[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 9, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H3021-H3025]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, April 24 will mark the 88th anniversary of
the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. On April 24, 1915, 250 Armenian
intellectuals and political leaders were arrested and later executed as
the rulers of the Ottoman Empire implemented their plan to eradicate
their Armenian subjects. This action against the Armenian community's
elite marked the beginning of one of the most horrendous events in the
history of humankind.
Two weeks from now, Armenians will gather worldwide to remember their
martyrs and survivors and to seek universal affirmation of this crime
against humanity. Because we are out of session this year on April 24,
I would like to comment on the Armenian Genocide tonight. I do so to
honor the memory of those innocent victims killed for only one reason,
because they were Armenian.
One and a half million men and women, young and old, able-bodied or
not, were driven from their ancestral homeland and brutally massacred.
Mr. Speaker, this week over 160 Members of the House of
Representatives, including myself, will send a letter to President Bush
asking that he fulfill his campaign promise and use the word
``genocide'' in his annual April 24th address. He fell short of that
promise last year, but with this strong showing of Congressional
support it is my hope that he will do the memory of the victims of the
Armenian Genocide justice in this year's address.
In addition, Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, more than 60 of my colleagues
will join the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich), the gentleman
from California (Mr. Schiff), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr.
Knollenberg) and myself in introducing a resolution on the issue of
genocide. This resolution reaffirms the support of the ratification of
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide and anticipating the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the
Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987.
This resolution is an extremely important and timely measure, in my
opinion. It not only speaks to the immeasurable wrongs done to the
Armenian people, but also to the Jewish people during the Holocaust and
the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia. In the last two years, we have
all seen example after example of the disregard for human life. This
resolution would reaffirm that Congress recognizes the horrors of the
last century, and strives to prevent further genocides through vigilant
education.
Mr. Speaker, the message of the broad, bipartisan support of the
letter to the President and the legislation is clear: Turkey must
recognize the genocide of its past and accept that Armenia is an
integral and necessary sovereign neighbor. It must drop the illegal
blockade against Armenia and establish full and normal diplomatic and
economic relations. Reconciliation with its past and normalization of
relations with Armenia is the only way for Turkey to step out of the
dark shadows of its history of genocide. The entire western world,
which Turkey so desires to be part of, demands it.
Mr. Speaker, let me say in conclusion, as we embark on a new century,
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we must make sure that we have learned the lessons of humankind's
capacity for brutality, and combat this with truth about the past,
compassion for our common man, and a refusal to let these crimes
against humanity be repeated.
We must remember and learn from tragic events the tragic events that
befell the Armenians. That is the only way we can be certain that this
horrific event, which almost destroyed one of the oldest cultures on
the planet, does not happen again.
Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, between 300 and 1,000 people were killed in
attacks on more than a dozen villages in northeastern Congo last week.
According to witnesses on the ground, the coordinated attacks started
with a whistle blow and lasted between five and eight hours. UN and
International Red Cross observers say that they have witnessed the
results of the killing, 20 mass graves.
Mass killings such as this have become a regular occurrence in the
Congo Civil War, which killed more than 50,000 last year. Yesterday, up
to one thousand people were killed in the span of a few hours, yet
these stories don't even make the front page of the papers here in the
States.
How many people have to die before we will take action? How many
lives need to be shattered before we will stand up and say, ``Enough!''
How many more massacres can we sit by and watch before we will realize
our mistakes?
The United States' failure as a world leader in human rights is
demonstrated in our lack of will to stop massacres that have occurred
in places like Congo, Kosova, Rwanda, Iraq, and many others. But it is
also seen in our denial of those massacres that we know have taken
place.
Every year since I was elected to Congress, I have joined my
colleagues in the House of Representative to hold this annual vigil
commemorating the Armenian Genocide for a simple reason, because there
are those out there who deny that it ever occurred.
Eighty-eight years ago, on April 24, 1915, the government of the
Ottoman-Turkish Empire rounded up approximately 600 leaders and
intellectuals of the Armenian community and executed them. This was the
beginning of the mass slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands
of the Ottoman-Turkish Empire.
