[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E700-E701]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    OBSERVING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, April 24, 2004 marked the 89th anniversary of 
one of the most harrowing events in modern day history--the beginning 
of the Armenian Genocide. The Armenian community is too familiar with 
the details of this tragedy. They know well the accounts of Armenian 
leaders, writers and professionals in Constantinople that were rounded 
up, deported and killed; the accounts of men, women and children were 
driven into the desert between Terablus and Derzor to die of 
starvation, disease and exposure; and the accounts of families that 
were burned alive in wooden houses or chained together and drowned in 
Lake Van.
  Unfortunately, few outside of the Armenian community know of the 
Armenian Genocide--

[[Page E701]]

one of the most awful events in modern history. Many are not aware that 
Ottoman officials expelled millions of Armenians from the homelands 
they had inhabited for over 2,500 years. They are not aware that 
Ottoman officials attempted to exterminate the Armenian race and the 
precedent this event set for the genocides that followed. It is 
distressing that horrors of this magnitude have largely been forgotten.
  Even more disturbing are the governments, institutions, scholars, and 
individuals who deny the enormity of these crimes against humanity. It 
is inconceivable that individuals and governments continue to ignore 
the substantial evidence--including numerous survivor accounts, 
photodocumentaries, and official documents in the archives of the 
United States, Britain, France, Austria, and the Vatican--that prove 
these atrocities took place. It is also frustrating that some 
rationalize these crimes or refuse to recognize this premeditated 
ethnic cleansing as genocide.
  The international community must deal honestly with this senseless 
genocide. World leaders must rise above indifference and the political 
considerations that they have cowered behind. They must unequivocally 
acknowledge the murders of one and a half million Armenians that began 
in 1915 for what it is--genocide. They must use their position to 
reveal the truth and bring attention to this tragedy that has been 
overlooked and brushed aside for too long.
  We all want to forget these horrific tragedies in our history and 
bury them in the past. However, understanding the immeasurable wrongs 
the Armenian people endured--and the mass scale on which they 
occurred--is vital to grasping the impact these events continue to have 
on the stability of the region. It is only through the painful process 
of acknowledging and discussing these horrific events that we can 
prevent similar iniquity in the future.
  We owe full recognition and acceptance of these crimes to the one and 
half million victims of the Armenian Genocide. Anything less is an 
insult to their memory.

                          ____________________