[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 100 (Monday, July 19, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1413-E1414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   CELEBRATING THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 19, 2004

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a treasured 
institution in the Armenian-American community and in my Congressional 
District, the ``Armenian Weekly Newspaper'' which is celebrating its 
70th Anniversary of publication this year.
  Since 1934, the English-language Armenian Weekly has been published 
by the Hairenik Association of Watertown, Massachusetts, located in my 
district. The Association also publishes the Armenian Weekly's parent 
publication, ``The Hairenik,'' which is the longest running Armenian-
language newspaper in the world.
  Mr. Speaker, this past April we gathered to commemorate the Armenian 
Genocide, one of the darkest chapters of World War I, and what is 
sometimes called the ``Forgotten Genocide.'' The Armenian Weekly plays 
an invaluable role in helping all of us to remember that tragic period, 
but more importantly, to celebrate the lives of the survivors and their 
wonderful and enduring culture.
  In September of 1919, President Woodrow Wilson spoke of his vision of 
a future Armenia. He said, ``Armenia is to be redeemed . . . So that at 
last this great people, struggling through night after night of terror, 
knowing not when they may come out into a time when they can enjoy 
their rights as free people that they never dreamed they would be able 
to exercise.'' Since the rebirth of the Armenian national following the 
collapse of the former Soviet Union, the Armenian Weekly has run 
numerous stories on issues and events affecting the politics and 
economy of the Republic of Armenia, and the efforts of the Armenian-
American community to support its struggle to survive and prosper.
  Mr. Speaker, two of our most cherished freedoms in the United States 
are freedom of speech and freedom of the press. For seventy years now, 
Armenian-Americans have been

[[Page E1414]]

celebrating those freedoms through the Armenian Weekly Newspaper. In 
addition to its extensive coverage of news events of interest to the 
Armenian-American community, over the years, the paper has printed 
numerous short stories, essays and poems. For example, the stories that 
initially brought noted Armenian-American writer and playwright William 
Saroyan to national attention were first published in the Armenian 
Weekly.
  I congratulate Editor Jason Sohigian and everyone associated with 
this remarkable publication and I wish the Armenian Weekly Newspaper 
many more years of service and success.

                          ____________________