[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E573]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. SANDER M. LEVIN

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 23, 2015

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 100th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
  This year marks one hundred years since the tragedy of the Armenian 
Genocide. A systematic campaign of genocide against the Armenian people 
at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. What began with the killing of 300 
Armenian leaders resulted in the deaths of one and a half million 
people and the forced exile of another 500,000.
  It is often said that those who cannot remember the past are 
condemned to repeat it, which is why each year I call on the President 
to officially acknowledge this terrible chapter of history by using the 
word ''genocide.'' In a recent Detroit News article, a local resident 
said this, ``The fact that 100 years later you still have to explain 
and prove that what happened to your ancestors was a premeditated crime 
on a massive scale really incurs a lot of pain for all Armenians.''
  In my home state of Michigan, 11,000 people of Armenian descent 
reside and may leading organizations have organized commemorative 
events leading up to April 24th. I have had the honor to attend many 
events at St. John's Armenian Church in Southfield where there stands a 
memorial which contains the remains of a genocide victim. We are also 
proud that the only Armenian research center attached to an American 
university is at the University of Michigan-Dearborn where the Center 
documents the Armenian genocide and current Armenian issues.
  I am always pleased to co-sponsor Congressional resolutions that shed 
light on the true nature of this ethnic extermination, and honor its 
victims and survivors. On the 100th Anniversary, I recall with deep 
sorrow the stories passed down through families of death marches, labor 
camps, entire families wiped out, years of slavery, massacre, and 
starvation.
  I respectfully request that all my colleagues join me today in 
honoring the victims and survivors of the Armenian Genocide.

                          ____________________