[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 6, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S2713]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, last week, Armenians and friends of 
Armenians around the world solemnly remembered the horrific dislocation 
and slaughter that began in 1915 and resulted in more than 1.5 million 
deaths and another half million Armenians driven from their ancient 
homeland. The Armenian Genocide was carried out by the Ottoman Empire 
in its waning years amidst the chaos of World War I. For what was an 
undeniably gruesome period in human history, Theodore Roosevelt called 
the Armenian Genocide ``the greatest crime of the war.''
  It is this terrible chapter, more than any other single event, that 
led to the Armenian diaspora, including in the United States and my 
home State of Rhode Island. For generations, the Armenian community has 
been a strong and hardworking part of our Rhode Island family, 
producing great leaders in both government and business. Whether at 
flag raising ceremonies, church festivals, the wonderful St. Vartanantz 
Annual Bazaar at Rhodes on the Pawtuxet, or at commemorations of the 
Armenian Genocide at the monument in the North Burial Ground in 
Providence, Armenians are part of the fabric of Rhode Island.
  Since achieving independence after the fall of the Soviet Union, 
Armenia has at last established a foothold for democracy in the 
Caucasus after centuries of outside domination and totalitarian rule. I 
have long supported foreign assistance to Armenia to help grow its 
economy and strengthen its Democratic institutions, and I will continue 
to do so.
  But perhaps the most meaningful thing we can do for Armenia and for 
Armenians in Rhode Island is to help cast a light on that brutal 
genocide 99 years ago. To this day, too many people are unaware of this 
tragedy, due in part to the unwillingness of some to call it what it 
was. But make no mistake; the slaughter of innocent Armenians was 
genocide, plain and simple. Indeed, our modern term ``genocide'' was 
first coined to describe both the Jewish Holocaust and the plight of 
the Armenians under Ottoman persecution.
  Along with my Rhode Island colleague Senator Jack Reed, I have 
proudly cosponsored resolutions in the Senate condemning the genocide 
and calling on the President of the United States to ensure that U.S. 
foreign policy appropriately and without equivocation reflects the 
realities of the Armenian Genocide. This solemn recognition is 
important not only to so many Armenians in Rhode Island and throughout 
the world, but to our human obligation to the truth.

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