government of the Ottoman Empire attempted to eradicate all traces of 
the Armenian people and their culture from Turkey. To expedite their 
demise, the government ordered direct killings, instituted starvation 
initiatives, participated in torture tactics, and forced death marches. 
By all accounts, this persecution was purposeful and deliberative. Such 
outrageous behaviors and insurmountable prosecution can only be deemed 
appropriately by the term ``genocide'', for a genocide implies complete 
annihilation and destruction. For political reasons, the United States 
government has long refused to accept this extermination and expulsion 
as such, fortunately that is rapidly changing.
  As we remember those whose lives were lost, let us also pay tribute 
to those whose lives continue to thrive in spite of this dark history. 
The individuals that constitute the large Armenian-American population 
in our country continue to offer their communities valuable services 
and significant contributions both locally and nationally. The Armenian 
people continue to aggressively transform tragedy into triumph, and I 
salute the power of their spirit.
  As we mark the anniversary of these horrific events, we need to heed 
the lessons learned and accept nothing less than absolute intolerance 
for this sort of behavior. Not only will we continue to remember and 
mourn the loss of so many Armenians, but we must also take notice and 
cease this action immediately worldwide. We must ensure that such a 
tragedy will never again be visited upon any people in the world.
  Mr. ROTHMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
honoring the memory of the 1.5 million martyrs of the Armenian 
Genocide. I want to begin by thanking the co-chairs of the Armenian 
Caucus, Representatives John Porter and Frank Pallone, for organizing 
this special order which pays tribute to the victims of one of 
history's most terrible tragedies.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of H.R. 398, the ``United States 
Training on and Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.'' 
This bill rightly calls upon the President of the United States to 
provide for appropriate training and materials to all U.S. Foreign 
Service officers, officials of the Department of State, and any other 
executive branch employee involved in responding to issues related to 
human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide by familiarizing them with 
the U.S. record relating to the Armenian Genocide. Further, H.R. 398 
calls on the President to issue an annual message commemorating the 
Armenian Genocide on or about April 24, to characterize in this 
statement the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1,500,000 
Armenians as genocide, and also to recall the proud history of U.S. 
intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
   Mr. Speaker, since my election to Congress in 1966, I have worked to 
affirm the historical record of the Armenian Genocide and have sought 
to respond directly to those who deny what was the first crime against 
humanity of the 20th century. As the eminent historian Professor Vahakn 
Dadrian wrote in a brief prepared on the Armenian Genocide last year 
for the Canadian Parliament, ``When a crime of such magnitude continues 
to be denied, causing doubt in many well-meaning and impartial people, 
one must refute such denial by producing evidence that is as compelling 
as possible.'' I share this belief and for that reason I strongly 
support the goals laid out in H.R. 398. I look forward to working hard 
to secure this worthwhile bill's passage by the House International 
Relations Committee and further, by working to ensure that it secures 
broad, bipartisan support when it is considered by the full House of 
Representatives.
  Again, I thank Representatives Porter and Pallone for organizing this 
special order and I urge all my colleagues to cosponsor H.R. 398.
  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I join today with many of my colleagues in 
remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide.
  From 1915 to 1923, the world witnessed the first genocide of the 20th 
century. This was clearly one of the world's greatest tragedies--the 
deliberate and systematic Ottoman annihilation of 1.5 million Armenian 
men, women, and children.
  Furthermore, another 500,000 refugees fled and escaped to various 
points around the

[[Page H2177]]

world--effectively eliminating the Armenian population of the Ottoman 
Empire.
  From these ashes arose hope and promise in 1991--and I was blessed to 
see it. I was one of the four international observers from the United 
States Congress to monitor Armenia's independence referendum. I went to 
the communities in the northern part of Armenia, and I watched in awe 
as 95 percent of the people over the age of 18 went out and voted.
