[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 66 (Thursday, April 24, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E721]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      COMMEMORATING THE 93RD ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

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                        HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 24, 2008

  Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Madam 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 once again 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 began on April 24, 1915, when 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 93rd 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 the 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.
  Two years ago 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. Along with Representative Anthony Weiner, 
I led a successful effort to convince Channel Thirteen in New York City 
to pull the plug on these genocide deniers.
  The United States must join the parliaments of Canada, France, and 
Switzerland in passing a resolution affirming that the Armenian people 
were indeed subjected to genocide. The House Committee on Foreign 
Affairs took an important step last year in passing H. Res. 106, and I 
am hopeful that this resolution will make it to the Floor.
  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. This year I have joined with my colleagues in 
requesting no military aid for Azerbaijan in the FY09 Foreign 
Operations Appropriations bill. We also have requested $70 million in 
economic assistance for Armenia and $10 million for 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.
  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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