[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9038-9042]
[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 Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, April 24 will mark the 88th anniversary of 
the beginning of the Armenian Genocide. On April 24, 1915, 250 Armenian 
intellectuals and political leaders were arrested and later executed as 
the rulers of the Ottoman Empire implemented their plan to eradicate 
their Armenian subjects. This action against the Armenian community's 
elite marked the beginning of one of the most horrendous events in the 
history of humankind.
  Two weeks from now, Armenians will gather worldwide to remember their 
martyrs and survivors and to seek universal affirmation of this crime 
against humanity. Because we are out of session this year on April 24, 
I would like to comment on the Armenian Genocide tonight. I do so to 
honor the memory of those innocent victims killed for only one reason, 
because they were Armenian.
  One and a half million men and women, young and old, able-bodied or 
not, were driven from their ancestral homeland and brutally massacred.
  Mr. Speaker, this week over 160 Members of the House of 
Representatives, including myself, will send a letter to President Bush 
asking that he fulfill his campaign promise and use the word 
``genocide'' in his annual April 24th address. He fell short of that 
promise last year, but with this strong showing of Congressional 
support it is my hope that he will do the memory of the victims of the 
Armenian Genocide justice in this year's address.
  In addition, Mr. Speaker, tomorrow, more than 60 of my colleagues 
will join the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich), the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Schiff), the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. 
Knollenberg) and myself in introducing a resolution on the issue of 
genocide. This resolution reaffirms the support of the ratification of 
the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
Genocide and anticipating the 15th anniversary of the enactment of the 
Genocide Convention Implementation Act of 1987.
  This resolution is an extremely important and timely measure, in my 
opinion. It not only speaks to the immeasurable wrongs done to the 
Armenian people, but also to the Jewish people during the Holocaust and 
the genocides in Rwanda and Cambodia. In the last two years, we have 
all seen example after example of the disregard for human life. This 
resolution would reaffirm that Congress recognizes the horrors of the 
last century, and strives to prevent further genocides through vigilant 
education.
  Mr. Speaker, the message of the broad, bipartisan support of the 
letter to the President and the legislation is clear: Turkey must 
recognize the genocide of its past and accept that Armenia is an 
integral and necessary sovereign neighbor. It must drop the illegal 
blockade against Armenia and establish full and normal diplomatic and 
economic relations. Reconciliation with its past and normalization of 
relations with Armenia is the only way for Turkey to step out of the 
dark shadows of its history of genocide. The entire western world, 
which Turkey so desires to be part of, demands it.
  Mr. Speaker, let me say in conclusion, as we embark on a new century, 
we must make sure that we have learned the lessons of humankind's 
capacity for brutality, and combat this with truth about the past, 
compassion for our common man, and a refusal to let these crimes 
against humanity be repeated.
  We must remember and learn from tragic events the tragic events that 
befell the Armenians. That is the only way we can be certain that this 
horrific event, which almost destroyed one of the oldest cultures on 
the planet, does not happen again.
  Mr. WEINER. Mr. Speaker, between 300 and 1,000 people were killed in 
attacks on more than a dozen villages in northeastern Congo last week. 
According to witnesses on the ground, the coordinated attacks started 
with a whistle blow and lasted between five and eight hours. UN and 
International Red Cross observers say that they have witnessed the 
results of the killing, 20 mass graves.
  Mass killings such as this have become a regular occurrence in the 
Congo Civil War, which killed more than 50,000 last year. Yesterday, up 
to one thousand people were killed in the span of a few hours, yet 
these stories don't even make the front page of the papers here in the 
States.
  How many people have to die before we will take action? How many 
lives need to be shattered before we will stand up and say, ``Enough!'' 
How many more massacres can we sit by and watch before we will realize 
our mistakes?
  The United States' failure as a world leader in human rights is 
demonstrated in our lack of will to stop massacres that have occurred 
in places like Congo, Kosova, Rwanda, Iraq, and many others. But it is 
also seen in our denial of those massacres that we know have taken 
place.
