[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 57 (Wednesday, April 24, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E537]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. RUSH HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 24, 2013

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Armenian Caucus, I am 
pleased to continue to lend my support to the Armenian-American 
community and the people of Armenia in any way that I can. I support 
strongly the work that all the members of the Armenian American 
community do to foster strong ties between America and Armenia.
  This month we mark a somber and important anniversary.
  Ninety-eight years ago, the Ottoman empire committed one of the 
largest crimes against humanity in world history. The systematic 
annihilation of over a million Armenian men, women and children is a 
crime that cannot be forgotten. We will not allow it to be forgotten.
  I know that many will say that the Armenian deaths occurred in the 
midst of war and social disruption and so we cannot call it genocidal 
killing, or that we cannot even say accurately how many people died and 
how they died. Such arguments avoid the evidence. The evidence shows 
that more than a million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman 
empire.
  Further, some will complain that these statements unfairly besmirch 
the dignity and reputation of today's Turks. I would say that 
recognizing genocide from nearly a century ago need not sully the 
reputation of modern-day Turks any more than accounts of disreputable, 
brutal or atrocious behavior of early settlers in the Americas, or of 
Germans in the 1930s and 1940s, or South Africa under apartheid, or 
other historical regimes reflect badly on those nations today, unless 
those nations refuse to acknowledge and learn from past evils and 
mistakes.
  I'm also pleased that so many of my colleagues have joined me in 
supporting continued U.S. government aid and support for Armenia and 
the people of Nagorno Karabakh. These remain challenging times for the 
people of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and I hope our colleagues on 
the Appropriations Committees in the House and Senate honor our request 
for that aid to continue.
  On this anniversary of the genocide against the Armenian people, let 
us recommit ourselves to ensuring that the truth about this heinous 
event is acknowledged by every country in the world.

                          ____________________