  The Armenian people had been denied freedom for so many years and, 
clearly, they were very excited about this new opportunity. Almost no 
one stayed home. They were all out in the streets going to the polling 
places. I watched in amazement as people stood in line 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. They had brought covered dishes with them, and all of 
these polling places had little banquets afterward to celebrate what 
had just happened.
  What a great thrill it was to join them the next day in the streets 
of Yerevan when they were celebrating their great victory. Ninety-eight 
percent of the people who voted cast their ballots in favor of 
independence. It was a wonderful experience to be there with them when 
they danced and sang and shouted, `Ketze azat ankakh Hayastan'--long 
live free and independent Armenia! That should be the cry of freedom-
loving people everywhere.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solemn memorial to the 
estimated 1.5 million men, women, and children who lost their lives 
during the Armenian Genocide. As in the past, I am pleased to join so 
many distinguished House colleagues on both sides of the aisle in 
ensuring that the horrors wrought upon the Armenian people are never 
repeated.
  On April 24, 1915, over 200 religious, political, and intellectual 
leaders of the Armenian community were brutally executed by the Turkish 
Government in Istanbul. Over the course of the next 8 years, this war 
of ethnic genocide against the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire 
took the lives of over half the world's Armenian population.
  Sadly, there are some people who still deny the very existence of 
this period which saw the institutionalized slaughter of the Armenian 
people and dismantling of Armenian culture. To those who would question 
these events, I point to the numerous reports contained in the United 
States National Archives detailing the process that systematically 
decimated the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. However, old 
records are too easily forgotten--and dismissed. That is why we come 
together every year at this time: to remember in words what some may 
wish to file away in archives. This genocide did take place, and these 
lives were taken. That memory must keep us forever vigilant in our 
efforts to prevent these atrocities from ever happening again.
  I am proud to note that Armenian immigrants found, in the United 
States, a country where their culture could take root and thrive. In my 
district in Northwest Indiana, a vibrant Armenian-American community 
has developed and strong ties to Armenia continue to flourish. My 
predecessor in the House, the late Adam Benjamin, was of Armenian 
heritage, and his distinguished service in the House serves as an 
example to the entire Northwest Indiana community. Over the years, 
members of the Armenian-American community throughout the United States 
have contributed millions of dollars and countless hours of their time 
to various Armenian causes. Of particular note are Mrs. Vicki 
Hovanessian and her husband, Dr. Raffi Hovanessian, residents of 
Indiana's First Congressional District, who have continually worked to 
improve the quality of life in Armenia, as well as in Northwest 
Indiana. Two other Armenian-American families in my congressional 
district, Heratch and Sonya Doumanian and Ara and Rosy Yeretsian, have 
also contributed greatly toward charitable works in the United States 
and Armenia. Their efforts, together with hundreds of other members of 
the Armenian-American community, have helped to finance several 
important projects in Armenia, including the construction of new 
schools, a mammography clinic, and a crucial roadway connecting Armenia 
to Nagorno Karabagh.
  In the House, I have tried to assist the efforts of my Armenian-
American constituency by continually supporting foreign aid to Armenia. 
This last year, with my support, Armenia received over $100 million of 
the $240 million in U.S. aid earmarked for the Southern Caucasus. I 
strongly oppose the Administration's efforts to increase aid to other 
Southern Caucasus nations at the expense of Armenia.
  The Armenian people have a long and proud history. In the fourth 
century, they became the first nation to embrace Christianity. During 
World War I, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by an organization known as 
the Young Turk Committee, which allied with Germany. Amid fighting in 
the Ottoman Empire's eastern Anatolian provinces, the historic 
heartland of the Christian Armenians, Ottoman authorities ordered the 
deportation and execution of all Armenians in the region. By the end of 
1923, virtually the entire Armenian population of Anatolia and western 
Armenia had either been killed or deported.
