[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 52 (Tuesday, April 26, 2005)]
[House]
[Pages H2521-H2526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              90TH COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I rise this evening to commemorate the 90th 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, which actually took place on 
April 24, last Sunday. As the first genocide of the 20th Century, it is 
imperative that we remember this atrocity and collectively demand 
reaffirmation of this crime against humanity.
  Just this week I was joined by my co-chair of the Armenian Caucus and 
176 additional Members of Congress in sending yet another joint 
congressional letter to President Bush urging him to use the word 
``genocide'' in his April 24 statement. With over 178 signatures, which 
is 9 more than last year, the message in this letter is loud and clear: 
that 90 years is too long to wait for justice to be served and proper 
recognition to be made.
  Mr. Speaker, I received today a copy of President Bush's statement 
with regard to the April 24 commemoration, and, unfortunately, once 
again he did not use the term ``genocide.'' And I think that is 
unfortunate because it has been consistently the case that this 
Congress and the United States in general over the last 90 years has 
referred to the Armenian genocide as a genocide, and it is unfortunate 
that the President continues not to use the term.
  This past Wednesday the Caucus, with the cooperation of the Armenian 
American community, organized a commemorative event on Capitol Hill in 
the Cannon Caucus room. We were joined by over 350 members of the 
community as well as numerous Senators and Members of Congress who all 
spoke on one message: that the United States owes it to the Armenian 
American community, to the 1.5 million that were massacred in the 
genocide, and to its own history to reaffirm what is a fact.
  As we saw on Wednesday night and as we have seen time and time again, 
the United States has a proud history of action and response to the 
Armenian genocide. During a time when hundreds of thousands were left 
orphaned and starving, a time when a nation was on the verge of 
complete extermination, the U.S. chose to step up. Individuals like 
Ambassador Morgenthau and Leslie Davis witnessed the atrocities 
firsthand, and their conscience did not allow them to simply look the 
other way. It is now time that the U.S. stops looking the other way, 
reaffirms what we all know to be fact, and properly recognizes the 
Armenian genocide.
  I wanted to mention that I was very proud earlier this year when our 
Ambassador to Armenia, Ambassador Evans, referred to the Armenian 
genocide as a genocide, and it was unfortunate that he was essentially 
rebuked by the State Department because of the words he used. Because 
the fact of the matter is that when we talk about the Armenian 
genocide, we are simply acknowledging historical fact, and we feel very 
strongly that if at the time when the genocide occurred, the world and 
the United States, if we had taken more notice and had tried to prevent 
it, I think it would have served as a lesson so that the Nazi Holocaust 
against the Jews and so many other atrocities that took place in the 
20th century would not have occurred. If we are going to see a 
situation in the future in this 21st century when we do not repeat the 
mistakes of the past, we must acknowledge the Armenian genocide.
  We know even now, history in the last 100 years has witnessed more 
horrible episodes since the Armenian genocide. As we speak, the 
Sudanese Government is taking a page out of the Turkish Government's 
denial playbook and continuing the vicious cycle of genocide denial in 
what is happening in Darfur. If we are ever to live in a world where 
crimes do not go unpunished and fundamental human rights are respected 
and preserved, we must come to recognize the Armenian genocide, thus 
allowing for proper reparations and restitutions to be made.
  I was very upset, Mr. Speaker, on Saturday when I read in the New 
York Times that the Turkish envoy to the United States continued to say 
that the only reason why Armenians and Americans wanted the genocide 
recognized was because they wanted restitution or they wanted 
reparations. That is simply not true. But it is also true that 
restitution and reparations must be made. For those who commit a state-
sponsored genocide or a state-sponsored massacre, it is important that 
the state, in this case, Turkey, acknowledge that it occurred and that 
restitution and reparations are made, just as in the case with Germany 
in the case of the Nazi Holocaust against the Jews.
  Mr. Speaker, I look forward to introducing a genocide resolution with 
my colleagues in the 109th Congress, and as we did in the 108th 
Congress and the 106th. We will do everything in our power to get 
legislation passed and reaffirm the U.S. record on the Armenian 
genocide. Today the United States has the profound responsibility of 
carrying on the tradition and the work of our predecessors in 
continuing to combat genocide whenever and wherever it takes place. We 
must show the world that individuals such as Ambassador Morgenthau did 
not stay quiet 90 years ago, and we in Congress certainly owe it to 
them not to stay quiet today.
  Mr. BECERRA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 90th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. April 24, 2005 marked the day 90 
years ago that began a bloody eight-year period during which 1.5 
million Armenians lost their lives as a result of this tragic event.
  We must take this opportunity to heal the wounds of those who 
survived this calamity, as well as the Armenian people as a whole. Let 
us officially acknowledge this regrettable moment in human history, as 
formal recognition is nearly four generations overdue. By finally 
closing this chapter, we would not only take positive steps towards 
normalizing relations between Turkey and Armenia, but also help to 
prevent future tragedies.
  I would also like to take this opportunity to commend Armenian 
Americans nationwide for their contributions to our country. Through 
the preservation of their heritage, faith and traditions, Armenian 
Americans join the multitude of immigrants from many different cultures 
who contribute to the rich diversity we celebrate together as a Nation.
  Mr. Speaker, woven deeply into the fabric of our culture, Americans 
stand for freedom and basic human rights for all. Let us further 
demonstrate our deep conviction for the ideals we hold dear in our 
resolute opposition to crimes against humanity and officially recognize 
the Armenian Genocide.
  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, today we gather to remember and commemorate 
the Armenian Genocide, one of the darkest chapters of World War I, and 
the first of the series of genocides we saw in the 20th Century.
  The Armenian Genocide is sometimes called the ``Forgotten Genocide.'' 
In fact, as most of you know, back in 1939, prior to the invasion of 
Poland, Adolph Hitler argued that his plans for a Jewish holocaust 
would, in the end, be tolerated by the West, stating: ``After all, who 
remembers the Armenians.'' Who remembers the Armenians? Today, we 
provide an answer: We Do! We Remember!
  We do so because it is important, indeed it is essential to remember 
and reflect upon these events, but we also do so because we know that 
the Armenian people today struggle on an ongoing basis to confront and 
surmount the legacies and the consequences of those dark days.
  Consider, for a moment, what might have been.
  At the end of the first World War, the American public was acutely 
aware of the atrocities that had been committed against the Armenian 
people from 1915 on--atrocities that we knew had resulted in the death 
of more than 1 million Armenians and left the remaining Armenian 
population starving and destitute.
  At the time, U.S. Ambassador Henry Morganthau reported that ``When 
the Turkish

