[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 20349]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 20349]]

                      ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, tomorrow in the House Committee on 
International Relations a very important debate will take place. The 
members of that committee will determine if this House of 
Representatives is able to vote on a resolution that would finally pay 
tribute to the victims of one of history's worst crimes against 
humanity, the Armenian Genocide of 1915 through 1923.
  The Armenian Genocide was the systematic extermination of 1.5 million 
Armenian men, women, and children during the final years of the Ottoman 
Turkish Empire. This was the first genocide of the 20th century, but 
sadly not the last.
  Yet, Mr. Speaker, I regret to say that the United States still does 
not officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. Bowing to strong 
pressure from Turkey, the U.S. State Department has for more than 15 
years shied away from referring to the tragic events of 1915 to 1923 by 
using the word ``genocide.'' President Clinton and his recent 
predecessors have annually issued proclamations on the anniversary of 
the Genocide, expressing sorrow for the massacres and solidarity with 
the victims and survivors, but always stopping short of using the word 
``genocide,'' thus minimizing and not accurately conveying what really 
happened beginning 83 years ago.
  In an effort to address this shameful lapse in our own Nation's 
record as a champion of human rights, a bipartisan coalition of Members 
of Congress has been working to enact legislation affirming the U.S. 
record on the Armenian Genocide. I want to applaud the work of the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentleman from 
Michigan (Mr. Bonior), our Democratic whip, for their strong leadership 
in creating this legislation.
  Many countries, as well as States and provinces and local 
governments, have adopted resolutions or taken other steps to 
officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. From Europe to Australia, 
to many States in the United States, elected governments are going on 
record on the side of the truth. Regrettably, the Republic of Turkey 
and their various agents of influence in this country and in other 
countries have fought tooth and nail to block these efforts.
  Mr. Speaker, it is nothing short of a crime against memory and human 
decency that the Republic of Turkey denies that the genocide ever took 
place and has even mounted an aggressive effort to try and present an 
alternative and false version of history, using its extensive financial 
and lobbying resources in this country.
  Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of sympathy and moral support for Armenia 
in the Congress, in this administration, among State legislators around 
the country, and among the American people in general. But we should 
not kid ourselves. We are up against very strong forces, in the State 
Department and the Pentagon, those who believe we must continue to 
appease Turkey, and among U.S. and international business interests 
whose concerns with exploiting the oil resources off Azerbaijan in the 
Caspian Sea far outweigh their concerns for the people of Armenia.
  It is my hope, Mr. Speaker, that the Committee on International 
Relations tomorrow will quickly approve this resolution and finally 
bring it to the floor in this House in the coming weeks so that we can 
finally recognize this horrible crime.

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