We know this happened, and we know how many people were killed and we
know how it was done and by whom. Yet the official U.S. government
position on this atrocity is that it was not a genocide, that there was
no deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Turks to wipe-out the Armenian
population.
We here on the floor today know better. And we know that by denying
the truth surrounding this tragic chapter of history, we are only
providing cover for the next genocide to begin.
The events in Africa last week provide yet another chilling example:
If we fail to act, these types of terrible crimes will persist.
Eighty-eight years of denials are enough. We in Congress need to pass
an Armenian Genocide Resolution and put to rest this campaign to deny
the Armenian genocide. I urge all my colleagues in the House to join
with me under the leadership of our Armenian Caucus co-chairs, Joe
Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, and cosponsor a resolution to finally
put this denial to an end.
Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in
commemorating one of the most appalling violations of human rights in
all of modern history--the eighty-eighth anniversary of the Armenian
genocide. I want to commend my colleagues Representatives Joe
Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, the co-chairs of the Congressional
Caucus on Armenian Issues, for once again sponsoring this special
order.
Each year, we join the world in the commemoration of the Armenian
genocide because the tragedy of lost lives through ethnic cleansing
must not be forgotten. By remembering the bloodshed and atrocities
committed against the Armenian people, we hope to prevent similar
tragedies from occurring in the future.
On April 24, 1915, 300 Armenian leaders, scholars, and professionals
were gathered, deported, and killed in Constantinople. Later that day,
5,000 more Armenians were butchered in their homes and on the streets
of the city. By 1923, two million men, women, and children had been
murdered and another 500,000 Armenian survivors were homeless and
exiled. The Armenian genocide was the first of the twentieth century,
but unfortunately as we all know, it was not the last.
Talat Pasha, one of the Ottoman rulers, stated that the regime's goal
was to ``thoroughly liquidate its internal foes, the indigenous
Christian.'' The regime called the mass murder a mass relocation,
masking its horrendous acts from the rest of the world. The Ottoman
Empire was fully aware that the possibility of foreign intervention was
minimal considering the world was preoccupied with World War I at the
time.
However, the massacre was immediately denounced by representatives
from Britain, France, Russia, and the United States. Even Germany and
Austria, allies of the Ottoman Empire in the first World War, condemned
the Empire's heinous acts.
Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Ambassador to Constantinople at the time,
vividly documented the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians with the
statement, ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race
contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and
persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the
sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.''
Winston Churchill used the word ``holocaust'' to describe the
Armenian massacres when he said that, ``in 1915 the Turkish government
began and ruthlessly carried out the infamous general massacre and
deportation of Armenians in Asia minor . . . [the Turks were]
massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians--men, women, and
children together; whole districts blotted out in one administrative
holocaust--these were beyond human redress.''
The orchestrated extermination of people is contrary to the values
the United States espouses. We are a nation which strictly adheres to
the affirmation of human rights everywhere. No one can erase a
horrendous historical fact by ignoring what so many witnessed and
survived.
Recognition and acceptance of misdeeds are necessary steps toward its
extinction. Without acceptance, there is no remorse, and without
remorse, there is no catharsis and pardon. We all want to forget these
horrific tragedies in our history and bury them in the past. However,
it is only through the painful process of acknowledging and remembering
that we can prevent similar iniquity in the future.
The survivors of the Armenian genocide and their descendants have
made great contributions to every country in which they have settled,
including the United States where they have made their mark in
business, the professions and our cultural life.
In closing, I would like to ask that we all take a moment to reflect
upon the hardships endured by the Armenians, and acknowledge that in
the face of adversity, the Armenian people have persevered. Today, we
commemorate the memories of those who lost their lives in the genocide,
as well as the resilience of those who survived.
Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, April 24--two weeks from today--will mark
the 88th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, when the government of
Turkey systematically massacred 1.5 million Armenians and exile over
one million more. This unanswered event set a historical precedent that
has allowed governments to continue to commit crimes against humanity
without remorse or punishment. While we are fighting a war in Iraq, I
believe that now is the time for our government to formally recognize
the Armenian Genocide and to send a strong message to the world that
crimes against humanity will not be tolerated. That is why I am proud
to be an original cosponsor of the Congressional Genocide Resolution,
which is scheduled to be introduced tomorrow morning. This resolution
commemorates the 15th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of the
Genocide Convention and includes the events of the Armenian Genocide,
Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Jewish Holocaust as examples of crimes
against humanity that should never be forgotten.
Additionally, I have also joined over 150 other members of Congress
in signing a letter to President Bush urging him to properly recognize
the Armenian Genocide.
As a member of the International Relations Committee, and
representing a district with a large Armenian-American community, I
believe that the United States must continue to help the government in
Yerevan to guarantee its security, develop its economy and
infrastructure, strengthen its parliamentary process and advance
democratic elections.
My district includes a large Armenian-American community, especially
in Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson Heights, Queens and I have listened
to their needs and concerns many times. I have worked tirelessly to
promote the interests of Armenia and the Armenian-American community.
I have worked closely with Aram Sarafian of the Armenian National
Committee of New York. Aram is an officer in the US Army, who has
served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and is now
serving in Iraq--a mission to both liberate the people of that nation
as well as stop the government massacres against its own people.
Conversations with him on the situation in Armenia, their recent past
and the current situation in Iraq have many parallels.
That is why I have urged the Congress to reject proposed cuts in
Armenia's bilateral foreign assistance aid, which totaled $90 million
last year. By maintaining previous foreign assistance levels, Armenia
can offset the devastating effects of the Turkish and Azerbaijani
blockades and help to continue its political and
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economic transition. The costs of these blockades are estimated by the
World Bank at up to $700 million a year, essentially a third of
Armenia's entire economy. I believe that, by maintaining assistance
levels, an economically viable Armenia will be a catalyst for stability
and development in a strategically important region of the world.
I am also a cosponsor of extending Permanent Trade Relations to
Armenia, now that it has joined the World Trade Organization. This
measure permanently waives the Jackson-Vanik provision of requiring the
President to deny normal trade relations to those countries that
restricted free emigration. Armenia has had free emigration for over a
decade and successive Presidents have waived the Jackson-Vanik
restrictions. It is time to make this waiver permanent.
As a close ally and reliable friend, the United States has an
obligation to the Armenian people to help them address the challenges
of the future--from nation-building, and enhancing regional security to
reconstructing critical economic infrastructure. I will continue to
work tirelessly to promote the interests of the Armenian-American
community, from recognizing the past to building a strong and stable
future.
Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I join today with many of my colleagues in
remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide. April 24 will be the
88th anniversary of this human tragedy.
From 1915 to 1923, the world witnessed the first genocide of the 20th
century. This was clearly one of the world's greatest tragedies--the
deliberate and systematic Ottoman annihilation of 1.5 million Armenian
men, women, and children.
Furthermore, another 500,000 refugees fled and escaped to various
points around the world--effectively eliminating the Armenian
population of the Ottoman Empire.
From these ashes arose hope and promise in 1991--and I was blessed to
see it. I was one of the four international observers from the United
States Congress to monitor Armenia's independence referendum. I went to
the communities in the northern part of Armenia, and I watched in awe
as 95 percent of the people over the age of 18 went out and voted.
The Armenian people had been denied freedom for so many years and,
clearly, they were very excited about this new opportunity. Almost no
one stayed home. They were all out in the streets going to the polling
places. I watched in amazement as people stood in line for hours to get
into these small polling places and vote.
Then, after they voted, the other interesting thing was that they did
not go home. They had brought covered dishes with them, and all of
these polling places had little banquets afterward to celebrate what
had just happened.
What a great thrill it was to join them the next day in the streets
of Yerevan when they were celebrating their great victory. Ninety-eight
percent of the people who voted cast their ballots in favor of
independence. It was a wonderful experience to be there with them when
they danced and sang and shouted, ``Ketse azat ankakh Hayastan''--long
live free and independent Armenia! That should be the cry of freedom-
loving people everywhere.
Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Congressional
Caucus on Armenian Issues to affirm the existence of the Armenian
Genocide and urge our nation's leaders to do the same.
Beginning in 1915 and throughout the First World War, the Armenian
people of the Ottoman Empire were systemic targets of deportation,
expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and genocide.
The existence of genocide--the organized and systematic killing of a
people based on their racial or cultural affiliation--is a terrible
reflection of humanity and must be confronted and condemned.
April 24 is commemorated as the initiation of the Armenian Genocide
that took the lives of one and a half million Armenian men, women, and
children.
It was on April 24, 1915, that over 200 Armenian community leaders
were brutally arrested, imprisoned, and executed.
As we approach the 88th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it is
time that the United States of America recognizes this dishonorable
part of history.
More than one million people of Armenian descent live in the United
States.
We must recognize and honor their personal histories, as well as our
collective world history.
Our children need to learn the truth--that during World War I this
world experienced the Armenian Genocide, genocide is wrong, and it is
wrong to deny the occurrence of any genocide.
Our nation must serve as the example of acknowledging and condemning
such horrific actions.
I urge my colleagues and this administration to do the right thing
and join me in affirming the existence of the Armenian Genocide.
Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues today to remember a
horrific atrocity in history--the Armenian Genocide. April 24 is
recognized as the anniversary date of the genocide, when Armenian
intellectuals and professionals in Constantinople were rounded up and
deported or killed.
From 1915 to 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were killed and countless
others suffered as a result of the systematic and deliberate campaign
of genocide by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire. Half a million
Armenians, who escaped death, were deported to the Middle East. Some
were fortunate enough to escape to the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I am thankful that more than a million Armenians managed
to escape the genocide and establish a new life here in the United
States. In my Seventh District of New Jersey, I am proud to represent a
number of Armenian Americans. They have enriched every aspect of New
Jersey life, from science to commerce and the arts.
Our statements today are intended to preserve the memory of the
Armenian loss and to honor those descendants who have overcome the
atrocities that took their grandparents, children and friends. We mark
this anniversary each year to remind our nation and teach future
generations about the horrors of genocide and oppression endured by the
Armenian people. We must commit ourselves to ensuring that America
remains a beacon of tolerance, openness and diversity.
Mr. Speaker, I commend the commitment of Armenian Americans who
continue to strive for world recognition of one of the greatest
atrocities of the 20th century.
Mr. DOOLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in
remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
This terrible human tragedy must not be forgotten. Like the
Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide stands as a tragic example of the
human suffering that results from hatred and intolerance.
The Ottoman Turkish Empire between 1915 and 1923 massacred one and a
half million Armenian people. More than 500,000 Armenians were exiled
from a homeland that their ancestors had occupied for more than 3,000
years. A race of people was nearly eliminated.
It would be an even greater tragedy to forget that the Armenian
Genocide ever happened. To not recognize the horror of such events
almost assures their repetition in the future. Adolf Hitler, in
preparing his genocide plans for the Jews, predicted that no one would
remember the atrocities he was about to unleash. After all, he asked,
``Who remembers the Armenians?''
Our statements today are intended to preserve the memory of the
Armenian loss, and to remind the world that the Turkish government--to
this day--refuses to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. The truth of
this tragedy can never and should never be denied.
And we must also be mindful of the current suffering of the Armenian,
where the Armenian people are still immersed in tragedy and violence.
The unrest between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues in Nagorno-
Karabakh. Thousands of innocent people have already perished in this
dispute, and many more have been displaced and are homeless.
In the face of this difficult situation we have an opportunity for
reconciliation. Now is the time for Armenia and its neighbors to come
together and work toward building relationships that will assure
lasting peace.
Meanwhile, in America, the Armenian-American community continues to
thrive and to provide assistance and solidarity to its countrymen and
women abroad. The Armenian-American community is bound together by
strong generational and family ties, an enduring work ethic and a proud
sense of ethnic heritage. Today we recall the tragedy of their past,
not to replace blame, but to answer a fundamental question, ``Who
remembers the Armenians?''
