[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 47 (Thursday, April 13, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E566]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                         THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 12, 2000

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to once again 
participate in the annual remembrance of the Armenian genocide. This 
year marks the 85th Anniversary of that terrible tragedy, which claimed 
the lives of over 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1923.
  The Armenian Genocide started in 1915, when the Turkish government 
rounded up and killed Armenian soldiers. Then, on April 24, 1915, the 
government turned its attention to slaughtering Armenian intellectuals. 
They were killed because of their ethnicity, the first group in the 
20th Century killed not for what they did, but for who they were.
  By the time the bloodshed of the genocide ended, the victims included 
the aged, women and children who had been forced from their homes and 
marched to relocation camps, beaten and brutalized along the way. In 
addition to the 1.5 million dead, over 500,000 Armenians were driven 
from their homeland.
  It is important that we make the time, every year, to remember the 
victims of the Armenian genocide. We hope that, by remembering the 
bloodshed and atrocities committed against the Armenians, we can 
prevent this kind of tragedy from repeating itself. Unfortunately, 
history continues to prove us wrong.
  So, Mr. Speaker, as we begin this new century, we must not forget the 
horrors of the past one. It is important to continue to talk about the 
Armenian genocide. We must keep alive the memory of those who lost 
their lives during the eight years of bloodshed in Armenia. We must 
educate other nations who have not recognized that the Armenian 
genocide occurred. Above all, we must remain vigilant.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend Armenian-Americans--the survivors and their 
descendants--who continue to educate the world about the tragedy of the 
Armenian Genocide and make valuable contributions to our shared 
American culture. Because of their efforts, the world will not be 
allowed to forget the memory of the victims of the first 20th Century 
holocaust.

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