[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 48 (Thursday, April 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E638]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      COMMEMORATING THE 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. HOWARD L. BERMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 27, 2006

  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I'm honored to join my colleagues in 
commemorating the 91st anniversary of the start of the Armenian 
Genocide.
  Genocide is a very powerful word, and should be reserved for only the 
most horrific examples of mass killing motivated by a desire to destroy 
an entire people.
  Without a doubt, this term is appropriate to describe the 
unimaginable atrocities suffered by the Armenian people from 1915 to 
1918.
  During this period, more than one million Armenians died from 
starvation or disease on long marches, or were simply massacred by the 
Ottoman Turks.
  Some still deny these events, or try to justify them as an extension 
of war.
  But the debate on this historical issue has been settled. The 
distinguished International Association of Genocide Scholars, among 
others, has concluded that it is undeniable.
  Others, including some who accept the historical facts, say Congress 
should not pass a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide because 
it will irreparably damage our relationship with Turkey.
  This is a phony argument.
  The European Parliament, the Council of Europe, and many European 
countries, including France, Germany and Italy have formally recognized 
the Armenian Genocide.
  Yet this has not dissuaded Turkey from actively seeking to join the 
European Union.
  At some point, every nation must come to terms with the wrongs 
committed by previous generations.
  For Germany, the Holocaust. For South Africa, Apartheid. And for our 
country, slavery and the treatment of Native Americans.
  In the same spirit, Turkey should allow--and indeed, encourage--an 
open and honest discussion of the Armenian Genocide.
  Adolf Hitler once remarked, ``Who remembers the Armenians?'' The 
answer is, we do.
  And we will continue to remember the victims of the Armenian 
Genocide, and other genocides, because, in the immortal words of 
Spanish philosopher George Santayana, ``Those who cannot remember the 
past are condemned to repeat it.''

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