[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[House]
[Pages 5549-5550]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   COMMEMORATION OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Hastings of Washington). Under a 
previous order of the House, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Knollenberg) is recognized for 5 minutes.


                             general leave

  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend 
their remarks on subject of my Special Order.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Michigan?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KNOLLENBERG. Mr. Speaker, as a Republican cochair of the 
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, I come to the floor on this 
very special and important day to join my colleagues and individuals 
around the world in commemorating the 87th anniversary of the Armenian 
genocide. We must never forget the tragedy of the Armenian genocide, 
and this commemoration makes an important contribution to making sure 
that we never do.
  I would like to commend my colleague and fellow cochair of the 
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Pallone), for working with me to help arrange this commemoration, 
and I appreciate his remarks.
  Our Caucus is now up to 114 Members, which I believe shows the 
incredible support Armenia has in the U.S. House of Representatives. We 
also, of course, wrote a letter, and the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. 
Pallone) referenced the letter with over 160 signatures that went to 
the President.
  When most people hear the word ``genocide,'' they immediately think 
of Hitler and his persecution of the Jews during World War II. Many 
individuals are unaware that the first genocide of the 20th century 
occurred during World War I and was perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire 
against the Armenian people. Concerned that the Armenian people would 
move to establish their own government, the Ottoman Empire embarked on 
a reign of terror that resulted in the massacre of over 1.5 million 
Armenians. This atrocious crime

[[Page 5550]]

began on April 15, 1915, when the Ottoman Empire arrested, exiled, and 
eventually killed hundreds of Armenian religious, political, and 
intellectual leaders.
  Once they had eliminated the Armenian people's leadership, they 
turned their attention to the Armenians serving in the Armenian Army. 
These soldiers were disarmed and placed in labor camps where either 
they were starved or they were executed. The Armenian people, lacking 
political leadership and deprived of young, able-bodied men who could 
fight against the Ottoman onslaught, were then deported from every 
region of Turkish Armenia. The images of human suffering from the 
Armenian genocide are graphic and as haunting as the pictures of the 
Holocaust.
  Why then, it must be asked, are so many people unaware of the 
Armenian genocide? I believe the answer is found in the international 
community's response to this disturbing event. At the end of World War 
I, those responsible for ordering and implementing the Armenian 
genocide were never brought to justice, and the world casually forgot 
about the pain and suffering of the Armenian people. That proved to be 
a grave mistake. In a speech made at the beginning of World War II, 
Adolf Hitler justified his brutal tactics with the infamous statement, 
``Who today remembers the Armenians?"
  Tragically, 6 years later, the Nazis had exterminated 6 million Jews. 
Never has the phrase, ``Those who forget the past will be destined to 
repeat it'' been more applicable. If the international community had 
spoken out against this merciless slaughtering of the Armenian people 
instead of ignoring it, the horrors of the Holocaust might never have 
taken place.
  As we commemorate the 87th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, I 
believe it is time to give this event its rightful place in history. 
This afternoon and this evening, let us pay homage to those who fell 
victim to the Ottoman oppressors and tell the story of the forgotten 
genocide. For the sake of the Armenian heritage, it is a story that 
must be heard.

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