  In order to help preserve the memory of these dark years in Armenian 
history, I am a proud supporter of efforts by Representatives George 
Radanovich and David Bonior to promote the use of the recorded history 
of these events to demonstrate to America's Foreign Service officers 
and State Department officials the circumstances which can push a 
nation along the path to genocide. Their measure, H. Res. 398, the 
United States Training on and Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide 
Resolution, would also call upon the President to characterize this 
policy of deportation and execution by the Ottomans as genocidal, and 
to recognize the American opposition and attempts at intervention 
during this period.
  While it is important to keep the lessons of history in mind, we must 
also remain committed to protecting Armenia from new and more hostile 
aggressors. In the last decade, thousands of lives have been lost and 
more than a million people displaced in the struggle between Armenia 
and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh. Even now, as we rise to 
commemorate the accomplishments of the Armenian people and mourn the 
tragedies they have suffered, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and other countries 
continue to engage in a debilitating blockade of this free nation.
  Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act restricts U.S. aid for 
Azerbaijan as a result of this blockade. Unfortunately, as Armenia 
enters the eleventh year of the blockade, the Administration is again 
asking Congress to repeal this one protection afforded the beleaguered 
nation. I stand in strong support of Section 907, which sends a clear 
message that the United States Congress stands behind the current peace 
process and encourages Azerbaijan to work with the Organization for 
Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group toward a meaningful 
and lasting resolution. In the end, I believe Section 907 will help 
conclude a conflict that threatens to destabilize the entire region and 
places the Armenian nation in distinct peril.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives 
John Porter and Frank Pallone, for organizing this special order to 
commemorate the 58th Anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Their 
efforts will not only help bring needed attention to this tragic period 
in world history, but also serve to remind us of our duty to protect 
basic human rights and freedoms around the world.
  Mr. CAPUANO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 85th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. I am a proud cosponsor of H. Res. 
398 which commemorates the victims of the Armenian Genocide by calling 
on the President to honor the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian 
Genocide and to provide educational tools for our Foreign Diplomats 
responsible for addressing issues of human rights, ethnic cleansing, 
and genocide.
  Throughout three decades in the late nineteenth and early twentieth 
centuries, Armenians were systematically uprooted from their homeland 
of three thousand years, and millions were deported or massacred. From 
1894 through 1896, three hundred thousand Armenians were ruthlessly 
murdered. Again in 1909, thirty thousand Armenians were massacred in 
Cilicia, and their villages were destroyed.
  On April 24, 1915, two hundred Armenian religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders were arbitrarily arrested, taken to Turkey and 
murdered. This incident marks a dark and solemn period in the history 
of the Armenian people. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire launched 
a systematic campaign to exterminate Armenians. In eight short years, 
more than 1.5 million Armenians suffered through atrocities such as 
deportation, forced slavery, and torture. Most were ultimately 
murdered.
  The tragedy of the Armenian Genocide has been acknowledged around the 
world, in countries like Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, France, 
Great Britain, Greece, Lebanon, Russia, the United States, and Uruguay, 
as well as international organizations such as the Council of Europe, 
the European Parliament, and the United Nations.
  Yet, despite irrefutable evidence, Turkey has refused, for over 85 
years, to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. Even in present day, 
Turkey continues to have inimicable relations with Armenia. In addition 
to denying the crimes committed against the Armenian people, Turkey 
continues to block the flow of humanitarian aid and commerce to 
Armenia.
  I personally admire the dedication and perseverance of the Armenian-
American community, and their ever present vigil to educate the world 
of their painful history. In spite of their historic struggles, 
children and grandchildren of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide 
have gone on to make invaluable contributions to society, while at the 
same time preserving

[[Page H2178]]

their heritage and unique identity. Over 60,000 Armenian-Americans live 
in the greater Boston area. Within Massachusetts, many of these 
Armenians have formed public outreach groups seeking to educate society 
about Armenia's culture.