[[Page H2522]]

authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were simply 
giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, 
and in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to 
conceal the fact.''
  A military mission headed by Major General James Harbord in 1919 had 
been sent to report on conditions in the region and make 
recommendations to U.S. policy makers. General Harbord sent a clear 
message about the defenselessness of the Armenians and the dangers they 
still faced.
  By the time of the Paris Peace negotiations at the end of the War, 
President Wilson was committed to the notion of using the proposed 
League of Nations to help the Armenians. In a September 6, 1919 speech 
on the Treaty creating the League, he spoke of the Armenian Genocide, 
``When I think of words piled upon words, of debate following debate, 
when these unspeakable things that cannot be handled until the debate 
is over are happening, in these pitiful parts of the world, I wonder 
that men do not wake up to the moral responsibility of what they are 
doing. Great peoples are driven out upon a desert, where there is no 
food and can be none, and they are driven to die, and then men, women, 
and children thrown into a common grave, so imperfectly covered up that 
here and there is a pitiful arm stretched out to heaven, and there is 
no pity in the world. When shall we wake up to the moral responsibility 
of this great occasion?''
  On May 24, 1920, Wilson proposed to create a U.S. mandate in Armenia, 
in which we would have sent in troops to maintain the peace and provide 
assistance to help the Armenian people establish a functioning 
government and economy.
  But the proposed U.S. mandate never occurred. Republican Senator 
Henry Cabot Lodge from Massachusetts, the Chairman of the Senate 
Foreign Relations Committee, who earlier had championed the cause of 
the Armenians, refused to support President Wilson's proposed Mandate. 
Senator Lodge said at the time, ``To invite this country to take charge 
of that crossroads of the nations in Armenia, to commit itself to 
sending its troops there for an indefinite period, and to bear the 
expenses involved for an indefinite period, is something for which I 
could never bring myself to vote.'' And on June 1, 1920, he, along with 
the other Republican isolationists in the Senate voted 34 to 43 and 34 
to 41 against two Democratic amendments that would have fully or 
partially authorized the Mandate.
  And so, Armenia was left on its own, open to attack from both Turkey 
and the Soviet Union. And the Armenians made a fateful decision. Rather 
than accept Turkish dominance and the prospect of additional killings, 
they signed an agreement with the Soviet leadership's point man in the 
Caucuses--a man named Josef Stalin--to join the Soviet Union. That 
fateful decision led them to more than 60 years of Armenian suffering 
under the yoke of the Communists.
  So, as we all gather together to consider the legacy of the Armenian 
genocide and the Diaspora it created, it is also appropriate for 
America as a nation to consider what can be done to give something back 
to those who, by tragic circumstances, were forced to live through 
unspeakable atrocities during the Genocide only to then come under the 
control of a brutal Soviet rule.

  Armenia today faces enormous economic and political challenges: It 
has hostile neighbors. It faces blockades that stifle trade and 
economic opportunities. It needs economic and military assistance.
  There is much that the U.S. government can and should do to assist 
the Armenian people: We should grant Armenia Permanent Normal Trading 
Relations status, so as to facilitate the growth of trade and economic 
relations. We should provide Armenia with the economic and military 
assistance it needs to develop its economy and ensure its security. We 
should press for an end to the Turkish and Azerbaijani economic 
blockades.
  The writer Milan Kundera once wrote that ``The struggle of man 
against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.'' There are 
those that would deny the Armenian Genocide, just as there are those 
that deny the reality of the Nazi Holocaust. In commemorating the 
Armenian Genocide, as we do this evening, we all collectively engage in 
that struggle of memory against forgetting. But we do this not only to 
remember the past, but to animate the future with a commitment to 
prevent such things from ever happening again, and to strive towards 
making a better future for the Armenian people, a people who have 
suffered so much.
  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.''
  It has taken Armenia decades to reach a point where its people could 
enjoy their rights as a free people--the rights Wilson spoke of. Today, 
we have an opportunity to help ensure that they can build a better 
future. And so, I look forward to continuing to work with the Armenian-
American community and Members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenia 
to address the issues facing this region, so that together we build 
something positive, something hopeful, something good for the future--a 
peaceful, prosperous Armenia with close ties to the United States.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 90th anniversary of 
the Armenian Genocide.
  The Armenian Genocide is fully documented in the U.S. archives and 
through an overwhelming body of firsthand, governmental, and diplomatic 
evidence. The only party denying the Armenian Genocide is the Turkish 
government.
  As a young man, I remember learning about the Armenian genocide by 
listening to the experiences of the men and women who experienced it 
firsthand. Many of the survivors of this experience fled to the United 
States, and through time established communities throughout the 
country, including my district.
  California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the 
United States. The California State Assembly designated April 24, 1997 
as ``California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-
23, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots 
of 1990.''

