[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6107]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



          APRIL 24, 1915, ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Ferguson) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Madam Speaker, I join my colleagues today to remember a 
horrific atrocity in history, the Armenian genocide. April 24 is 
recognized as the anniversary date of this genocide, when Armenian 
intellectuals and professionals in Constantinople were rounded up and 
deported or killed.
  From 1915 to 1923, a million and a half Armenians were killed and 
countless others suffered as a result of the systematic and deliberate 
campaign of genocide by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire.
  Half a million Armenians who escaped death were deported to the 
Middle East. Some were fortunate enough to escape to the United States.
  Madam Speaker, I am thankful that more than a million Armenians 
managed to escape the genocide and establish a new life here in the 
United States. In my Seventh District in New Jersey, I am proud to 
represent a number of Armenian-Americans. They have enriched every 
aspect of New Jersey life, from science to commerce to the arts.
  Our statements today are intended to preserve the memory of the 
Armenian loss and to honor those descendants who have overcome the 
atrocities that took their grandparents, their parents, their children, 
and their friends. We mark this anniversary each year to remind our 
Nation and to teach future generations about the horrors of genocide 
and oppression endured by the Armenian people.
  We must commit ourselves to ensuring that America remains a beacon of 
tolerance and openness and diversity.
  Madam Speaker, I commend the commitment of Armenian-Americans who 
continue to strive for world recognition of one of the greatest 
atrocities of the 20th century.

                          ____________________