[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 194 (Friday, December 16, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2290]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           URGING TURKEY TO SAFEGUARD ITS CHRISTIAN HERITAGE

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2011

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of House Resolution 
306 that the House passed earlier this week.
  Wherever we see repression, wherever we see atrocities being swept 
under the rug, we have a moral duty to speak out. Members of NATO are 
no exception.
  Today in Turkey, beautiful and historic Armenian churches, monuments 
and monasteries lie in ruins--broken not by the sands of time, but by 
desecration, theft and dynamite.
  For too long, the U.S. has allowed Turkey to elude responsibility for 
the destruction of Armenian churches. With this resolution, Congress 
sends a stern message to Turkey's Prime Minister, Recep Erdogan--the 
United States will not tolerate Turkish assaults on Armenian heritage 
and religious freedom.
  The passage of House Resolution 306 earlier this week was an 
important step towards justice for the Armenian people, but our work is 
unfinished. Until the U.S. and Turkey officially recognize the Armenian 
Genocide for what it was, I will continue to fight to correct the 
staggering injustice of soft-peddling the murder of 1.5 million men, 
women and children.

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