[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 26, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E595-E596]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2016

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember the Armenian Genocide, 
which began 101 years ago this month.
  In nearly a decade of terror that followed, the leaders of the 
Ottoman Empire systemically exposed the Armenian people to torture, 
starvation, abduction, deportation, and mass killing. More than 1.5 
million innocent Armenian children, women, and men were murdered. And 
millions more were expelled from their historic homeland.
  All nations and peoples have a responsibility to recognize this 
tragedy and the reverberations it has caused for succeeding 
generations. Unfortunately, the historic fact of the Armenian Genocide 
has all too often been obscured, downplayed, or simply rejected.
  As an international community, we must properly account for this 
historic crime, move towards peace and reconciliation in the region, 
and help those who carry the scars of this atrocity to heal.
  The United States owes a responsibility to the victims and their 
descendants to publicly call the events of 101 years ago genocide. And 
our government should demand that Turkey--our NATO ally--acknowledge 
its historic responsibility for this crime.
  On this somber occasion, we should remember and pray for the victims, 
those who survived, and the Armenian community around the world that 
honors its ancestors by doggedly pursuing the truth. And, as Americans, 
we must once against reaffirm our resolve to prevent genocide.

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