[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 67 (Wednesday, April 25, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E853]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

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                               speech of

                         HON. EDWARD J. MARKEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 23, 2007

  Mr. MARKEY. Mr. Speaker, today is a day of remembrance and 
commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, one of the darkest chapters of 
World War I, and the first of the series of genocides we saw in the 
20th Century. We set today aside to remember, as we do every year, 
because it is essential to reflect upon these terrible events, but we 
also do so because we know that the Armenian people must continually 
confront and surmount the legacies and the consequences of those dark 
days.
  The writer Milan Kundera once wrote that ``The struggle of man 
against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.'' There are 
those that would deny the Armenian Genocide, just as there are those 
that deny the reality of the Nazi Holocaust. In commemorating the 
Armenian Genocide we collectively engage in that struggle of memory 
against forgetting. We do this not only to remember the past, but to 
reaffirm our commitment to prevent such things from ever happening 
again, and to strive towards making a better future for the Armenian 
people.
  It has taken Armenia decades to reach a point where its people could 
enjoy their rights as a free people. Today, we have an opportunity and 
a responsibility to help ensure that the Armenian people can build a 
better future. And so, I look forward to continuing to work with the 
Armenian-American community and Members of the Congressional Caucus on 
Armenia to address the issues facing this longtime friend and important 
ally of the United States, so that together we build something 
positive, something hopeful, something good for the futute--a peaceful, 
prosperous and secure Armenia.
  The Armenian Genocide is sometimes called the ``Forgotten Genocide.'' 
In fact, as most of you know, back in 1939, prior to the invasion of 
Poland, Adolph Hitler argued that his plans for a Jewish holocaust 
would in the end be tolerated by the West, stating: ``After all, who 
remembers the Armenians.'' But we do remember, and we shall never 
forget. And our memory and commemoration is stronger than the hate of 
those who would perpetrate the greatest crime known to humanity, the 
attempt to exterminate an entire people.

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