[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 24, 2001)]
[House]
[Page H1531]
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 
gentlewoman from New York (Mrs. Maloney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the 
Armenian Congressional Caucus here in Washington, and we have over 90 
members, and as a representative of a very large and vibrant community 
of Armenian Americans, I rise today to join many of my colleagues in 
the sad commemoration of the Armenian genocide.
  Today we remember the tragedy where more than 1.5 million Armenians 
were murdered at the hands of the Turks and more than 500,000 others 
were deported.

                              {time}  1945

  Unfortunately, there were others included in this massacre, including 
Assyrians and Pontic Greeks, bringing the number to well over 3.5 
million lost lives.
  Today, April 24, marks the 86th anniversary of the beginning of the 
genocide. It was on this day in 1915 that more than 200 Armenian 
religious, political and intellectual leaders were gathered together 
and murdered in Constantinople. This was the beginning of an organized, 
brutal campaign to eliminate the Armenian presence from the Ottoman 
Empire. This campaign lasted for over 8 years. During this time, 
Armenians were systematically uprooted from their homeland of over 
3,000 years and eliminated through massacres or deportation. But 
Armenians are strong people, and their dream of freedom did not die. 
More than 70 years after the genocide, the new Republic of Armenia was 
born as the Soviet Union crumbled.
  Today, we pay tribute to the courage and strength of people who would 
not know defeat. I was privileged to meet with many of these people 
this past weekend on Sunday in my district where Sam Azadian along with 
Archbishop Barsamian and many others held a meeting where we remembered 
the massacres. One of the survivors, Sano Halo, was there. Her daughter 
has written a book about her life entitled ``Not Even My Name.'' It 
tells the story of Ms. Halo who, at the age of 10, was uprooted with 
her family with thousands of Pontic Greeks and forced by the Turks on a 
brutal death march. Ms. Halo saw her entire family die of starvation 
and disease in front of her eyes, or assault and murder by the Turks. 
Through circumstances, she was able to survive and has come to the 
United States and now lives in my district.
  Unfortunately, even with the truthful, thoughtful accounts from 
people who experienced the genocide such as Ms. Halo, there are those 
who question the reality of the Armenian slaughter. That is why it is 
so important that in this Congress we must finally pass the resolution 
documenting the Armenian genocide. We must follow the moral leadership 
of France and Italy whose national assemblies unanimously passed a bill 
that officially recognizes the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians in 
Turkey during and after World War II. And we must follow the leadership 
of many of our State legislatures. Over 27 legislatures have passed 
proclamations, resolutions, bills recognizing the genocide.
  For the people of Armenia, the fight still continues today, 
particularly for the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, who are impacted by 
modern day Turkey and Azerbaijan's aggression toward Armenia in the 
continued blockade. I am hopeful that the recent talks in Key West 
between the Armenian and Azerbaijan presidents will move them one step 
closer toward peace. A peaceful solution is important to United States 
interests.
  We have supported Armenia with direct assistance and with confidence-
building allocations. I strongly support the efforts of the Armenian 
community to dedicate a museum and memorial commemorating the victims 
of the Armenian genocide. This year, their dream became a reality with 
the purchase of a building near the White House. Nothing we can say 
will bring back those who perished, but we can honor their memories 
with everlasting meaning by teaching the lessons of the Armenian 
genocide to the next generation.
  As the great philosopher George Santayana once said, ``Those who do 
not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.'' Let us learn our 
lesson and never forget the Armenians.

                          ____________________