  Morally, it is wrong for the American people to be complicit in the 
Turkish government's effort to deny the suffering and death of over 1.5 
million people.
  Turkey's denial of the Armenian Genocide sets a dangerous precedent 
that makes future genocides more likely. Adolf Hitler, while planning 
the Holocaust, silenced the potential reservations of his generals by 
asking: ``Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the 
Armenians?''
  As a Nation that values the freedom of speech and assembly, we must 
admit that this event occurred, and force Turkey to do likewise.
  Additionally, we must ask the EU to refuse Turkey's application to 
join the EU until Turkey accepts their role in the genocide against the 
Armenian people.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise to remind the world that the 
24th of April marked the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a 
systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide of the Ottoman Empire. 
Also, it marked yet another year without the U.S. formally recognizing 
the atrocities that occurred. Considering how well documented the 
genocide is in the U.S. archives and through an overwhelming body of 
first-hand, governmental, and diplomatic evidence this is nothing less 
than a disgrace. I also rise to reaffirm my support for the adoption of 
the Genocide Resolution H. Res 193, which was introduced last Congress 
by Rep. Pallone. Unfortunately, even though this legislation passed 
unanimously out of my committee, had 110 co-sponsors and was placed on 
the House calendar, it was not allowed to be brought to the floor for a 
vote. The purpose of this legislation was prevent future genocides by 
stressing the importance of remembering and learning the lessons of 
past crimes against humanity, including the Armenian Genocide, 
Holocaust, and the Cambodian and Rwandan genocides in hopes of 
preventing future atrocities. In addition, this resolution strengthened 
America's commitment to the universal values of the Genocide Convention 
and asked the United States to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the 
Genocide Convention.
  As Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, it was an honor 
to be instrumental in preparing the report last year which gained 
unanimous approval at the committee level. The report described the 
Armenian genocide in the following terms: ``Beginning in 1915, the 
Islamic Turkish state of the Ottoman Empire sought to end the 
collective existence of the Christian Armenian population. From 1915 
through 1918, during World War I, the Ottoman Empire subjected the 
Armenian people to deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, 
massacre, and starvation. The atrocities were renewed between 1920 and 
1923. It is estimated that one and a half million Armenians were killed 
out of over two million Armenians who had lived in the Ottoman Empire. 
It should be noted that these activities ceased with the institution of 
the new Republic of Turkey in October, 1923.'' Two weeks ago, I signed 
onto a bipartisan letter to President Bush, asking him to properly 
recognize the Armenian Genocide.
  The Armenian Genocide is fully documented in U.S. history. In a July 
24, 1915 cable, American Consul Davis noted that, ``I do not believe 
there has ever been a massacre in the history of the world so general 
and thorough as that which is now being perpetrated in this region or 
that a more fiendish, diabolical scheme has ever been conceived by the 
mind of man. What the order is officially and nominally to exile the 
Armenians from these

[[Page H2523]]

Vilayets may mislead the outside world for a time, but the measure is 
nothing but a massacre of the most atrocious nature. It would be that 
even if all the people had allowed to perish on the road. As a greater 
part of them, however, have been actually murdered and as there is no 
doubt that this was done by order of the government, there can be no 
pretense that the measure is anything else but a general massacre.''
  Now more than ever as the world is gripped by unrest and terrorism, 
the memory of the Genocide underscores our responsibility to help 
convey our cherished tradition of respect for fundamental human rights 
and opposition to mass slaughter. We owe it to the victims of the 
Genocide to acknowledge what happened and to teach our students and 
children about their suffering, so that we can fulfill our obligation 
to ensure that genocide will never happen again. Our future generation 
should be able to say, ``I learned, I acknowledge, and I will work to 
prevent it from happening again.''
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in commemoration of the 90th 
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This is both a somber and 
encouraging day for both myself and many of my constituents, who are 
survivors or ancestors of survivors. Somber in memory of the millions 
who lost their lives, and encouraging in the success of the Armenian 
American community of building new lives in the U.S., as well as an 
independent Armenia.
  April 28, 1915 will live as a day of infamy in the lives of all 
Armenians, all over the world. It was this day that the Turkish 
government ordered the deportation of 2.5 million Armenians out of the 
Ottoman Empire. Within hours, Turkish forces had rounded up over 300 
Armenian scholars, and deported or killed them. Over the next year, 1.5 
million Armenians were killed or deported to concentration camps to 
await certain death.
  I have always supported the Armenian American community. However, my 
support for the community does not only stem from the size of the 
Armenian Community in Queens, but also because I see the strategic 
importance of the Caucasus region for the United States.
  In 2003, I had the opportunity to visit Armenia and to plant a tree 
at the Genocide memorial. The independent country of Armenia is a 
living testament to honor the memories of the survivors.
  I believe that by failing to recognize these barbaric acts, one 
becomes complicit in them. Let us never forget the 1.5 million 
Armenians who perished in 1915 and 1916.
  Mr. Speaker, again I commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian 
Genocide, and hope that April 28th, 1915 will never be forgotten. I 
also ask that the New York Times story focusing on survivors of the 
genocide be inserted into the Record. Their words and memories speak 
louder than any speech we will hear today.

