[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E840]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2007

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the 
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and the representative of a 
large and vibrant community of Armenian Americans, I rise to join my 
colleagues in the sad commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
  Today we declare to people living in every corner of our globe that 
the Turkish and American governments must finally acknowledge what we 
have long understood: that the unimaginable horror committed on Turkish 
soil in the aftermath of World War I was, and is, an act of genocide. 
The tragic events that began on April 24, 1915, which are well known to 
all of us, should be part of the history curriculum in every Turkish 
and American school. On that dark April day, more than 200 of Armenia's 
religious, political and intellectual leaders were arrested in 
Constantinople and killed. Ultimately, more than 1.5 million Armenians 
were systematically murdered at the hands of the Young Turks, and more 
than 500,000 more were exiled from their native land.
  On this 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the genocide, I join 
with the chorus of voices that grows louder with each passing year. We 
simply will not allow ice planned elimination of an entire people to 
remain in the shadows of history. The Armenian Genocide must be 
acknowledged, studied, and never, ever allowed to happen again.
  Last year I joined with my colleagues in the Caucus in urging PBS not 
to give a platform to the deniers of the genocide by canceling a 
planned broadcast of a panel which included two scholars who deny the 
Armenian Genocide. This panel was to follow the airing of a documentary 
about the Armenian Genocide. Representative Anthony Weiner and I led a 
successful effort to convince Channel Thirteen in New York City to pull 
the plug on these genocide deniers. The parliaments of Canada, France, 
and Switzerland have all passed resolutions affirming that the Armenian 
people were indeed subjected to genocide. The United States must do the 
same. I will not stop fighting until long overdue legislation 
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide finally passes. I am hopeful that 
this resolution will make it to the Floor for a vote before the full 
House of Representatives this Congress.
  An acknowledgment of the genocide is not our only objective. I remain 
committed to ensuring that the U.S. government continues to provide 
direct financial assistance to Armenia. Over the years, this aid has 
played a critical role in the economic and political advancement of the 
Armenian people. I have joined with my colleagues in requesting 
military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the FY08 Foreign 
Operations Appropriations bill.
  We also have requested an adequate level of economic assistance for 
Armenia and assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh. Legislation passed in the 
109th Congress and signed into law to reauthorize the Export-Import 
Bank included important language prohibiting the Bank from funding 
railroad projects in the South Caucasus region that deliberately 
exclude Armenia. American tax dollars should not be used to support 
efforts to isolate Armenia, and these provisions would prevent that by 
ensuring that U.S. funds are not used to support the construction of a 
new railway that bypasses Armenia. A railway already exists that 
connects the nations of Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, but because it 
crosses Armenia, an expensive and unnecessary new railway had been 
proposed. Allowing the exclusion of Armenia from important 
transportation routes would stymie the emergence of this region as an 
important East-West trade corridor. It is in our economic and security 
interests to ensure that the aggression against Armenia comes to an 
end.
  On this solemn day, our message is clear: the world remembers the 
Armenian genocide, and the governments of Turkey and the United States 
must declare--once and for all--that they do, too.

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