  Every year since I was elected to Congress, I have joined my 
colleagues in the House of Representative to hold this annual vigil 
commemorating the Armenian Genocide for a simple reason, because there 
are those out there who deny that it ever occurred.
  Eighty-eight years ago, on April 24, 1915, the government of the 
Ottoman-Turkish Empire rounded up approximately 600 leaders and 
intellectuals of the Armenian community and executed them. This was the 
beginning of the mass slaughter of 1.5 million Armenians at the hands 
of the Ottoman-Turkish Empire.
  We know this happened, and we know how many people were killed and we 
know how it was done and by whom. Yet the official U.S. government 
position on this atrocity is that it was not a genocide, that there was 
no deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Turks to wipe-out the Armenian 
population.
  We here on the floor today know better. And we know that by denying 
the truth surrounding this tragic chapter of history, we are only 
providing cover for the next genocide to begin.
  The events in Africa last week provide yet another chilling example: 
If we fail to act, these types of terrible crimes will persist.
  Eighty-eight years of denials are enough. We in Congress need to pass 
an Armenian Genocide Resolution and put to rest this campaign to deny 
the Armenian genocide. I urge all my colleagues in the House to join 
with me under the leadership of our Armenian Caucus co-chairs, Joe 
Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, and cosponsor a resolution to finally 
put this denial to an end.
  Mr. BILIRAKIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my colleagues in 
commemorating one of the most appalling violations of human rights in 
all of modern history--the eighty-eighth anniversary of the Armenian 
genocide. I want to commend my colleagues Representatives Joe 
Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, the co-chairs of the Congressional 
Caucus on Armenian Issues, for once again sponsoring this special 
order.

[[Page 9039]]

  Each year, we join the world in the commemoration of the Armenian 
genocide because the tragedy of lost lives through ethnic cleansing 
must not be forgotten. By remembering the bloodshed and atrocities 
committed against the Armenian people, we hope to prevent similar 
tragedies from occurring in the future.
  On April 24, 1915, 300 Armenian leaders, scholars, and professionals 
were gathered, deported, and killed in Constantinople. Later that day, 
5,000 more Armenians were butchered in their homes and on the streets 
of the city. By 1923, two million men, women, and children had been 
murdered and another 500,000 Armenian survivors were homeless and 
exiled. The Armenian genocide was the first of the twentieth century, 
but unfortunately as we all know, it was not the last.
  Talat Pasha, one of the Ottoman rulers, stated that the regime's goal 
was to ``thoroughly liquidate its internal foes, the indigenous 
Christian.'' The regime called the mass murder a mass relocation, 
masking its horrendous acts from the rest of the world. The Ottoman 
Empire was fully aware that the possibility of foreign intervention was 
minimal considering the world was preoccupied with World War I at the 
time.
  However, the massacre was immediately denounced by representatives 
from Britain, France, Russia, and the United States. Even Germany and 
Austria, allies of the Ottoman Empire in the first World War, condemned 
the Empire's heinous acts.
  Henry Morgenthau, U.S. Ambassador to Constantinople at the time, 
vividly documented the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians with the 
statement, ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race 
contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and 
persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the 
sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.''
  Winston Churchill used the word ``holocaust'' to describe the 
Armenian massacres when he said that, ``in 1915 the Turkish government 
began and ruthlessly carried out the infamous general massacre and 
deportation of Armenians in Asia minor . . . [the Turks were] 
massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians--men, women, and 
children together; whole districts blotted out in one administrative 
holocaust--these were beyond human redress.''
  The orchestrated extermination of people is contrary to the values 
the United States espouses. We are a nation which strictly adheres to 
the affirmation of human rights everywhere. No one can erase a 
horrendous historical fact by ignoring what so many witnessed and 
survived.
  Recognition and acceptance of misdeeds are necessary steps toward its 
extinction. Without acceptance, there is no remorse, and without 
remorse, there is no catharsis and pardon. We all want to forget these 
horrific tragedies in our history and bury them in the past. However, 
it is only through the painful process of acknowledging and remembering 
that we can prevent similar iniquity in the future.