                [From the New York Times, Apr. 23, 2005]

            Armenian Immigrants Recall a 90-Year-Old Tragedy

                          (By Corey Kilgannon)

       A cheery sign in the New York Armenian Home in Flushing, 
     Queens, yesterday informed its elderly residents in colorful 
     letters of the current date, season and weather.
       And of an anniversary: ``Remember April 24, the Armenian 
     Genocide.''
       A framed proclamation by Gov. George E. Pataki hung nearby, 
     declaring April 24 as Armenian Remembrance Day to commemorate 
     the Turkish massacres of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians 
     beginning in 1915. It called the killings ``the 20th 
     century's first such calculated effort to destroy people on a 
     massive scale'' and added that ``the Armenian Genocide led 
     academics to coin and utilize the very term genocide.''
       It is doubtful that even with failing memories, any 
     residents at the home needed a reminder.
       ``This time of year, they all get disturbed and remember,'' 
     said Jenny Akopyan, assistant director of the home.
       Tomorrow, thousands of Armenian-Americans from across the 
     Northeast are expected to gather in Times Square to mark the 
     90th anniversary of the murders of their relatives and 
     forebears by Ottoman Turks during World War I.
       On April 24, 1915, Turkish soldiers arrested hundreds of 
     Armenian leaders in Constantinople, then tortured and 
     executed them. The mass slaughter of Armenians over the next 
     several years is often called the first genocide of that 
     century and a precursor to the Holocaust.
       The Armenian Home, on 45th Avenue in Flushing, opened in 
     1948 and has long housed many genocide survivors who escaped 
     by playing dead, fleeing or other means. Most of the 
     residents are from families decimated by the genocide, but 
     only a half dozen--all in their 90's--actually escaped it as 
     children.
       The most recent death of a survivor was in August: Lucy 
     Derderian, age 103, who ``only survived the genocide because 
     her mother was smart enough to hide her under the dead bodies 
     during a massacre,'' said Aghavni Ellian, the home's 
     executive director.
       Ms. Ellian walked into the home's day room, where about two 
     dozen elderly Armenian immigrants sat watching ``The Price Is 
     Right'' on a large television next to an ornate Christian 
     shrine bedecked in crimson and gold. She carried a lamb dish 
     that had been delivered for later: madal, a roast blessed by 
     a priest and traditionally eaten on April 24.
       The residents had just finished small cups of thick, strong 
     Armenian coffee. Few survivors could offer completely lucid 
     recollections, but each had some snippet of horror seared 
     into memory.
       Gulumya Erberber, 93, said that Turkish soldiers had 
     beheaded her father, a wealthy academic, and seized his 
     riches and several houses. She was 3 years old then, and her 
     mother fled with the five children to a mountain village 
     where the townspeople did not speak Armenian but did help the 
     family.
       Israel Arabian, 99, leaned on his cane and related how he 
     was forced to work for a Turkish officer who took Mr. 
     Arabian's teenage sister ``as a wife.'' He ran away and grew 
     up in a Greek orphanage before eventually coming to New York 
     and settling in Queens.
       Many Armenians bitterly denounce the Turkish government for 
     denying that the killings constituted genocide. In an 
     interview yesterday, Tuluy Tanc, minister counselor for the 
     Turkish Embassy in Washington, said the accusation of 
     genocide was ``unfair and untrue,'' a legal ploy to gain 
     reparations.
       ``We don't see what happened as genocide, quote-unquote,'' 
     Mr. Tanc said. ``Unfortunate and tragic events took place 
     during World War I and bad things happened to Armenians, and 
     Muslims and Turks also.''
       ``The number killed is much less than they say--it's more 
     like 300,000 Armenians who lost their lives,'' he said, 
     adding that Turkish leaders had recently asked Armenia to set 
     up a commission to study the killings.
       Onorik Eminian, 93, said she was a young child living in 
     the city of Izmir when the Turks killed her parents and other 
     relatives. She said she has never stopped having nightmares 
     about it, especially in April.
       ``I saw plenty, sir, plenty,'' she said. ``I saw them go in 
     and they broke our churches. They took old ladies, old like 
     me now, and shot them one by one. This I saw in front of my 
     eyes. They chopped the arms off our schoolteachers and hung 
     them from the trees in the street to teach us a lesson. We 
     watched our priest come delivering food, and they killed him 
     and threw the food into the street.''
       ``Are you sure you want to hear my sad story?'' she asked. 
     ``I was playing in front of our house when they came on 
     horses. My grandmother pulled me in. The Turks grabbed my 
     father--he was hiding Armenians in his coffee shop--and I 
     cried, `Daddy, Daddy, don't go' and I held onto his leg. Then 
     one soldier told me to shut up and hit me right here with a 
     rifle. Look, I still got the mark.''
       Weeping, she pointed to a bump on her forehead between her 
     eyebrows and dabbed her eyes with a tissue.
       ``I said, `Where's my father?' and they said, `Here's your 
     father,' and they held up his jacket and pants.''
       She grew up in an orphanage, and eventually came to New 
     York, lived in Astoria and had two daughters who never saw 
     any mention of Armenian genocide in their history books.
       ``If you write this in the newspaper,'' she said, ``will 
     the Turks come here and kill me? I'm still afraid of them.''

