[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E681-E682]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            CALLING FOR RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ROBERT E. ANDREWS

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the somber 
occasion of the 89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and to call 
upon the Administration to finally recognize this horrible crime for 
what it truly was, systematic and deliberate murder.
  The Armenian Genocide began on April 24, 1915, and within eight years 
one and a half million Armenians were tortured and killed. Tortures 
that the Armenians were forced to endure included forced labor, rape, 
kidnapping, and death marches under the guise of ``temporary 
relocation.'' A grave injustice was intentionally committed by the 
Ottoman Empire during these years, and it is imperative that we now 
stand up and demand that this injustice be officially recognized by 
Turkey, the United States, and the World.

[[Page E682]]

  The senseless crime of genocide is one of the most reprehensible acts 
that can be committed by man. To attempt eradication of an entire 
population based on a misguided prejudice is absolutely vile, and the 
United States should do everything in its power to try and prevent such 
atrocities from happening in the future. Only by explicitly defining 
genocide and ensuring that all cases of genocide throughout history are 
appropriately identified can we effectively deter this crime. 
Particularly at this time of heightened vigilance around the world, it 
is absolutely imperative that America take a strong stance against the 
most troubling of all terrorist acts, mass killings.
  We can not forget Adolph Hitler's haunting remark to his military 
staff prior to launching the Holocaust: ``who, after all, remembers the 
annihilation of the Armenians.'' Let us stand up as a country and let 
the world know that we do remember.

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