[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 61 (Monday, April 28, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S2421]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                   REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, I rise today to recognize the 99th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide--a tragedy that has left a dark 
stain on the collective conscience of the world.
  Between 1915 and 1923, more than 1.5 million Armenians were marched 
to their deaths in the deserts of the Middle East, murdered in 
concentration camps, drowned at sea, and forced to endure unimaginable 
acts of brutality at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.
  The Armenian Genocide--along with the Holocaust is one of the most 
studied cases of genocide in history. Countless experts have documented 
the atrocities that occurred, compiling an overwhelming body of 
historical evidence on the Armenian Genocide.
  However, successive U.S. administrations have refused to call the 
deliberate massacre of the Armenians by its rightful name, continuing 
only to refer to it as an annihilation, massacre, or murder.
  It has been nearly a century since the Armenian Genocide began and 
each day that goes by without full acknowledgement by the United States 
prolongs the pain felt by the descendants of the victims, as well as 
the entire Armenian community.
  For years, I have been urging both Democratic and Republican 
administrations to finally acknowledge the Armenian Genocide for what 
it was--genocide. I do so again today.
  The United States has often led the international community in 
speaking out against violence and suffering wherever it occurs. But 
tragically, our Nation is on the wrong side of history when it comes to 
the Armenian Genocide. I hope that this year we right this terrible 
wrong once and for all.
  It is time for the United States to join the list of countries from 
Argentina to France as well as 43 U.S. States that have unequivocally 
affirmed the Armenian Genocide.
  Genocide is only possible when people avert their eyes. Any effort to 
deal with genocide--whether past, present or future--must begin with 
the truth.
  So this April 24, as we pause to remember the victims of the Armenian 
Genocide and to celebrate the many contributions Armenian Americans 
have made to our great nation, I hope that the United States will 
finally and firmly stand on the right side of history and call the 
tragedy of 1915-1923 by its rightful name.

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