Congressional Record, Volume 146 Issue 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)

[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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