[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 6098-6099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                   REMEMBERING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New York (Mr. Sweeney) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. SWEENEY. Mr. Speaker, I would like to commend those who join me 
tonight in educating the world about the Armenian Genocide. I think I 
bring some special province to this occasion in that I am the grandson 
of Oscar Chaderjain, a first-generation Armenian American, and the son 
of Mary Chaderjain. So therefore, this is an issue that is near and 
dear to my heart.
  Mr. Speaker, for those who question whether the genocide ever 
occurred in the first instance, I must say that I have no doubt that it 
did. My grandfather was a first-hand witness to the bloodshed. He often 
told us of his experience of holding his uncle's arms, with his cousin, 
as Turkish soldiers executed that grammar school teacher. He also told 
us that the world first took notice of the genocide on April 24, 1915, 
when 254 Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Turkish authorities in 
Istanbul and taken to the distant provinces of Ayash and Chankiri, 
where many of them were later massacred.
  Throughout the genocide, Turkish authorities ordered the evacuation 
of Armenians out of villages in Turkish Armenia and Asia Minor. As they 
were evacuated, the men were often shot immediately. Prisoners were 
starved, beaten, and murdered by unmerciful guards.
  This was not the case for everyone, though. Not everyone was sent to 
concentration camps. For example, in Trebizond, many innocent people 
were put on ships and then thrown overboard into the Black Sea.
  The atrocities of the Armenian Genocide were still being carried out 
in 1921 when Kemalists were found abusing and starving prisoners to 
death. In total, as has been pointed out, over 1.5 million Armenians 
were killed. This does not include the half a million or more who were 
forced to flee their homes and flee to foreign countries.
  Mr. Speaker, together with Armenians all over the world and people of 
conscience, I would like to honor those who lost their homes, their 
freedom and their lives during this dark period. Many survivors of the 
genocide came to the United States seeking a new beginning, my 
grandfather among them. The experiences of his childhood so fueled his 
desire for freedom for his Armenian homeland that in the first world 
war he returned there where he was awarded two medals of honor for 
bravery in his fight against fascism.
  It is important that we do not forget about these terrible atrocities 
because, as other speakers have said and as Winston Churchill said, 
``Those who do not learn from the past are destined to repeat it.''
  For those in America who think this is only a sad story, and it 
certainly is a sad story, they need to take note that Armenia has taken 
great strides in achieving its independence over the past 8 years.

                              {time}  1915

  Once it was a captive nation struggling to preserve its centuries-old 
customs. Today the Republic of Armenia is an independent, freedom-
loving nation and a friend to the United States and to the democratic 
world.
  Let us remember today, April 24, 2001, marks the 86th anniversary of 
one of the most gruesome human atrocities of the 20th century. Sadly, 
it was the systematic killing of 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and 
children.
  Let us remember that prior to his invasion of Poland in 1939 and 
subsequent Nazi oppression, Adolph Hitler attempted to justify his own 
actions by simply stating, ``After all, who remembers the Armenians?'' 
As we do not ignore the occurrence of the Nazi Holocaust, we must not 
ignore the Armenian genocide.
  I believe many people across the world will concede this is a very 
tender and difficult event to discuss. What we do tonight is not to 
condemn the Turkish people. Rather, it is to recognize the actions of 
the past and past wrongs in order to ensure that we do not repeat them.
  However, as a strong, fervent supporter of the Republic of Armenia, I 
am alarmed that Turkish Government officials still refuse to 
acknowledge what

[[Page 6099]]

happened, and instead are attempting to rewrite history.
  It is vital that we do not let political agendas get in the way of 
doing what is right. I will continue to call upon the Turkish 
Government to accept complete accountability for the Armenian genocide. 
To heal the wounds of the past, the Turkish Government must first 
recognize its responsibility for actions of past leaders.
  Nothing we can do or say, Mr. Speaker, will bring back those who 
perished; but we can honor those who lost their homes, their freedom, 
and their lives by teaching future generations the lessons of the 
atrocities.

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