[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E777-E778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              90TH COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2005

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize the anniversary of the 
Armenian Genocide and to place in the Record a portion of an opinion 
article written by Lee Enokian.

              Armenian Genocide Victims Are Not Forgotten

                            (By Lee Enokian)

       Today is the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. 
     Between 1915 and 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenians were 
     murdered or forcibly exiled because they were the wrong 
     religion and ethnicity. The world community memorializes the 
     anniversary annually as Armenian Martyrs Day.
       Thousands of Armenians were offered their lives in exchange 
     for their conversion to Islam. They refused and died as a 
     result. Their steadfast faithfulness to the Christian faith 
     is not surprising. Armenia was the first Christian nation and 
     remains the only Christian nation in the Middle East.
       Various Turkish people invaded southwest Asia during the 
     Middle Ages and carved an empire for themselves from lands 
     occupied by the indigenous Semitic and Indo-European 
     inhabitants.
       Turkish nationalism grew relentlessly during the following 
     centuries. In the years preceding World War I, they actively 
     sought to Turkify the Ottoman Empire and strengthen their 
     rule by eliminating fractious ethnic minorities.
       The western two-thirds of Anatolia was once inhabited by 
     Greeks and other Indo-European peoples. It is now primarily 
     occupied by Turks.
       The eastern third of modern Turkey was once Armenian with 
     an Assyrian minority, but is now populated by Turks and 
     Kurds.
       Modern Armenia survived only because it was the single 
     province controlled, and protected, by the Russian Empire. 
     The rest of the territory within its historical borders is 
     almost wholly devoid of ethnic Armenians.
       The organized depopulation of Christians and non-Turks from 
     Anatolia by the Ottoman Empire is one of the worst incidents 
     of racism and religious intolerance documented in the world.
       The Genocide was master-minded by the ultra-nationalist 
     ``Young Turk'' government of Ottoman Turkey. Mehmet Talaat 
     Pasha was the Minister of the Interior and architect of the 
     Armenian Genocide. He was rewarded by being elevated to the 
     position of Grand Vizier in 1917. Pasha fled to Germany as 
     his empire collapsed in 1918. He was convicted of capital 
     crimes, including massacring the Armenians. The post-war 
     Ottoman government sentenced him to death in absentia.
       Just-minded federal, state and local governments throughout 
     the world continue to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide.
       Illinois is no different. Gov. Rod Blagojevich has 
     continued the practice of his predecessors by remembering the 
     plight of the Armenian people. Part of his annual 
     proclamation reads: ``The Armenian community, as well as the 
     global community, remembers the Armenian Genocide, which 
     occurred 90 years ago; and during this tragic historical 
     period between the years of 1915 and 1923, Armenians were 
     forced to witness the genocide of their loved ones, and the 
     loss of their ancestral homelands; and this extermination and 
     forced relocation of over 1.5 million Armenians by the 
     Ottoman Turks is recognized every year.''
       Sadly, the modern state of Turkey denies the Genocide ever 
     occurred. It restricts the ability of ethnic Armenians, Kurds 
     and Assyrians to enter and travel within the country. In 
     fact, Turkey has done its best to remove every trace of the 
     Armenian people from their ancestral homeland. These efforts 
     still don't change history.
       Blagojevich concluded his proclamation with the fact that 
     we must remember hateful events like the Genocide to help 
     prevent their future institution.
       ``Both recognition and education concerning past atrocities 
     such as the Armenian Genocide is crucial in the prevention of 
     future crimes against humanity.''
       Evil wins when good men turn a blind eye.

[[Page E778]]



                          ____________________