  I made the observation last year about how sad and frustrating it was 
that at the beginning of this century, Armenians were murdered en masse 
and now, at the end of the 20th century, the same type of brutal 
killing of innocent people continues. The human race has now entered a 
new millennium, and we must be more vigilant about holding governments 
accountable for their actions. Last September, in East Timor, thousands 
of men, women, and children were mercilessly slaughtered; in Sierra 
Leone, thousands of children have been brutally maimed; and in 
Chechnya, hundreds of women and children have been forced to flee their 
homes, the number of deaths remain unknown. By acknowledging and 
commemorating the Armenian Genocide, the U.S. and many other countries 
are sending a message that governments cannot operate with impunity 
towards our fellow man.
  Let me end by saying, that as a member of the Congressional Armenian 
Caucus, I will continue to work with my colleagues and with the 
Armenian-Americans in my district to promote investment and prosperity 
in Armenia. We must continue to be vigilant, we must preserve the rich 
identities of Armenians, and we must work towards ending crimes against 
all humanity.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to join my colleagues in Congress 
to commemorate the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  Between 1894 and 1923, approximately two million Armenians were 
massacred, persecuted, and exiled by the Turk government of the Ottoman 
Empire. This campaign of murder and oppression, perpetrated by the Turk 
government attempted to systematically wipe out the Armenian population 
of Anatolia, their historic homeland.
  Even though the Turk government held war crime trials and condemned 
to death the chief perpetrators of this heinous crime against humanity, 
the vast majority of the culpable were set free. To this day, the Turk 
government denies the Armenian Genocide ever took place.
  Indeed, the government of Turkey goes even further calling the 
Armenians ``traitors'' who collaborated with the enemies of the Ottoman 
Empire during war. We cannot permit such blatant disregard and denial 
to continue. Genocide is genocide, no matter how, when, or where it 
happens.
  Mr. Speaker, there are many living survivors in my district. The 
memory of their tragedy still haunts them. They participate each year 
in commemoration ceremonies with the hope that the world will not 
forget their anguish. They hope that one day the Turkish government 
will show signs of remorse for a crime committed by their ancestors.
  To me, Mr. Speaker, the Armenian Genocide is not just a footnote in 
history. It is something that people all over the world feel very 
deeply about. It is an issue above politics and partisanship. It is a 
question of morality.
  Mr. Speaker, it is imperative that each of us works to ensure that 
our generation and future generations never again witness such inhuman 
behavior and suffering. The crime of genocide must never again be 
allowed to mar the history of mankind, and today we stand with our 
Armenian brothers and sisters, to remember and commit ourselves to a 
better future in their memory.
  Mr. MOAKLEY. Mr. Speaker, I am glad to join with my colleagues in 
this solemn remembrance of the Armenian genocide. It is vitally 
important that we never forget the Armenian people who died in that 
tragedy, and all those who were persecuted in those difficult years 
that followed.
  As we know, on April 24, 1915, Turkish officials arrested and exiled 
more than 200 Armenian political, intellectual and religious leaders. 
This symbolic cleansing of Armenian leaders began a reign of terror 
against the Armenian people that lasted until 1923, and resulted in the 
death of more than 1.5 million Armenians. Over that eight year period 
another 500,000 Armenians were displaced from their homes.
  Mr. Speaker, many of the survivors of the Armenian genocide came to 
the United States, and have made countless contributions to our 
society. We know them well as our friends and neighbors. For years, 
these survivors and their descendants have told the painful story of 
their past, which often fell on deaf ears. I am glad to lend my voice, 
along with so many other of my colleagues today, to show the world how 
important the Armenians' story is to our history--and our future. It is 
amazing how often history will repeat itself, and how often we don't 
listen to the past. The memory of the Armenian Genocide, no matter how 
cruel and brutal, must serve as a lesson to us all to never ignore such 
actions again.
  Mr. FORBES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with solemn reflection to 
remember one of the most inhumane episodes of the 20th Century, the 
Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to 1922, the Ottoman Empire, ruled by 
Muslim Turks carried out a policy to exterminate its Christian Armenian 
minority. The genocide started with a series of massacres in 1894-1896, 
and again in 1909. This was followed by another series of massacres, 
which began in 1920. By 1922 the Armenians had been eradicated from 
their historic homeland.