  The survivors of the Armenian genocide and their descendants have 
made great contributions to every country in which they have settled, 
including the United States where they have made their mark in 
business, the professions and our cultural life.
  In closing, I would like to ask that we all take a moment to reflect 
upon the hardships endured by the Armenians, and acknowledge that in 
the face of adversity, the Armenian people have persevered. Today, we 
commemorate the memories of those who lost their lives in the genocide, 
as well as the resilience of those who survived.
  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, April 24--two weeks from today--will mark 
the 88th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, when the government of 
Turkey systematically massacred 1.5 million Armenians and exile over 
one million more. This unanswered event set a historical precedent that 
has allowed governments to continue to commit crimes against humanity 
without remorse or punishment. While we are fighting a war in Iraq, I 
believe that now is the time for our government to formally recognize 
the Armenian Genocide and to send a strong message to the world that 
crimes against humanity will not be tolerated. That is why I am proud 
to be an original cosponsor of the Congressional Genocide Resolution, 
which is scheduled to be introduced tomorrow morning. This resolution 
commemorates the 15th anniversary of the U.S. implementation of the 
Genocide Convention and includes the events of the Armenian Genocide, 
Cambodia, Rwanda, and the Jewish Holocaust as examples of crimes 
against humanity that should never be forgotten.
  Additionally, I have also joined over 150 other members of Congress 
in signing a letter to President Bush urging him to properly recognize 
the Armenian Genocide.
  As a member of the International Relations Committee, and 
representing a district with a large Armenian-American community, I 
believe that the United States must continue to help the government in 
Yerevan to guarantee its security, develop its economy and 
infrastructure, strengthen its parliamentary process and advance 
democratic elections.
  My district includes a large Armenian-American community, especially 
in Sunnyside, Woodside and Jackson Heights, Queens and I have listened 
to their needs and concerns many times. I have worked tirelessly to 
promote the interests of Armenia and the Armenian-American community.
  I have worked closely with Aram Sarafian of the Armenian National 
Committee of New York. Aram is an officer in the US Army, who has 
served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom and is now 
serving in Iraq--a mission to both liberate the people of that nation 
as well as stop the government massacres against its own people. 
Conversations with him on the situation in Armenia, their recent past 
and the current situation in Iraq have many parallels.
  That is why I have urged the Congress to reject proposed cuts in 
Armenia's bilateral foreign assistance aid, which totaled $90 million 
last year. By maintaining previous foreign assistance levels, Armenia 
can offset the devastating effects of the Turkish and Azerbaijani 
blockades and help to continue its political and economic transition. 
The costs of these blockades are estimated by the World Bank at up to 
$700 million a year, essentially a third of Armenia's entire economy. I 
believe that, by maintaining assistance levels, an economically viable 
Armenia will be a catalyst for stability and development in a 
strategically important region of the world.
  I am also a cosponsor of extending Permanent Trade Relations to 
Armenia, now that it has joined the World Trade Organization. This 
measure permanently waives the Jackson-Vanik provision of requiring the 
President to deny normal trade relations to those countries that 
restricted free emigration. Armenia has had free emigration for over a 
decade and successive Presidents have waived the Jackson-Vanik 
restrictions. It is time to make this waiver permanent.
  As a close ally and reliable friend, the United States has an 
obligation to the Armenian people to help them address the challenges 
of the future--from nation-building, and enhancing regional security to 
reconstructing critical economic infrastructure. I will continue to 
work tirelessly to promote the interests of the Armenian-American 
community, from recognizing the past to building a strong and stable 
future.
  Mr. McNULTY. Mr. Speaker, I join today with many of my colleagues in 
remembering the victims of the Armenian Genocide. April 24 will be the 
88th anniversary of this human tragedy.
  From 1915 to 1923, the world witnessed the first genocide of the 20th 
century. This was clearly one of the world's greatest tragedies--the 
deliberate and systematic Ottoman annihilation of 1.5 million Armenian 
men, women, and children.