Our commemoration of the Armenian Genocide speaks directly to that,
and I answer, we do.
Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, today we solemnly commemorate the 88th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in remembrance of the Ottoman
government's campaign of devastation and destruction against its
Armenian population.
We commemorate this somber anniversary to honor the memory of the
victims of the Armenian Genocide, and pay tribute to the survivors who
rebuilt their lives. We join together to renew our conviction to fight
the sources of bigotry, intolerance, and historical revisionism that
have tried to distort and diminish Armenian suffering.
Over the course of 8 years, beginning in 1915, Armenian communities
were terrorized and systematically destroyed. One and a half million
men, women, and children were murdered and nearly one million other
were deported.
If the world had cried out at the bloodshed of Armenians, it may not
have been silent during the Holocaust. The road from Armenia to
Auschwitz was direct. Only by shedding light on this dark chapter of
history, can we vow once more that genocide will never again go
unnoticed or unmourned.
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Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today Members of this House have come to
the floor to remember and commemorate the 88th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide.
On April 24, 1915, hundreds of Armenian religious, political and
intellectual leaders were rounded up, exiled and eventually murdered by
Turkish order in remote areas of Anatolia. Over the next 8 years,
hundreds of thousands of Armenian men, women and children perished at
the hands of the Ottomans.
By recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide each year,
this House helps ensure that the lessons of this terrible crime against
humanity are not forgotten, cannot be denied, and hopefully, might help
prevent future genocide of other peoples.
The single greatest obstacle to the official recognition of the
Armenian Genocide is the Republic of Turkey. In spite of overwhelming
evidence documenting the Genocide--most of it housed at the United
States Archives--modern-day Turkey continues to pursue a campaign to
deny and to ultimately erase from world history the 1.5 million victims
of Ottoman Turkey's deliberate massacres and deportations of the
Armenian people between 1915 and 1923.
Successive Turkish governments have also deliberately destroyed the
immense cultural heritage of Armenians in Turkey, carrying out a
systematic campaign to erase evidence of the historic Armenian presence
in Eastern Anatolia.
Since 1982, successive U.S. Administrations, reluctant to offend
Turkey, have in effect supported the Turkish government's revisionist
campaign and opposed passage of the Congressional Armenian Genocide
Resolution. These Administrations have objected to the use of the word
``genocide'' to describe the systemic destruction of the Armenian
people.
Rather than supporting Turkey's denials, I hope that President Bush
will officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and encourage Turkey to
come to terms with its past. Rather than creating tension in the
region, I believe such actions would decrease the tension and
suspicions that have long inhibited cooperation in that region.
Thirty-one of our states, including my own Massachusetts, have
recognized the Armenian Genocide.
I want to thank the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian
Issues, Representatives Knollenberg and Pallone, for their outstanding
work to ensure that we never forget those who perished and those who
survived the Armenian Genocide. In their names and memory, we must
demand recognition.
Armenian-Americans are deeply engaged in many issues, nationally,
internationally and in their local communities. In prize-winning film
and books, the Armenian Genocide has been portrayed and widely-
discussed. Coordinated campaigns to provide U.S. economic and trade
assistance to Armenia are moving forward.
This year is also an important year for many Armenian-Americans who
live in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning last October and extending
through October 2003, the Church of the Savior is celebrating its 50th
Anniversary. In addition, Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church on
Grove Street continues to provide celebrating Armenian cultural and the
contribution of the Armenian-American community.
Mr. Speaker, it is past time for the United States to recognize
officially the Armenian Genocide. There can be no justice without the
truth. In the name of all humanity, let it happen now.
Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 88th anniversary of the
beginning of the Armenian Genocide. I rise today to commemorate this
terrible chapter in human history, and to help ensure that it will
never be forgotten.
April 24, 1915, the Turkish government began to arrest Armenian
community and political leaders. Many were executed without ever being
charged with crimes. Then the government deported most Armenians from
Turkish Armenia, ordering that they resettle in what is now Syria. Many
deportees never reached that destination.