  Mrs. LOWEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise in Commemoration of the 90th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. This yearly commemoration is a 
testament to the lives and the legacy of the 1.5 million Armenians who 
lost their lives, and it underscores our commitment to keeping the 
Armenian nation and culture alive.
  As we revisit this dark period in Armenian history, we must be 
mindful of the lessons that can be learned from this tragedy. Blind 
hatred and senseless prejudice tear at the very fabric of our society 
even today. The victims of the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, ethnic 
cleansing in Kosovo, Rwanda, and Sudan, and acts of vicious terrorism 
remind us of the human cost of hate and implore us to prevent these 
tragedies from happening again.
  I want to join my colleagues in renewing our pledge to the Armenian 
nation to ensure that Armenians around the world can live free of 
threats to their existence and prosperity. Azerbaijan continues to 
blockade Armenia and Nagorno-Karabagh, denying the Armenian people the 
food, medicine, and other humanitarian assistance they need to lead 
secure lives. A key component of this pledge is maintaining high levels 
of assistance to Armenia. As Ranking Member of the House Foreign 
Operations Appropriations Subcommittee, I will fight to maintain 
funding for Armenia, which recently became eligible for special 
Millennium Challenge Account funds.
  We must also be cautious to balance our immediate foreign policy 
needs with the long-time concerns we have had about both the Azerbaijan 
and Turkish records. This includes reaffirming that the Section 907 
waiver is not automatic and indefinite--it will be carefully evaluated. 
And it also involves close monitoring of assistance given to Turkey.
  Building a strong, prosperous Armenia is the best way to honor the 
memory of the Genocide victims, and I am proud to be a partner in this 
effort.
  Mr. ANDREWS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the somber 
occasion of the

[[Page H2524]]

90th 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 8 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.
  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.
  Mr. KIRK. Mr. Speaker, last Sunday, April 24, 2005 marked the 90th 
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Beginning in 1915, an estimated 
one and a half million Armenians were systematically murdered over the 
next eight years.
  There were nearly two million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire 
on the eve of W.W.I. In an organized campaign of ethnically motivated 
genocide, the Ottoman Turks deported a million Armenians, separating 
families and destroying livelihoods. Hundreds of thousands more were 
murdered. They did not lose their lives, as common nomenclature refers 
to the situation. They were murdered. Many others died of starvation, 
exhaustion, and epidemics which ravaged the concentration camps.
  On this 90th Anniversary, I join with my colleagues in Congress and 
the Armenian community worldwide in commemorating this solemn day of 
remembrance. In particular I commend the Armenian-Americans from my 
district who departed from the All Saints Community Center in Glenview, 
IL, to join dozens of Armenians from the Chicago area to peacefully 
protest at the Turkish Consulate in Chicago. This sort of activism is 
an important step to finally gaining official recognition of the 
genocide.
  This anniversary serves as a reminder of the horrible campaigns of 
genocide that occurred in the past, from the Holocaust, to Rwanda, to 
today's atrocities in Darfur, Sudan. We must uphold our duties as 
global defenders of human rights and give the Armenian community, as 
the victims of the 20th Century's first genocide, the recognition they 
deserve.
  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  This past Sunday, April 24th, marked 90 years since the beginning to 
one of history's dark chapters. On that day in 1915, the government of 
the Ottoman Empire began a brutal and systematic campaign of genocide 
against the Armenian people. It started with the execution of some 300 
Armenian leaders, professionals and intellectuals. By 1923, over 1.5 
million Armenians had been killed, and another 500,000 had been 
deported.
  The Ottoman Empire claimed that it was acting to suppress civil 
unrest among Armenians during World War I. The absurdity of this 
justification for a reign of terror was pointed out at the time by no 
less credible a witness than our own Ambassador to the Empire, Henry 
Morganthau. His report to Washington described the Ottoman campaign as 
one of ``race extermination.''
  The almost unimaginable pain and suffering endured by the Armenian 
people has been compounded since by the refusal of the Ottoman Empire 
and now the government of Turkey to acknowledge that the Genocide ever 
even occurred. Generations of Turks have been raised to deny this 
atrocity, perpetuating resentments and hostilities. By trying to defend 
the indefensible, the government of Turkey has denied the Armenian 
people, as well as its own people the chance to begin the process of 
healing these wounds.
  Mr. Speaker, 90 years is far, far too long for a people to wait for 
an acknowledgment of the crimes committed against them. That is why I 