  There were three prevailing aspects of the Armenian Genocide: the 
deportations, the massacres, and the concentration camps. The 
deportations affected the majority of Armenians in the Turkish Empire. 
From as far north as the Black Sea and as far west as European Turkey, 
Armenians were forcibly removed and transported to the Syrian Desert. 
At many of these relocation sites, large-scale massacres were carried 
out. The few survivors were dispersed across Syria, Iraq, and as far 
south as Palestine.
  Winston Churchill once observed that ``In 1915 the Turkish Government 
began and ruthlessly carried out the infamous general massacre and 
deportation of Armenians in Asia Minor. There can be no reasonable 
doubt that this crime was planned and executed for political reasons.''
  Our former Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (1913-16) Henry 
Morgenthau stated that ``when the Turkish authorities gave the orders 
for those deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a 
whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with 
me, they made no particular attempt to conceal this fact.''
  We must keep in mind the historical perspective of this terrible 
tragedy. Over 1.8 million Armenian civilians perished at the hands of 
their Turkish persecutors. We must educate our children to tolerate 
each other's differences and embrace a healthy respect for humanity. 
Only by instilling future generations with an understanding of these 
terrible events in the past may we prevent them from reoccurring in the 
future. We must not fail to live up to our collective responsibilities; 
the victims of this terrible tragedy deserve nothing less.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, today, we commemorate the 
Armenian Genocide of April 24th 1915, and in so doing honor the 
memories of those who survived and those who were killed on that tragic 
night. It is hard to talk about that date and many would prefer not to, 
but if we cannot recognize the tragedies of the past, how can we avoid 
them in the future? Ethnic violence and genocide have marred our 
collective history from its earliest days, challenging generations 
throughout time. Yet we cannot forget these events; we cannot cover up, 
ignore, or rewrite history so that these crimes against humanity 
disappear.
  Our Nation's connection to the Armenian people is great, as has been 
their contribution to the United States. In my home state of Rhode 
Island, we have one of the largest populations of Armenians in the 
country and the State is blessed with the gifts of the Armenian 
community. To truly honor those gifts, we must take time every year to 
understand what that community has been through, and the part of their 
history that is the Armenian Genocide. That is why on this day we 
remember the unjustifiable, unprovoked, and undeniable massacre of 
Armenians by the Ottoman Empire. What the Ottoman Empire began that 
night 85 years ago was a policy of ethnic cleansing. It can be called 
nothing else.
  Today, brave American men and women serve in our Armed Forces across 
the globe. They do more than protect nations, they serve as reminders 
to the world and ourselves of what our country stands for. The Armenian 
Genocide should also serve as a reminder, of what will happen if we do 
nothing in the face of potential tragedies. It serves as a reminder 
that we must do better to protect peace and stability and human rights 
around the world.
  Mr. DINGELL. Mr. Speaker, the sick man of Europe had been dying a 
slow death. It was a particularly dark time in Europe when the sick man 
finally succumbed, and an empire collapsed. During World War I--a 
tumultuous, revolutionary time of great societal transformations and 
uncertain futures on the battlefields and at home--desperate Ottoman 
leaders fell back on the one weapon that could offer hope of personal 
survival. It is a weapon that is still used today, fed by fear, 
desperation, and hatred. It transforms the average citizen into a 
zealot, no longer willing to listen to reason. This weapon is, of 
course, nationalism. Wrongly directed, nationalism can easily result in 
ethnic strife and senseless genocide, committed in the name of false 
beliefs preached by immoral, irresponsible, reprehensible leaders.
  Today I rise not to speak of the present, but in memory of the 
victims of the past, who suffered needlessly in the flames of vicious, 
destructive nationalism. On April 24, 1915, the leaders of the Ottoman 
government tragically chose to systematically exterminate an entire 
race of people. We gather in solemn remembrance of the result of that 
decision, remembering the loss of one-and-a-half million Armenians.