  Furthermore, another 500,000 refugees fled and escaped to various 
points around the world--effectively eliminating the Armenian 
population of the Ottoman Empire.
  From these ashes arose hope and promise in 1991--and I was blessed to 
see it. I was one of the four international observers from the United 
States Congress to monitor Armenia's independence referendum. I went to 
the communities in the northern part of Armenia, and I watched in awe 
as 95 percent of the people over the age of 18 went out and voted.
  The Armenian people had been denied freedom for so many years and, 
clearly, they were very excited about this new opportunity. Almost no 
one stayed home. They were all out in the streets going to the polling 
places. I watched in amazement as people stood in line for hours to get 
into these small polling places and vote.
  Then, after they voted, the other interesting thing was that they did 
not go home. They had brought covered dishes with them, and all of 
these polling places had little banquets afterward to celebrate what 
had just happened.
  What a great thrill it was to join them the next day in the streets 
of Yerevan when they were celebrating their great victory. Ninety-eight 
percent of the people who voted cast their ballots in favor of 
independence. It was a wonderful experience to be there with them when 
they danced and sang and shouted, ``Ketse azat ankakh Hayastan''--long 
live free and independent Armenia! That should be the cry of freedom-
loving people everywhere.
  Ms. SOLIS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Congressional 
Caucus on Armenian Issues to affirm the existence of the Armenian 
Genocide and urge our nation's leaders to do the same.

[[Page 9040]]

  Beginning in 1915 and throughout the First World War, the Armenian 
people of the Ottoman Empire were systemic targets of deportation, 
expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and genocide.
  The existence of genocide--the organized and systematic killing of a 
people based on their racial or cultural affiliation--is a terrible 
reflection of humanity and must be confronted and condemned.
  April 24 is commemorated as the initiation of the Armenian Genocide 
that took the lives of one and a half million Armenian men, women, and 
children.
  It was on April 24, 1915, that over 200 Armenian community leaders 
were brutally arrested, imprisoned, and executed.
  As we approach the 88th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it is 
time that the United States of America recognizes this dishonorable 
part of history.
  More than one million people of Armenian descent live in the United 
States.
  We must recognize and honor their personal histories, as well as our 
collective world history.
  Our children need to learn the truth--that during World War I this 
world experienced the Armenian Genocide, genocide is wrong, and it is 
wrong to deny the occurrence of any genocide.
  Our nation must serve as the example of acknowledging and condemning 
such horrific actions.
  I urge my colleagues and this administration to do the right thing 
and join me in affirming the existence of the Armenian Genocide.
  Mr. FERGUSON. Mr. 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 the genocide, when Armenian 
intellectuals and professionals in Constantinople were rounded up and 
deported or killed.
  From 1915 to 1923, 1.5 million 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.
  Mr. 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 of 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 and 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, children and friends. We mark 
this anniversary each year to remind our nation and 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, openness and diversity.
  Mr. 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.
  Mr. DOOLEY of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to join my 
colleagues in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
  This terrible human tragedy must not be forgotten. Like the 
Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide stands as a tragic example of the 
human suffering that results from hatred and intolerance.
  The Ottoman Turkish Empire between 1915 and 1923 massacred one and a 
half million Armenian people. More than 500,000 Armenians were exiled 
from a homeland that their ancestors had occupied for more than 3,000 
years. A race of people was nearly eliminated.
  It would be an even greater tragedy to forget that the Armenian 
Genocide ever happened. To not recognize the horror of such events 
almost assures their repetition in the future. Adolf Hitler, in 
preparing his genocide plans for the Jews, predicted that no one would 
remember the atrocities he was about to unleash. After all, he asked, 
``Who remembers the Armenians?''
  Our statements today are intended to preserve the memory of the 
Armenian loss, and to remind the world that the Turkish government--to 
this day--refuses to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. The truth of 
this tragedy can never and should never be denied.
