[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Tierney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I also rise here this evening to speak of 
one of the great horrors of our century, and that is the Armenian 
genocide. As a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, I 
once again join a large number of colleagues in recognizing the great 
tragedy of the Armenian people.
  As we all know and has been stated here several times tonight, this 
genocide occurred in 1915 when the Ottoman Empire began to force 
Armenians from their homeland, and it lasted until 1923. These 8 years 
saw the deaths of 1.5 million innocent victims and 500,000 exiled 
survivors.
  Despite the tremendous magnitude of the genocide, the world stood by 
as families were torn asunder and millions of lives were taken. 
Therefore, today, as we stand in recognition of the victims of this 
Armenian genocide, we also stand in recognition of the guilt of 
complicity of all nations that turned away when faced with this great 
tragedy.
  There is no doubt that calling events by their rightful name, 
genocide, is an important element of this recognition of 
responsibility.
  Had we heeded the lessons that emerged from the massacre, perhaps we 
could have avoided other great tragedies in this century. In quietly 
letting the sorrow of the Armenian people go unresolved, however, we 
allow their tragedy to repeat itself over and over again in Germany in 
the 1930s and 1940s, in Rwanda in the 1990s, and elsewhere throughout 
the world.
  Today, as we once again honor the victims of the Armenian genocide, 
on behalf of the Sixth District of Massachusetts, I also honor the 
commitment and perseverance of Armenian-Americans who have tirelessly 
struggled to ensure that the great sorrow of their people becomes known 
to all people.
  As we in Congress continue to confront issues of international peace 
and security, we would do well to remember this message: never forget.

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