[[Page H2179]]

  The story of the Armenian genocide is in itself appalling. It is 
against everything our government--and indeed all governments who 
strive for justice--stands for; it represents the most wicked side of 
humanity. What makes the Armenian story even more unfortunate is 
history has repeated itself in all corners of the world, and lessons 
that should have been learned long ago have been ignored.
  We must not forget the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, Rwanda, or 
Bosnia. Today, on this grim anniversary, we must remember why our armed 
forces fought in the skies over Yugoslavia last year.
  We must not sit idly by and be spectators to the same kind of 
violence that killed so many Armenians; we must not watch as innocent 
people are brutalized not for what they have done, but simply for who 
they are. Ethnic cleansing is genocide and can not be ignored by a just 
and compassionate country. We owe it to the victims of past genocides 
to stamp out this form of inhumanity.
  It is an honor and privilege to represent a large and active Armenian 
population, many who have family members who were persecuted by their 
Ottoman Turkish rulers. Michigan's Armenian-American community has done 
much to further our state's commercial, political, and intellectual 
growth, just as it has done in communities across the country. And so I 
also rise today to honor to the triumph of the Armenian people, who 
have endured adversity and bettered our country.
  But again, Mr. Speaker, it is also my hope that in honoring the 
victims of the past, we learn one fundamental lesson from their 
experience: Never Again!
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, I am grateful for the opportunity to honor 
the memory of the one and a half million Armenians who were massacred 
and the over 500,000 Armenian survivors who fled into exile during the 
1915-to-1923 genocide carried out by Ottoman Turkey.
  As Henry Morgenthau, Sr., the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire 
stated, ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race 
contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and 
persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the 
suffering of the Armenian race in 1915.''
  The new century marks the 85th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. 
I would have liked to proclaim that the United States and the 
international community now recognize this tragic historic event with 
official commemorations. I would have liked to announce that the 
Government of Turkey officially acknowledges the Genocide. 
Unfortunately, we enter the year 2000 with continuing acts of denial 
that this Genocide took place, efforts to re-write the historical 
record, and the refusal by many governments, including the United 
States, to use officially the word ``genocide'' to describe the 
deliberate murder of hundreds of thousands of Armenians.
  Entire villages were destroyed. Entire families were exterminated. 
There can be no forgiveness, no peace for the dead, no comfort for the 
families of survivors, until Turkey and the nations of the world 
officially acknowledge this Genocide.
  Surely as we enter the new millennium, the United States, Turkey and 
the international community should make this simple, but profound, 
statement of fact.
  I'm very proud to say that Central Massachusetts, and especially the 
City of Worcester, has been diligent in keeping the history of the 
Armenian Genocide alive and contemporary. A series of lectures to study 
genocide issues and present them to the general public have been 
organized over the past year by the Center for Holocaust Studies of 
Clark University, the Center for Human Rights at Worcester State 
College, and the Armenian National Committee of Central Massachusetts. 
It was my pleasure to participate in one of these forums looking at the 
tragedy of East Timor and its relation to past genocides.
  Last month, the forum brought Dr. Israel Charny, executive director 
of the Institute on the Holocaust and Genocide, and professor of 
psychology and family therapy at Hebrew University in Israel, to speak 
at Worcester State College.
  Dr. Charny is recognized as a leading Holocaust and genocide scholar. 
He is credited as one of the primary figures in the development of the 
field of Comparative Genocide Studies, which approaches particular 
genocides, including the Holocaust, as part of an ongoing history of 
many genocides. This field strives to understand and prevent genocide 
as a human rights problem and a social phenomenon that concerns all 
people.
  In his lecture at Worcester State College, Dr. Charny spoke of his 
growing concern about denials of known genocides. He describes denial 
as ``the last stage of genocide,'' ``political and psychological 
warfare,'' and ``a killing of the record of history.''