  And we must also be mindful of the current suffering of the Armenian, 
where the Armenian people are still immersed in tragedy and violence. 
The unrest between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues in Nagorno-
Karabakh. Thousands of innocent people have already perished in this 
dispute, and many more have been displaced and are homeless.
  In the face of this difficult situation we have an opportunity for 
reconciliation. Now is the time for Armenia and its neighbors to come 
together and work toward building relationships that will assure 
lasting peace.
  Meanwhile, in America, the Armenian-American community continues to 
thrive and to provide assistance and solidarity to its countrymen and 
women abroad. The Armenian-American community is bound together by 
strong generational and family ties, an enduring work ethic and a proud 
sense of ethnic heritage. Today we recall the tragedy of their past, 
not to replace blame, but to answer a fundamental question, ``Who 
remembers the Armenians?''
  Our commemoration of the Armenian Genocide speaks directly to that, 
and I answer, we do.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, today we solemnly commemorate the 88th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, in remembrance of the Ottoman 
government's campaign of devastation and destruction against its 
Armenian population.
  We commemorate this somber anniversary to honor the memory of the 
victims of the Armenian Genocide, and pay tribute to the survivors who 
rebuilt their lives. We join together to renew our conviction to fight 
the sources of bigotry, intolerance, and historical revisionism that 
have tried to distort and diminish Armenian suffering.
  Over the course of 8 years, beginning in 1915, Armenian communities 
were terrorized and systematically destroyed. One and a half million 
men, women, and children were murdered and nearly one million other 
were deported.
  If the world had cried out at the bloodshed of Armenians, it may not 
have been silent during the Holocaust. The road from Armenia to 
Auschwitz was direct. Only by shedding light on this dark chapter of 
history, can we vow once more that genocide will never again go 
unnoticed or unmourned.
  Mr. McGOVERN. Mr. Speaker, today Members of this House have come to 
the floor to remember and commemorate the 88th anniversary of the 
Armenian Genocide.
  On April 24, 1915, hundreds of Armenian religious, political and 
intellectual leaders were rounded up, exiled and eventually murdered by 
Turkish order in remote areas of Anatolia. Over the next 8 years, 
hundreds of thousands of Armenian men, women and children perished at 
the hands of the Ottomans.
  By recognizing and commemorating the Armenian Genocide each year, 
this House helps ensure that the lessons of this terrible crime against 
humanity are not forgotten, cannot be denied, and hopefully, might help 
prevent future genocide of other peoples.
  The single greatest obstacle to the official recognition of the 
Armenian Genocide is the Republic of Turkey. In spite of overwhelming 
evidence documenting the Genocide--most of it housed at the United 
States Archives--modern-day Turkey continues to pursue a campaign to 
deny and to ultimately erase from world history the 1.5 million victims 
of Ottoman Turkey's deliberate massacres and deportations of the 
Armenian people between 1915 and 1923.
  Successive Turkish governments have also deliberately destroyed the 
immense cultural heritage of Armenians in Turkey, carrying out a 
systematic campaign to erase evidence of the historic Armenian presence 
in Eastern Anatolia.
  Since 1982, successive U.S. Administrations, reluctant to offend 
Turkey, have in effect supported the Turkish government's revisionist 
campaign and opposed passage of the Congressional Armenian Genocide 
Resolution. These Administrations have objected to the use of the word 
``genocide'' to describe the systemic destruction of the Armenian 
people.
  Rather than supporting Turkey's denials, I hope that President Bush 
will officially recognize the Armenian Genocide and encourage Turkey to 
come to terms with its past. Rather than creating tension in the 
region, I believe such actions would decrease the tension and 
suspicions that have long inhibited cooperation in that region.
  Thirty-one of our states, including my own Massachusetts, have 
recognized the Armenian Genocide.
  I want to thank the co-chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian 
Issues, Representatives Knollenberg and Pallone, for their outstanding 
work to ensure that we never forget those who perished and those who 
survived the Armenian Genocide. In their names and memory, we must 
demand recognition.
