[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 47 (Wednesday, April 24, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1595]
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 New York (Mr. Sweeney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, I, too, join my colleagues and commend my 
colleagues this evening for working towards educating the world about 
the Armenian genocide. I am a proud member of the Armenian Caucus, and, 
Mr. Speaker, I come with some qualifications in that I am one of two 
Members of Congress from Armenian ancestry.
  We continue to take important steps every day, like the planned 
establishment of an Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial here in 
Washington, D.C., but more needs to be done to further educate our 
citizens about these atrocities.
  As we are all well aware, since the latter part of the 21st century, 
our Nation has been focused on a hotbed of activity in the Middle East. 
During the past 7 months, we have seen the level of commitment the 
Nation has dedicated toward the war on terror, but it is vital that the 
United States recognize, in particular, the 20th century's first 
instance of genocidal terror, the Armenian genocide.
  Mr. Speaker, our country appreciates the importance of a strong 
partnership with Armenia in these trying times. Armenia continues to 
move forward alongside our country by pledging assistance as we 
progress on the war on terror. Now we must move forward with Armenia 
hand-in-hand by recognizing the past atrocities for what they truly 
are: a genocide.
  I cannot stress enough, Mr. Speaker, that the historical record is 
clear. From at least 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire succeeded in 
systematically eliminating the Armenians from the historical homeland 
where they lived for more than 2000 years.
  I would take this moment to point out that this is a particularly 
personal message from my family to the rest of the world. My 
grandfather, Oscar Chaderjian, emigrated from Armenia at the beginning 
of the 21st century, but only after he had been witness to and forced 
to be involved in the execution of one of his own uncles, a 
schoolteacher. He was forced to hold one arm with his cousin, whose dad 
was attached to the other arm, while the Ottoman Turks executed him in 
front of a classroom full of Armenian children.
  Recognizing the severity of the Ottoman Empire's actions, England, 
France, and Russia jointly issued a statement on May 24, 1950, 
explicitly charging a government for the first time with a crime 
against humanity. The Armenian genocide has been acknowledged by not 
only these nations but also Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Greece, 
Lebanon, and Uruguay, as well as by international organizations such as 
the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Parliament.
  Furthermore, the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration 
has broad and thorough documentation of the Armenian genocide; in 
particular, Record Group 59 of the United States Department of State, 
files 867.00 and 867.40.
  America must take another step and acknowledge the Armenian genocide 
in history so that we may begin to educate the world as to its effect, 
and therefore avoid, and serve as a means of avoiding, similar kinds of 
atrocities in the future.
  We must bring awareness of the atrocities that have plagued history 
in areas such as Armenia, Europe, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, Kosovo, and 
Sierra Leone. Acknowledging these events of the past will provide us 
with the proper tools to ensure peace and stability in the future. 
Peace and stability must always be a goal of a civilized world.
  As always, I am proud to stand with Armenians, and even prouder to be 
one of them. Mr. Speaker, we call on our friends, the Turks, to 
recognize that recognizing the actions of the past by other people not 
of this generation of Turks, not of this Turkish government, is not to 
condemn the current, but to recognize the past so that we may never 
repeat it.

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