From 1915 to 1918, more than a million Armenians died of starvation
or disease on long marches, or were massacred outright by Turkish
forces. From 1918 to 1923, Armenians continued to suffer at the hands
of the Turkish military, which eventually removed all remaining
Armenians from Turkey.
The U.S. Ambassador in Constantinople at the time, Henry Morgenthau,
stated ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race
contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and
persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the
sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.''
We mark this anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide
because this tragedy for the Armenian people was a tragedy for all
humanity. It is our duty to remember, to speak out and to teach future
generations about the horrors of genocide and the oppression and
terrible suffering endured by the Armenian people.
We hope the day will soon come when it is not just the survivors who
honor the dead but also when those whose ancestors perpetrated the
horrors acknowledge their terrible responsibility and commemorate as
well the memory of genocide's victims.
Sadly, we cannot say humanity has progressed to the point where
genocide has become unthinkable. The ``killing fields'' of Cambodia,
the Iraqi regime's gassing of the Kurds, mass ethnic killings in Bosnia
and Rwanda, and ``ethnic cleansing'' in Kosovo remain recent memories.
We must renew our commitment never to remain indifferent in the face of
such assaults on innocent human beings.
We also remember this day because it is a time for us to celebrate
the contribution of the Armenian community in America--including
hundreds of thousands in California--to the richness of our character
and culture. The strength they have displayed in overcoming tragedy to
flourish in this country is an example for all of us. Their success is
moving testimony to the truth that tyranny and evil cannot extinguish
the vitality of the human spirit.
The United States has an ongoing opportunity to contribute to a true
memorial to the past by strengthening Armenia's democracy. Through
trade and aid, we can support the efforts of the Armenian people to
construct an open political and economic system.
Adolf Hitler, the architect of the Nazi Holocaust, once remarked
``Who remembers the Armenians?'' The answer is, we do. And we will
continue to remember the victims of the 1915-23 genocide because, in
the words of the philosopher George Santayana, ``Those who cannot
remember the past are condemned to repeat it.''
Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the victims
of one of history's most terrible tragedies, the Armenian Genocide.
On April 24, 1915, 300 Armenian leaders, intellectuals, and
professionals were rounded up in Constantinople, deported, and killed.
From 1915 through 1923, Armenians that lived under Ottoman rule were
systematically deprived of their property, freedom, and dignity. In
addition, one and a half million Armenians had been massacred and
500,000 more had been deported. The Armenian community saw its culture
devasted and its people dispersed. This date is remembered and
commemorated each year by the Armenian community.
In my district, there is a significant population of Armenian
survivors and their families that showed heroic courage and a will to
survive in the face of devastating obstacles and adversities. These
survivors are an important window into the past and an invaluable part
of our society. With faith and courage, generations of Armenians have
overcome great suffering and proudly preserved their culture,
traditions, and religion. It is through their unforgettable tragedy
that we are able to share in their history and strong heritage. The
history of the Armenian Genocide must never be forgotten.
Mr. Speaker, genocide is the most potent of all crimes against
humanity because it is an effort to systematically wipe out a people
and a culture as well as individual lives. Denying that genocide took
place when there are recorded accounts of barbarity and ethnic violence
is an injustice. Instead, we must ensure the lessons of the Armenian
genocide are properly understood and acknowledged by paying tribute to
the Armenian community on this solemn occasion. I am pleased my
colleagues and I have this opportunity to ensure this legacy is
remembered.
Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solemn memorial to the
estimated 1.5 million men, women, and children who lost their lives
during the Armenian Genocide. As in the past, I am pleased to join so
many distinguished House colleagues on both sides of the aisle in
ensuring that the horrors wrought upon the Armenian people are never
repeated.
On April 24, 1915, over 200 religious, political, and intellectual
leaders of the Armenian community were brutally executed by the Turkish
government in Istanbul. Over the course of the next 8 years, this war
of ethnic genocide against the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire
took the lives of over half the world's Armenian population.