am proud to support the resolution that will be introduced in the 
coming days remembering the victims and honoring the survivors of the 
Armenian Genocide. This resolution will appropriately recognize these 
acts for what they were. Only with a common understanding of this dark 
period can we move forward and work to prevent similar tragedies in the 
future.
  While we mark the loss and pain of the Armenian people every April 
24th, it is my fervent hope that some day soon, it will no longer be 
necessary to urge the recognition of these terrible events as genocide. 
I am particularly disappointed that the President has once again failed 
to lead on this issue. Once again, President Bush's statement this 
weekend studiously avoided proper recognition of this tragedy. 
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that all my colleagues take the time to reflect on 
this anniversary, and that we renew our commitment to the victims of 
the Armenian Genocide and to each other to never allow such human 
suffering to occur again.
  Mr. SOUDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the 90th anniversary of 
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. We are familiar with these events. 
Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children were driven from 
their homes, starved, beaten, and shot. Government-orchestrated 
intimidation, government-sponsored deportations, and government-
perpetrated slaughter are the hallmarks of the Armenian Genocide. They 
are also the hallmarks of other genocides with which we are all too 
familiar.
  The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of its kind, but it was 
not the last. It has served as a model of the Holocaust in Europe, the 
Killing Fields of Cambodia, and religiously motivated atrocities in the 
Sudan. We look regretfully and sorrowfully at the slaughter of so many 
in these cases, as well we should. These events demonstrate man's 
inherent sinfulness and the evil that comes so easily. No one denies 
the events in Europe, Asia, and Africa happened. Anyone rejecting these 
mass slaughters is themselves rejected. And yet, many suffer some kind 
of incredulity when it comes to the Armenian Genocide. We demand the 
perpetrators of these other genocides are made to account for their 
actions, but not the Armenian Genocide.
  Photographs and eye witness account point overwhelmingly and 
undoubtedly to the massacre of over one million human beings, but no 
one has ever been held accountable. Ninety years after these events, 
the perpetrators are no longer living. In this world, they can no 
longer be held responsible for their actions. Their heirs, however, 
should be made to acknowledge the deeds of their fathers. But they are 
not.
  Modern Turkey has made Armenian Genocide denial into an article of 
faith. Genocide denial is taught in schools, and is supported by the 
government. Anyone who deviates from the official line is considered a 
traitor. Indeed, the government of Turkey works feverishly to prevent 
any government from recognizing the Armenian Genocide. Recognition by 
the legislative bodies of France, Italy, Switzerland, and Russia has 
been met with harsh criticism from the Turkish government.
  In 2000, only intense lobbying and ruthless pressure from Turkey 
prevented this House from recognizing the Armenian Genocide. It is 
shameful that the United States House of Representatives refuses to 
reaffirm the Armenian Genocide. Official American records on the 
Armenian Genocide are considered to be the most extensive in the world, 
and yet we refuse to reaffirm what already has been acknowledged to be 
the first genocide of the Twentieth Century. In past eras, American 
officials, including U.S. Ambassador Henry Morgenthau and President 
Ronald Reagan, boldly declared the savage butchery in eastern Anatolia 
and the Caucuses to be genocide.
  By allowing Turkey to deny its past actions, we take a step 
backwards. By not reaffirming the events of 90 years ago, we do not 
live up to the ideals of our country. I reaffirm the Armenian Genocide 
in the House of Representatives. I know that it happened. I remember.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I join my colleagues in commemorating the 
90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  Today we solemnly remember the victims of the Ottoman Government's 8-
year campaign of terror against its Armenian population. During this 
brutal campaign, Armenian communities were systematically destroyed, 
one and a half million innocent men, women, and children were murdered, 
and over one million others were forcibly deported.
  This somber anniversary is a tribute to the memory of the victims of 
the Armenian Genocide, and a painful reminder that the world's inaction 
and denial 90 years ago left a tragic precedent for other acts of 
senseless bloodshed. This year we marked the 60th anniversary of the 
liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. The road from Armenia 
to Auschwitz was direct. If more attention had been centered on the 
slaughter of innocent Armenians, perhaps the events of the Holocaust 
might never have been allowed to occur.
  And, as we speak today, government-supported Janjaweed militias 
continue their systematic destruction of black Sudanese in Darfur. 
Thousands have been murdered,

