[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7063-7064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




         TURKISH GOVERNMENT CONTINUES TO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentlewoman from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Ms. STABENOW. Mr. Speaker, today I join with my colleagues to 
commemorate this day, April 24, as the day of the Armenian genocide 
carried out by the young Turk government of the Ottoman Empire in 1915. 
It was on that day in 1915 when 300 Armenian leaders, writers and 
thinkers were rounded up, deported and killed, and 5000 of the poorest 
Armenians were killed in their homes. Between 1894 and 1921 there were 
1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire that were killed, and 
500,000 were deported.
  This Armenian genocide was carried out in a tragically inhumane and 
systematic fashion. First, Armenians in the army were disarmed, placed 
into labor battalions and then killed. Next, Armenian political and 
intellectual leaders were rounded up and killed as well. Finally, the 
remaining Armenians were called from their homes and marched to 
concentration camps in the desert where they were left to starve to 
death or were placed on barges and sunk in the Black Sea. During that 
time Turks who protected Armenians were killed.
  To this day, Mr. Speaker, the Turkish government denies that there 
was an Armenian genocide and claims that Armenians were only removed 
from the eastern war zone. America has benefited in countless ways from 
the survivors of the genocide who have come to the United States with 
their families and now their descendants. As a representative from 
Michigan, we have been blessed by the contributions of the Armenian 
community in our cities and counties across Michigan.
  Today I call on the Republic of Turkey to stop being the only country 
in the world to deny the Armenian genocide. It is time to admit what 
happened. The Republic of Turkey must show goodwill as well by allowing 
American aid to present-day Armenians to pass through to their citizens 
unhampered.

[[Page 7064]]

  This is a day to remember, a day to pause in prayer and a day to 
commemorate our desire and commitment for this not to happen again.

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