[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 66 (Tuesday, April 24, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4908-S4909]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Mrs. FEINSTEIN. Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate the
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Ninety-two years ago today, on the night of April 24, 1915, the
Ottoman government launched a series of raids in which hundreds of
Armenian leaders and intellectuals were arrested and subsequently
deported or killed. This event marked the beginning of a systematic
campaign of murder, deportation, and forced starvation, during which as
many as 1.5 million Armenians perished and 500,000 were exiled by the
Ottoman government.
We are obliged to remember and speak about their suffering because
silence about such atrocities plants the seed for another tragedy.
On the eve of the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, seeking to allay the
fears of his aides, Adolf Hitler said: ``Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?''
And today, the world is again witnessing genocide, one waged by a
government against its own people, one involving mass murder, ethnic
cleansing, and forced starvation. I am speaking, of course, about the
genocide in Darfur.
Let there be no mistake. The ongoing genocide in Darfur, carried out
by the Government of Sudan and its janjaweed militias, traces its roots
to the silence and quiescence of the international community during
previous episodes of genocide and ethnic cleansing, including the
Armenian genocide.
By acknowledging and learning from the Armenian genocide, then, we
become better positioned to prevent present and future atrocities.
Open discussion of the Armenian genocide serves another important
purpose. It enables the descendants of those involved in the Armenian
genocide--both perpetrators and victims--to mend the wounds that have
not yet healed.
As recently as January of this year, a Turkish-Armenian journalist,
Hrant Dink, was murdered because of his outspoken advocacy for Turkish
recognition of the Armenian genocide. This incident serves as an
important reminder that an open, informed, and tolerant discussion of
the genocide is critical.
California is home to many of the descendants of the genocide's
survivors, who immigrated to the United States and, over the course of
a few decades, built strong and vibrant communities. Working closely
with the Armenian-American community over my many years in public
service, I know how alive and painful this issue continues to be for
many Armenian Americans.
So I rise before you today and ask that you join me in acknowledging
and commemorating the Armenian genocide. Together, let us send a strong
message that such atrocities will never be accepted, regardless of when
and where they take place.
And let us ensure that the legacy of the Armenian genocide is one of
reconciliation and hope.
[[Page S4909]]
Mr. REED. Mr. President, today, on behalf of the Armenian population
of Rhode Island, and Armenians around the world, I wish to recognize
the 92nd anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
On April 24, 1915, nationalists in the Ottoman Empire rounded up,
deported, and executed 200 Armenian community leaders, writers,
thinkers, and professionals in Constantinople, present day Istanbul.
Also on that day in Constantinople, 5,000 of the poorest Armenians were
massacred in the streets and in their homes. These events sparked an 8-
year campaign of tyranny that impacted the lives of every Armenian in
Asia Minor. By 1923, an estimated 1.5 million Armenians were murdered,
and another 500,000 were exiled.
The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morganthau, Sr.,
unsuccessfully pleaded President Wilson for intervention.
Unfortunately, the United States and the world tragically failed to
intervene on behalf of the Armenian people. Ambassador Morganthau would
later write in his memoir, ``The great massacres and persecutions of
the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of
the Armenian race in 1915.''
Today, as a proud supporter of S. Res 106, legislation officially
recognizing the Armenian genocide, I urge the President to ensure that
the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate
understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record
relating to the Armenian genocide. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., stated
over 50 years after the Armenian genocide that: ``Injustice anywhere is
a threat to justice everywhere . . . Whatever affects one directly,
affects all indirectly.'' The time has come to officially recognize the
Armenian genocide.
The United States is proud to have Armenia as an ally in the
rebuilding and reconstruction of Iraq. For the past 4 years, Armenian
soldiers have supported American and multinational force efforts in
Iraq. As part of the Polish-led multinational division in south-central
Iraq, Armenians have worked as truckdrivers, bomb detonators, and
doctors. Armenia has proclaimed their fight by not allowing others to
be left helpless as they were nearly a century ago.
We must study and remember the events of our past in order to be
better citizens of tomorrow. In instances such as the Armenian
genocide, I call on all nations, not just the United States, to educate
their youth to stand against hatred and prejudice of others in order to
deter future atrocities against humanity. We should be prepared to take
a vigilant stand against similar atrocities, such as the current
situation in Darfur, to not let history repeat itself.
We must honor the victims of the Armenian genocide by vowing to never
allow the world to stand idle to atrocities against humanity again.
Menk panav chenk mornar. We will never forget.
Ms. KLOBUCHAR. Mr. President, I wish to add my voice to those asking
that today, the 24th of April, 2007, be a day of reflection and
remembrance for those Armenians who perished in the genocide that
occurred between 1915 and 1923.
As many as one and a half million Armenians lost their lives during
this systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted in Turkey while
the world was preoccupied by the First World War and its aftermath.
That the major powers, including the United States, did not prevent or
intervene at any point to stop this killing represents one of twentieth
century's ugliest stains on humanity.
While today we all would like to believe that had world leaders been
acutely aware of the atrocities occurring they would have acted to stop
them, recent episodes make a clear that we as a people continue to
struggle with the obligation to speak out when our neighbor's blood is
shed. In Bosnia, Rwanda, and right now in Darfur, the world has stood
by while hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians are slaughtered.
Any action on the part of the international community has been too
little and far too late.
Because I believe we cannot prevent future genocide unless we
recognize past genocide, I am a sponsor of Senate Resolution 106, which
calls upon the President to ensure that this Nation's foreign policy
reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning human
rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the U.S. record
relating to the Armenian genocide.
I join many of my colleagues today in urging the Senate to pass this
resolution.
Turkey is good friend of the United States and a critical ally in the
fight against terrorist networks. I hope that the ties that bind our
two nations only grow closer in the coming years, as we continue to
work through NATO to ensure cooperative security. And I will join my
colleagues in pressing for Turkey's admittance to the European Union.
However, I believe that the Armenian genocide must be acknowledged.
Today, the 92nd anniversary commemorating this incident, we pause to
pay tribute to those who died and renew our commitment to ensuring that
similar atrocities never again occur.
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