[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 65 (Monday, April 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E834-E835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL E. CAPUANO

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2007

  Mr. CAPUANO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate a people who 
despite murder, hardship, and betrayal have persevered. April 24, 2007, 
marks the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  Throughout three decades in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, 
millions of Armenians were systematically uprooted from their homeland 
of 3,000 years and deported or massacred. From 1894 through 1896, three 
hundred thousand Armenians were ruthlessly murdered. Again in 1909, 
thirty thousand Armenians were massacred in Cilicia, and their villages 
were destroyed.
  On April 24, 1915, two hundred Armenian religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders were arbitrarily arrested, taken to Turkey and 
murdered. This incident marks a dark and solemn period in the history 
of the Armenian people. From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire launched 
a systematic campaign to exterminate Armenians. In 8 short years, more 
than 1.5 million Armenians suffered through atrocities such as 
deportation, forced slavery and torture. Most were ultimately murdered.
  Many of our companions in the international community have already 
taken this final step.

[[Page E835]]

The European Parliament and the United Nations have recognized and 
reaffirmed the Armenian Genocide as historical fact, as have the 
Russian and Greek parliaments, the Canadian House of Commons, the 
Lebanese Chamber of Deputies and the French National Assembly. It is 
time for America to join the chorus and acknowledge the Armenians who 
suffered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. And let me stress that I 
am not speaking of the government of modern day Turkey, but rather its 
predecessor, which many of Turkey's present day leaders helped to 
remove from power.
  As I have in the past, as a member of the Congressional Armenian 
Caucus, I will continue to work with my colleagues and with the 
Armenian-Americans in my district to promote investment and prosperity 
in Armenia. And, I sincerely hope that this year, the U.S. will have 
the opportunity and courage to speak in support of the millions of 
Armenians who suffered because of their heritage.

                          ____________________