[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E696-E697]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. MARK E. SOUDER

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of my colleagues who stood 
to commemorate the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 and in memory of 
those who died 89 years ago.
  The Genocide of 1915-1923 was the culmination of decades of official 
Ottoman policies to stamp out Armenia--religiously, culturally, and 
ethnically. The ``Armenian Question'' posed a problem for many 
successive

[[Page E697]]

leaders until a seemingly ``brilliant'' realization--``No Armenians, No 
Armenian Question.'' The horrible answer to a perplexing question led 
to the slaughter of millions of Armenians and the continuing denial of 
the massacres by today's Turkish government.
  The long lists of atrocities have been well documented by numerous 
sources. The dwindling number of Armenians who survived the long death 
marches still tell chilling stories of their families' deaths. American 
diplomats and missionaries documented brutal attacks on peaceful cities 
and towns. German military personnel allied to the Turkish government, 
who defied orders to look the other way, compiled a record of death and 
destruction throughout the region. Even Turkish parliamentary and 
government documents speak to the existence and scope of these 
massacres.
  The United States has a long history and long alliance with the 
Armenian people. During the massacres of the late Nineteenth century, 
tons of humanitarian supplies and hundreds of thousands of dollars 
poured into Armenia from the United States in an effort to alleviate 
the suffering of the Armenian people. American missionaries and 
prominent Americans, including American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, 
visited Armenia and aided the starving, homeless, and terrorized. 
During the Genocide of 1915-1923, American missionaries documented the 
slaughter of Armenian men, women, and children. In some cases, 
missionaries risked their own lives to protect Armenians.
  Despite a compelling record proving the massacre of millions of human 
beings, there are still individuals, organizations, and governments 
that deny what happened 89 years ago. Given the United States' 
longstanding dedication to combating human rights abuses, it is 
shocking that the United States government has not officially 
recognized the savage butchery of one of the 20th Century's worst human 
rights violations.
  In his book ``The Burning Tigris,'' Peter Balakian describes the 
Genocide as follows:

       The plan to liquidate the Armenians of the Ottoman Empire 
     was put into action in the spring and early summer of 1915. 
     It was well orchestrated, and in city and town, village and 
     hamlet, and in the Armenian sections of the major cities of 
     Asia Minor and Anatolia, Armenians were rounded up, arrested, 
     and either shot outright or put on deportation marches. 
     Most often the able-bodied men were arrested in groups and 
     taken out of the town or city and shot en masse.
       In the southeast towns and cities as were both killing 
     stations and refugee spots, where Armenians who had survived 
     long death marches from the north lived in concentration 
     camps, in makeshift tents, or on the desert ground, hoping to 
     stay alive. Farther south, in the Syrian desert, more 
     Armenians died than perhaps anywhere else. There the 
     epicenter of death was the region of Deir el-Zor, where 
     Armenians died not only of massacre, starvation, and disease 
     but were stuffed into caves and asphyxiated by brush fires--
     primitive gas chambers.
       The Committee of Union and Progress's [Turkish ruling 
     party] plan to exterminate the Armenians was made possible by 
     the highest level of government planning: harnessing the 
     bureaucracy for the organization and implementation of the 
     Armenian deportations; the formation and organization of 
     killing squads; the creation and manipulation of legislation, 
     and the use of technology and communications . . .

  The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 ranks among the Holocaust, Pol 
Pot's Cambodia, Stalin's starvation of kulaks in the Ukraine, and 
Muslim violence against Christians in Sudan as one of the worst 
instances of inhumanity and wanton cruelty. No one denies that these 
violent events happened. Indeed, the denial of these episodes would be 
met with immediate criticism and vociferous censure. Why is Turkey 
given a pass when it comes to admitting past mistakes?
  I recognize that Turkey is a NATO ally and an ally in the war on 
terror. I recognize that the United States needs to maintain friendly 
relations with Turkey to help stabilize the Middle East, but as a 
friend of Turkey, the United States should be able to take its ally 
aside and point out its mistakes. Without recognizing our mistakes and 
our shortcomings, we do not learn. Without recognizing malice and 
cruelty wherever it is found, we risk forgetting these events and the 
lessons to be learned from them.
  My deepest sympathies go to the whole of Armenia, and more 
importantly, my pity to those who continue to deny or ignore the 
massacre of 1.5 million Armenians during the Genocide of 1915-1923.

                          ____________________