  Charny goes on to describe some of the methods of denial. For 
example, there is ``malevolent bigotry,'' or a sloppy out and out 
expression of hateful denial. Another tactic is ``definitionalism,'' 
which insists on defining particular cases of mass murder as not 
genocide. And yet another is ``human shallowness,'' or a dulling of the 
genuine sense of tragedy and moral outrage toward such acts. Sadly, we 
have seen all of these, even on American college campuses, used to 
undermine the historical record of the Armenian Genocide.
  We are blessed in Worcester to have the united efforts of Clark 
University, Worcester State College and the Arnenian National Committee 
of central Massachusetts to combat such attempts to deny history.
  Last Sunday, on April 9th, ANC of Central Massachusetts sponsored a 
lecture in Worcester by Dr. Hilmar Kaiser, who is a noted scholar on 
the Armenian Genocide. Dr. Hilmar also spent the weekend in Franklin, 
Massachusetts, at Camp Haiastan to participate in the Genocide 
Educational Weekend for the Armenian Youth Federation.
  I am also looking forward to attending the memorial service on April 
24th, organized by the Worcester Armenian churches, to commemorate the 
85th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. That service will be held at 
the Church of Our Savior on Salisbury Street in Worcester.
  Mr. Speaker, it is not just for our past, but for our future, that we 
remember and commemorate the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide--and not 
just annually, but every day of the year. I am proud to be a cosponsor 
of H. Res. 398, introduced by my colleagues Congressman Radanovich and 
Congressman Bonior, to ensure that U.S. diplomatic personnel and other 
executive branch officials are well-trained in issues related to human 
rights, ethnic cleansing and genocide.
  I am proud to be a cosponsor of H. Res. 155 to have the U.S. 
government share its collection and records on the Armenian Genocide 
with the House International Relations Committee, the U.S. Holocaust 
Memorial Museum, and the Armenian Genocide Museum in Armenia.
  We must all share the information, share the history, and keep the 
memory of the Armenian Genocide alive. Central Massachusetts is doing 
its part. I call upon my President to ensure the U.S. government does 
all it can to honor and officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.
  Mrs. KELLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today and join with my colleagues in 
remembering the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. I would like 
to thank the other members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian 
Issues, and particularly the co-chairmen, Mr. Porter and Mr. Pallone, 
for their tireless efforts in organizing this fitting tribute.
  Eighty-five years ago Monday, April 24, 1915, the nightmare in 
Armenia began. Hundreds of Armenian religious, political, and 
educational leaders were arrested, exiled, or murdered. These events 
marked the beginning of the systematic persecution of the Armenian 
people by the Ottoman Empire, and also launched the first genocide of 
the 20th century. Over the next eight years, 1.5 million Armenians were 
put to death and 500,000 more were exiled from their homes. These 
atrocities are among the most cruel and inhumane acts that have ever 
been recorded.
  As we reflect today on the horrors that were initiated 85 years ago, 
I cannot help but be disturbed by those who wish to deny that these 
deeds occurred. Despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary--
eyewitness accounts, official archives, photographic evidence, 
diplomatic reports, and testimony of survivors--they reject the claim 
that genocide, or any other crime for that matter, was perpetrated 
against Armenians. Well, History tells a different story.
  Let me read a quote from Henry Morgenthau, Sr., U.S. Ambassador to 
the Ottoman Empire at the time: ``When the Turkish authorities gave the 
orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death 
warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their 
conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the 
fact. . . .''
  The world knows the truth about this tragic episode in human affairs. 
We will not allow those who wish to rewrite History to absolve 
themselves from responsibility for their actions. This evening's event 
here in the House of Representatives is testament to that fact. We can 
only hope that the recognition and condemnation of this, and other 
instances of genocide, will prevent a similar instance from happening 
again in the 21st Century.