Sadly, there are some people who still deny the very existence of
this period which saw the institutionalized slaughter of the Armenian
people and dismantling of Armenian culture. To those who would question
these events, I point to the numerous reports contained in the U.S.
National Archives detailing the process that systematically decimated
the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. However, old records are
too easily forgotten--and dismissed. That is why we come together every
year at this time: to remember in words what some may wish to file away
in archives. This genocide did take place, and these lives were taken.
That memory must keep us forever vigilant in our efforts to prevent
these atrocities from ever happening again.
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I am proud to note that Armenian immigrants found, in the United
States, a country where their culture could take root and thrive. Most
Armenians in America are children or grandchildren of the survivors,
although there are still survivors amongst us. In my district in
Northwest Indiana, a vibrant Armenian-American community has developed
and strong ties to Armenia continue to flourish. My predecessor in the
House, the late Adam Benjamin, was of Armenian heritage, and his
distinguished service in the House serves as an example to the entire
Northwest Indiana community. Over the years, members of the Armenian-
American community throughout the United States have contributed
millions of dollars and countless hours of their time to various
Armenian causes. Of particular note are Mrs. Vicki Hovanessian and her
husband, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian, residents of Indiana's First
Congressional District, who have continually worked to improve the
quality of life in Armenia, as well as in Northwest Indiana. Three
other Armenian-American families in my congressional district, Dr. Aram
and Seta Semerdjian, Heratch and Sonya Doumanian, and Ara and Rosy
Yeretsian, have also contributed greatly toward charitable works in the
United States and Armenia. Their efforts, together with hundreds of
other members of the Armenian-American community, have helped to
finance several important projects in Armenia, including the
construction of new schools, a mammography clinic, and a crucial
roadway connecting Armenia to Nagorno Karabagh.
In the House, I have tried to assist the efforts of my Armenian-
American constituency by continually supporting foreign aid to Armenia.
This past year, with my support, Armenia received $93 million in U.S.
aid to assist economic and military development. In addition I am once
again joining with several of my colleagues in signing a letter to
President Bush urging him to honor his pledge to recognize the Armenian
Genocide.
The Armenian people have a long and proud history. In the fourth
century, they became the first nation to embrace Christianity. During
World War I, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by an organization known as
the Young Turk Committee, which allied with Germany. Amid fighting in
the Ottoman Empire's eastern Anatolian provinces, the historic
heartland of the Christian Armenians, Ottoman authorities ordered the
deportation and execution of all Armenians in the region. By the end of
1923, virtually the entire Armenian population of Anatolia and western
Armenia had either been killed or deported.
While it is important to keep the lessons of history in mind, we must
also remain committed to protecting Armenia from new and more hostile
aggressors. In the last decade, thousands of lives have been lost and
more than a million people displaced in the struggle between Armenia
and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh. Even now, as we rise to
commemorate the accomplishments of the Armenian people and mourn the
tragedies they have suffered, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and other countries
continue to engage in a debilitating blockage of this free nation.
Consistently, I have testified before Foreign Operations
Appropriations Subcommittee on the important issue of bringing peace to
a troubled area of the world. I continued my support for maintaining of
level funding for the Southern Caucasus region of the Independent
States (IS), and of Armenia in particular. I also stressed the critical
importance of revisiting Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act that
restricts U.S. aid for Azerbaijan as a result of their blockade.
However, I commend my colleagues on the Foreign Operations
Appropriations Subcommittee for striking the appropriate balance last
year regarding Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which will now
allow Azerbaijan to do their part in the war against international
terrorism. Unfortunately, Armenia is now entering its fourteenth year
of a blockage and I must request that the Congress review the waiver of
Section 907 on a yearly basis. The flow of food, fuel, and medicine
continues to be hindered by the blockade, creating a humanitarian
crisis in Armenia.
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Joe
Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, for organizing this special order to
commemorate the 88th Anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Their
efforts will not only help bring needed attention to this tragic period
in world history, but also serve to remind us of our duty to protect
basic human rights and freedoms around the world.
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