[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 53 (Thursday, April 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E629-E630]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING THE 89TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 22, 2004

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 89th anniversary 
of the Armenian Genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and 
children were brutally massacred by the Ottoman Turk regime. The 
Armenian Genocide was one of the darkest tragedies in human history, 
one that must never be forgotten.
  On April 24, 1915, nearly three hundred Armenian intellectuals and 
political leaders were rounded up, deported and executed under the 
orders of the Ottoman Turk Regime, marking the beginning of the first 
genocide of the 20th century. Later that day, 5,000 more Armenians were 
slaughtered in their homes and on the streets. For 5 years, the brutal 
regime carried out the systematic destruction of the Armenian people 
through forced labor, concentration camps, and death marches, until 
millions were dead or exiled.

[[Page E630]]

  As we look back on the bloodshed and atrocities committed against the 
Armenian people, we must recognize the event for the genocide that it 
was. As Henry Morgenthau, Sr., the former Ambassador to the Ottoman 
Empire 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.''
  To deny this truth is to tarnish the memories of the millions of 
Armenians who lost their lives to ethnic cleansing. As a member of the 
Congressional Armenian Caucus, I have joined my colleagues in sending a 
letter to President Bush urging him to acknowledge the Armenian 
Genocide during his April 24th commemoration address. By drawing 
attention to the legacy of this genocide, we can strengthen our resolve 
to prevent future human tragedies of this kind.
  I am proud to represent a large and vibrant Armenian community in the 
Fifth Congressional District of Massachusetts. Every year, survivors 
and their descendants make public and vivid the hidden details of the 
Armenian Genocide as they participate in commemoration ceremonies 
across the Merrimack Valley. In my hometown of Lowell, the Armenian-
American Veterans Honor Guard will lead a procession to City Hall for a 
flag raising ceremony in recognition of the 89th anniversary of the 
genocide. The commemoration offers participants an opportunity to 
remind the world of the tragedy that befell Armenians of the Ottoman 
Empire.
  I am honored to add my voice to those of my colleagues today in 
commemorating the Armenian Genocide. We will never forget the truth.

                          ____________________