[[Page H2525]]

raped, and starved to death, and over one million have been displaced 
from their homes. The Armenian Genocide stands as a tragic precedent to 
the brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing currently ravaging Darfur.
  Today, we honor the memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, 
and vow once more that genocide will not go unnoticed or unmourned. We 
must stand up to governments that persecute their own people, and 
reaffirm our unwavering commitment to fight all crimes against humanity 
and the efforts to hide them from the rest of the world.
  Mr. HONDA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the anniversary 
of a tragic event. April 24th 2005 marks a solemn occasion in world 
history: the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to 
1923, the Christian Armenian population endured a policy of systemic 
killing implemented by the then-Ottoman and early Turkish Empires, 
resulting in the ethnic slaughter of one and a half million Armenians.
  Since that time, descendants of Armenian immigrants have proudly 
clung to their identity, prospering in communities throughout the 
world. Here in the United States, we are especially fortunate to have a 
vibrant Armenian community that has greatly enriched American civic 
life.
  It is vital that we remember this dark period in history. Losing the 
memory of this tragic event would only perpetuate the injustice. For 
too long, the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th 
Century, has been denied the recognition that it properly deserves. As 
human beings, we all have a responsibility to keep events such as the 
Armenian Genocide at the forefront of our collective historical memory. 
We cannot begin to overcome the challenges of the future until we 
acknowledge our past mistakes.
  It is perhaps the tragedy of the 20th Century that a cataclysmic 
occurrence such as the Armenian Genocide has to share a place in our 
memory with other horrific events such as the wartime atrocities 
perpetuated during WWII, the ethnic cleansings in Cambodia and Bosnia, 
and the Rwandan genocide. I truly believe we must take the time and 
make the effort to find reconciliation between the perpetrator and 
victims of these events.
  Currently, we are confronted by a genocide unfolding in Sudan, where 
tens of thousands die every month; we must not allow ourselves to turn 
a blind eye.
  Mr. Speaker, recognizing the Armenian Genocide will help heal the 
wounds humanity has suffered in the past century. By acknowledging the 
horrors of our past and working to protect our future, we take one step 
closer to the goal of ``never again.''
  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, ``those who cannot remember the past are 
condemned to repeat it.'' That saying is as true today as it was almost 
a hundred years ago when the philosopher George Santayana first wrote 
it.
  So, today we are here to remember. We are here to remember that the 
Ottoman Empire brutally tortured and murdered 1.5 million Armenians 90 
years ago and that half a million Armenians were forced to flee their 
country. Let us also remember and honor those who survived the 
genocide. Although few survivors of the Armenian Genocide are still 
living today, those who endured the horrors of 1915 are heroes for all 
time.
  We are here to honor those who died and to call for recognition of 
the Genocide carried about by the Ottoman Turkish government. We are 
here to remember so we don't repeat the same mistake, anywhere, in any 
country of the world.
  In my view, all Americans must recognize that the atrocities 
committed from 1915 to 1923 constitute genocide. We do not use that 
word lightly. But the word, itself, makes a powerful statement about 
the horrors suffered by the Armenian people. As Samantha Powers, the 
leading expert on genocide said in a letter to the editor of the New 
York Times, ``The extermination of Armenians is recognized as genocide 
by the consensus of scholars of genocide and Holocaust worldwide. The 
failure to acknowledge this trivializes a human rights crime of 
enormous magnitude.'' Today, the people of Armenia and her diaspora are 
proudly seeking to rebuild their country.
  From the ashes of despair born of the genocide, and from the ravages 
of seven decades of communist rule, Armenians the world over are 
striving to secure a safe and prosperous future for Armenia and 
Nagorno-Karabagh.
  As Armenian-Americans join with Armenians from throughout the world 
to help to rebuild their homeland, and as they seek to secure an 
economically prosperous state founded on firm democratic principles, I 
will stand by them.
  As a Member of the House leadership and the House International 
Relations Committee, I promise to do all I can on behalf of Armenia and 
to ensure that the Armenian genocide is recognized. In closing, I 
remind you that Adolf Hitler once stated: ``Who today remembers the 
Armenians?''
  I am here to say that we remember the Armenians. The children, 
grandchildren, and great grandchildren of the survivors and of those 
who perished, remember the Armenians. The friends and neighbors of 
Armenia, remember the Armenians. And here in the United States, we 
remember the Armenians.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to stand here today with my 
colleagues to acknowledge this important event and to have the 
opportunity to commemorate the 90th Anniversary of the Armenian 
Genocide; one of the saddest chapters of history. We join the Armenian-
Americans across the nation and the Armenian community abroad to mourn 
the loss of so many innocent lives.
  In this turbulent century, we have witnessed humanity's great 
potential for good and bad--but the world has triumphed more often in 
the last 90 years than it has disappointed. And yet, while focusing on 
humanity's successes is always more attractive than remembering any 
failures, we as civilized peoples, countries and nations must not deny 
the immorality of atrocities such as the Armenian Genocide.
  The U.S. is fortunate to be home to an organized and active Armenian 
community, whose members contribute and participate in every aspect of 
civic life. This is one of the reasons that myself--along with 170 
members of Congress--have asked President Bush to join us in 
reaffirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide.
  As a proud member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues and 
an ardent supporter of Fresno's Armenian-American community, I wish the 
people of Armenia success in their efforts to bring about the lasting 
peace and prosperity that they deserve. I pledge to continue my ongoing 
efforts to sponsor initiatives that would build on our record towards 
an inevitable, full and irrevocable U.S. affirmation of the Armenian 
Genocide.
  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, today we mark the 90th 
anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. Every year we 
participate in this solemn commemoration but this year it has a special 
significance.
  For the families of the victims and the survivors, the horrors of 
that bygone era remain so painful that it is hard to believe how much 
time has passed. The passage of years has not dimmed the memory or 
eased the grief. Not a relative or friend has been forgotten, nor have 
fond memories of native cities faded away.
  Moreover, no accounting for mass murder has been made. Though many 
governments and legislative bodies around the world have recognized the 
Armenian Genocide, the Turkish Government consistently refuses to 
acknowledge what happened. For Armenians everywhere, Turkey's policy of 
aggressive denial sharpens the feeling of loss, embittering the lives 
of those who miraculously survived.
  Today, those of us without Armenian blood share the sorrow of 
Armenians everywhere. I had the privilege in September 2000 of chairing 
hearings on the Armenian Genocide in the Subcommittee on International 
Operations and Human Rights of the International Relations Committee. 
The reading I have done over the years, which has included detailed 
descriptions of the atrocities, shock me. But, I am resolved to speak 
about this issue, loudly and often.
  The Armenian Genocide has significance for all of us. It created a 
monstrous precedent which launched a century of genocides. In numerous 
countries and cultures, an ethnic group that controlled the state has 
used its instruments of coercion to slaughter members of a minority 
group, religion or class. It is enough to recall Adolf Hitler's smug 
remark, ``Who remembers the Armenians?'' to grasp the universality of 
what happened to the Armenians.
  Much has changed in the world since the mass, planned murder in 
1915--two world wars, the fall of the Ottoman, Habsburg and Romanov 
Empires, the rise of the American superpower and most recently, the 
fall of the Soviet Union. One would have thought that we would have 
grown wiser over the years. Alas, we have not learned the appropriate 
lessons from the 20th century's first genocide. Just a few years after 
Rwanda, at this very moment, another genocide is taking place in 
Darfur. Yet, instead of mounting a united response, the international 
community has waffled or slithered away from responsibility, as 
hundreds of thousands are slaughtered.
  The record of man's inhumanity to man is awful enough to produce a 
feeling of resignation. But we must fight that tendency. We must 
continue to remind the world of what occurred in 1915 and keep calling 
on Turkey to won up. We must not restrain ourselves from speaking of 
the Armenian Genocide. Along with many of my colleagues, I urge 
President Bush to speak the truth to Ankara, which needs to come to 
terms with its own past.
  As this somber time, I want to note one optimistic point: OSCE 
negotiators are guardedly hopeful about the prospects of resolving the 
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. True, we have experienced such moments 
before and should not get our hopes up. Still, I am encouraged to hear 
that there is at least some reason for hope. We all pray for a peaceful 
solution to this conflict, which has caused over 30,000 deaths and many 
more casualties. Next year,

