[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 46 (Wednesday, April 12, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H2185-H2186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    COMMEMORATING ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mrs. Wilson). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) is recognized for 
5 minutes.

[[Page H2186]]

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Madam Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to 
speak on this most important occasion.
  I am proud to be here this evening to honor my Armenian friends--
particularly on the eve of the 85th anniversary of the Armenian 
Genocide. I want to associate my comments with an article that I 
recently read in the Jerusalem Post, which said . . . ``The 1915 
wholesale massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks remains a core 
experience of the Armenian nation . . . While there is virtually zero 
tolerance for Holocaust denial, there is tacit acceptance of the denial 
of the Armenian genocide in part because `the Turks have managed to 
structure this debate so that people question whether this really 
happened . . .' '' Well we know that the death of 1.5 million Armenians 
by execution or starvation really happened, and we know that we must 
not tolerate this denial.
  In fact we have an obligation to educate and familiarize Americans 
with the U.S. record on the Armenian Genocide. As Members of Congress, 
we must ensure that the legacy of the genocide is remembered so that 
this human tragedy will not be repeated. Toward that end I have 
sponsored H. Res. 398, the ``United States Training on and 
Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide Resolution.''
  This bipartisan resolution calls upon the President to provide for 
appropriate training and materials to all 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. As we have seen in recent years, 
genocide and ethnic cleansing continues to plague nations around the 
world, and as a great nation, we must always be attentive and willing 
to stand against such atrocities.
  My resolution also calls upon the President in the President's annual 
message commemorating the Armenian Genocide to characterize the 
systematic and deliberate annihilation of the 1.5 million Armenians as 
genocide, and to recall the proud history of the United States 
intervention in opposition to the Armenian Genocide.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting this important 
legislation.

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