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




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Porter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PORTER. Mr. Speaker, today I come to the floor to commemorate the 
anniversary of one of the darkest stains on the history of Western 
Civilization--the genocide of the Armenian people by the Ottoman 
Turkish Empire. I greatly appreciate the strong support of so many of 
our colleagues in this effort, especially the gentleman from New 
Jersey, Mr. Pallone, my fellow co-chairman of the Armenian Issues 
Caucus.
  I wish, as every Member does, that this Special Order did not have to 
take place. But every year, I return to the floor in April to speak out 
about the past. To fail to remember the past, not only dishonors the 
victims and survivors--it encourages future tyrants to believe that 
they can commit such heinous acts with impunity. Unfortunately, we have 
seen over and over the tragic results of hatred and ignorance: the 
Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, the ethnic cleansing in the former 
Yugoslavia, the continued mass killing in the Sudan and the massacres 
in East Timor last fall. And far too often the so-called civilized 
nations of the world turned a blind eye.
  On April 24, 1915, over 200 Armenian religious, political and 
intellectual leaders were arrested in Istanbul and killed, marking the 
beginning of an 8-year campaign which resulted in the destruction of 
the ethnic Armenian community which had previously lived in Anatolia 
and Western Armenia. Between 1915 and 1923, approximately 1.5 million 
men, women and children were deported, forced into slave labor camps, 
tortured and eventually exterminated.
  The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the modern age and 
has been recognized as a precursor of subsequent attempts to destroy a 
race through an official systematic effort. Congress has consistently 
demanded recognition of the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide. 
The modern German Government, although not itself responsible for the 
horrors of the Holocaust, has taken responsibility for and apologized 
for it. Yet, the Turkish Government continues to deny that the Armenian 
genocide ever took place.
  The past year has seen small steps of progress concerning Turkey's 
relationship with its neighbors. The devastating earthquakes of last 
summer in Turkey and subsequently Greece, allowed various nations in 
the region, including Armenia, to work together on humanitarian 
grounds. Turkey's EU candidacy is forcing it to face its problems both 
with its neighbors Greece, and Cyprus as well as internal problems such 
as its continuing human rights violations.
  Although I am encouraged by these small steps, Turkey has yet to show 
the world that it is serious about solving the human rights problems 
within its borders. Remaining in jail are the Kurdish parliamentarians 
who were arrested over six years ago as well as numerous human rights 
workers. At the end of 1999, Turkey had the second highest number of 
journalists in jail--eighteen--the only country in the world with more 
was China. I sincerely hope Turkey's desire to become part of the EU 
community will require Turkey to improve its internal human rights 
problems as well as face its past and acknowledge its role in one of 
the 20th centuries greatest tragedies--the Armenian Genocide.
  Armenians will remain vigilant to ensure that this tragic history is 
not repeated. The United States should do all that it can in this 
regard as well, including a clear message about the historical fact of 
the Armenian Genocide. We do Turkey no favors by enabling her self-
delusion, and we make ourselves hypocrites when we fail to sound the 
alarm on what is happening today in Turkey.
  Armenia has made amazing progress in rebuilding a society and a 
nation--a triumph of the human spirit in the face of dramatic 
obstacles. Armenia is committed to democracy, market economics and the 
rule of law. Even in the face of the tragedy which befell the Armenian 
Government last October, where eight people were murdered in the 
parliament including the Prime Minister Sarkisian, the Armenian 
Government and its people remain committed to freedom and democracy. I 
will continue to take a strong stand in Congress in support of these 
principles and respect for human rights, and I am proud to stand with 
Armenia in so doing. We must never forget what happened to the 
Armenians 85 years ago, just as we must never overlook the human rights 
violations which are happening today in all corners of the world.

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