[[Page H2526]]

when we once again commemorate the Genocide of the Armenians, I hope 
their descendants will be living in peace with their neighbors, 
building a democratic, prosperous country that will be a light unto the 
world.
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the ninetieth 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. On the night of April 24, 1915, 
the Ottoman Empire arrested over 200 Armenian community leaders in 
Constantinople, thereby marking only the beginning of the horrendous 
Armenian Genocide to come.
  On the eve of World War I, an estimated two million Armenians lived 
in the Ottoman Empire. Well over a million were deported and hundreds 
of thousands were simply killed. Between 1915 and 1918, the Ottoman 
Empire conducted other atrocities against Armenians which also included 
abduction, torture, massacre and starvation. Armenians living in 
Armenia and Anatolia were forcibly moved to Syria, where they were left 
in the desert to die of hunger and thirst. In addition, there were 
systematic murders; women and children were abducted from their homes 
and abused. It has been estimated that one and half million Armenians 
died as a result of this genocide from 1915 to 1923. By 1923 the entire 
landmass of Asia Minor and historic West Armenia had been expunged of 
its Armenian population.
  On this important anniversary, it is a lasting lesson to people 
everywhere that genocide must not only be opposed by all nations, but 
that it must be universally recognized as a crime against humanity--no 
matter where it occurs or against whom it is carried out.
  Mr. LANGEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 90th 
anniversary of the Armenian genocide, during which one and a half 
million Armenians were tortured and murdered, and more than half a 
million were forced from their homeland into exile. Despite 
overwhelming documentation, the Turkish government has refused to admit 
or apologize for these atrocious acts, or even acknowledge the Armenian 
Genocide.
  As Americans, we must guarantee that our foreign policy reflects our 
values of justice, equality and responsibility. These values should 
apply in all of our international interactions, including those with 
Turkey, a NATO ally. Turkey wishes to increase its global profile 
through accession to organizations such as the European Union. However, 
if Turkey wishes to gain the world's respect, it must earn it. It must 
demonstrate its commitment to peace and democracy in the region. It 
must reopen its borders, end its blockade of Armenia, and encourage 
Azerbaijan to end its aggressive rhetoric. And most importantly, it 
must accept responsibility for past injustices through an unconditional 
recognition of the Armenian Genocide. Only then can Turkey begin to 
come to terms with its history. Only then can Armenians seek justice 
from the Turkish government for the losses of so much and so many.
  Last month, I was honored to lead a conference session for Rhode 
Island students in which we discussed the genocide and what steps our 
government should take to recognize that tragedy appropriately. I think 
practically every student present that morning was amazed that, despite 
overwhelming evidence and widespread support, Congress has not yet 
passed the genocide resolution. It is time for Congress and the White 
House to speak with one voice and ensure that our national ideals are 
reflected in our foreign policy. Consequently, I joined many of my 
colleagues in asking the President to recognize the Armenian Genocide 
in unambiguous terms, and I will again cosponsor the Genocide 
Resolution when it is reintroduced in the coming weeks.
  As an ardent supporter of Rhode Island's Armenian-American community 
throughout my public service career, I am proud to join my colleagues 
to today in honoring the victims of the genocide by paying tribute to 
their memory, showing compassion for those who have suffered from such 
prejudice, and never forgetting the pain that they have endured.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, for the past nine years, I have come to 
the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives to honor and remember 
the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people by the Ottoman 
Empire at the beginning of the 20th Century.
  This year marks the 90th Anniversary of these heinous acts, which 
drove so many survivors to the distant shores of the United States. 
Those of us in central Massachusetts have learned the story of the 
Armenian Genocide from our friends, neighbors and colleagues who are 
direct survivors, or the children and grandchildren of those survivors.
  I have been privileged to participate in many of the annual 
remembrances of the Armenian Genocide held in Worcester, Massachusetts, 
at the Armenian Church of Our Savior, one of the oldest Armenian 
churches and congregations in America.
  But I feel more privileged to have worked with the Armenian community 
in Worcester to educate the community, and especially young people and 
college students, about not only the Armenian Genocide, but about other 
contemporary and even current genocides that are taking place around 
the world. I am especially grateful that I will be able to collaborate 
with them in the future on events that will focus on the genocide in 
Darfur, Sudan.
  May we all live to see and celebrate the day when we commemorate the 
Armenian Genocide in a world where genocides no longer take place 
against any people.

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