  In addition, I also encourage my colleagues to join me and the 37 
other members who have cosponsored H. Res. 398, offered by 
Representative Randanovich. This resolution will help affirm the record 
of the United States on the Armenian Genocide and will play a role in 
educating others about the atrocities that were committed against the 
Armenian people. It is critical that we continue to acknowledge this 
terrible tragedy to ensure that it is neither forgotten nor ignored.
  I would like to once again thank the organizers of this event and I 
would like to once again reaffirm my sincere thanks for being given the 
opportunity to participate in this solemn remembrance.

[[Page H2180]]

  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in commemorating the 
85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman government unleashed an eight-year 
assault against its Armenian population. During this brutal campaign, 
one and a half million innocent men, women, and children were murdered, 
Armenian communities were systematically destroyed, and over one 
million people were forcibly deported.
  The pain of these atrocities is only compounded by the Turkish 
government's revisionism and denial of the tragic events that took 
place. This is what Elie Wiesel has called a ``double killing''--
murdering the dignity of the survivors and the remembrance of the 
crime. It is incumbent upon us to stand up against these efforts and 
make United States records documenting this period available to 
students, historians, and the descendants of those who survived.
  This somber anniversary is a tribute to the memory of the victims of 
the Armenian Genocide, and a painful reminder that the world's inaction 
left a tragic precedent for other acts of senseless bloodshed. The road 
from Armenia to Auschwitz is direct. If more attention had been 
centered on the slaughter of these innocent men, women, and children, 
perhaps the events of the Holocaust might never have taken place.
  Today, we vow once more that genocide will not go unnoticed and 
unmourned. We pledge to stand up against governments that persecute 
their own people, and declare our commitment to fight all crimes 
against humanity and the efforts to hide them from the rest of the 
world.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. Speaker, today I join with my colleagues in what 
has become an annual event in which none of us take great joy in. 
Today, the Turkish government still denies the Armenian genocide and it 
does so to its own detriment. All of us would like to see the denial in 
Ankara end. The Armenian genocide happened. The historic fact, Mr. 
Speaker, is that 1.5 million Armenians were killed and over 500,000 
deported from 1894 to 1921.
  On April 24, 1915, 300 Armenian leaders, writers and intellectuals 
were rounded up, deported and killed. 5000 other poor Armenians were 
killed in their homes. The Turkish government continues to deny the 
Armenian genocide and claims that Armenians were only removed from the 
eastern war zone. America has been enriched in countless ways from the 
survivors of the Armenian genocide who have come here. As a 
representative from Michigan, I want to especially highlight that we 
have been blessed by the contributions of the Armenian communities.
  Today I rise to call upon the Republic of Turkey, an ally of the 
United States, to admit what happened. Mr. Speaker, we want Turkey to 
see its history for what it is so it can see its future for what it can 
be. Let us all rise today to commemorate the Armenian genocide and hope 
that events like it never happen again.
  Mrs. McCARTHY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with my 
colleagues to acknowledge the horrific events that occurred during the 
Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1923, the final days of the Ottoman 
Empire.
  The horror of the Genocide is seared in the minds of Armenians around 
the world. Beginning in 1915 the Ottoman Empire, ruled by Muslim Turks, 
carried out a series of massacres in order to eliminate its Christian 
Armenian minority. By 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were brutally killed, 
while another 500,000 were deported. Stateless and penniless. Armenians 
were forced to move to any country that afforded refuge. Many found 
their way to the United States, while others escaped to countries such 
as Russia and France.
  Future generations must be made aware of this historic event in our 
world history. It is unfortunate that the Republic of Turkey refuses to 
acknowledges the genocide against the Armenians. Innocent people were 
deprived of their freedom and senselessly killed because of their 
religious or political beliefs.
  Armenia has made great strides to become an independent state. In 
1992 the newly independent republic of Armenia, became a member of the 
United Nations, and in 1995 held their first open legislative 
elections.
  Since the genocide, various acts of human rights violations have 
continued to take place around the world. If we ever hope to prevent 
further genocides we must never forget the atrocities endured by the 
Armenian people.

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