  Armenian-Americans are deeply engaged in many issues, nationally, 
internationally and in their local communities. In prize-winning film 
and books, the Armenian Genocide has been portrayed and widely-
discussed. Coordinated campaigns to provide U.S. economic and trade 
assistance to Armenia are moving forward.

[[Page 9041]]

  This year is also an important year for many Armenian-Americans who 
live in Worcester, Massachusetts. Beginning last October and extending 
through October 2003, the Church of the Savior is celebrating its 50th 
Anniversary. In addition, Holy Trinity Armenian Apostolic Church on 
Grove Street continues to provide celebrating Armenian cultural and the 
contribution of the Armenian-American community.
  Mr. Speaker, it is past time for the United States to recognize 
officially the Armenian Genocide. There can be no justice without the 
truth. In the name of all humanity, let it happen now.
  Mr. BERMAN. Mr. Speaker, this month marks the 88th anniversary of the 
beginning of the Armenian Genocide. I rise today to commemorate this 
terrible chapter in human history, and to help ensure that it will 
never be forgotten.
  April 24, 1915, the Turkish government began to arrest Armenian 
community and political leaders. Many were executed without ever being 
charged with crimes. Then the government deported most Armenians from 
Turkish Armenia, ordering that they resettle in what is now Syria. Many 
deportees never reached that destination.
  From 1915 to 1918, more than a million Armenians died of starvation 
or disease on long marches, or were massacred outright by Turkish 
forces. From 1918 to 1923, Armenians continued to suffer at the hands 
of the Turkish military, which eventually removed all remaining 
Armenians from Turkey.
  The U.S. Ambassador in Constantinople at the time, Henry Morgenthau, 
stated ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race 
contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and 
persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the 
sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.''
  We mark this anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide 
because this tragedy for the Armenian people was a tragedy for all 
humanity. It is our duty to remember, to speak out and to teach future 
generations about the horrors of genocide and the oppression and 
terrible suffering endured by the Armenian people.
  We hope the day will soon come when it is not just the survivors who 
honor the dead but also when those whose ancestors perpetrated the 
horrors acknowledge their terrible responsibility and commemorate as 
well the memory of genocide's victims.
  Sadly, we cannot say humanity has progressed to the point where 
genocide has become unthinkable. The ``killing fields'' of Cambodia, 
the Iraqi regime's gassing of the Kurds, mass ethnic killings in Bosnia 
and Rwanda, and ``ethnic cleansing'' in Kosovo remain recent memories. 
We must renew our commitment never to remain indifferent in the face of 
such assaults on innocent human beings.
  We also remember this day because it is a time for us to celebrate 
the contribution of the Armenian community in America--including 
hundreds of thousands in California--to the richness of our character 
and culture. The strength they have displayed in overcoming tragedy to 
flourish in this country is an example for all of us. Their success is 
moving testimony to the truth that tyranny and evil cannot extinguish 
the vitality of the human spirit.
  The United States has an ongoing opportunity to contribute to a true 
memorial to the past by strengthening Armenia's democracy. Through 
trade and aid, we can support the efforts of the Armenian people to 
construct an open political and economic system.
  Adolf Hitler, the architect of the Nazi Holocaust, once remarked 
``Who remembers the Armenians?'' The answer is, we do. And we will 
continue to remember the victims of the 1915-23 genocide because, in 
the words of the philosopher George Santayana, ``Those who cannot 
remember the past are condemned to repeat it.''
  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the victims 
of one of history's most terrible tragedies, the Armenian Genocide.
  On April 24, 1915, 300 Armenian leaders, intellectuals, and 
professionals were rounded up in Constantinople, deported, and killed. 
From 1915 through 1923, Armenians that lived under Ottoman rule were 
systematically deprived of their property, freedom, and dignity. In 
addition, one and a half million Armenians had been massacred and 
500,000 more had been deported. The Armenian community saw its culture 
devasted and its people dispersed. This date is remembered and 
commemorated each year by the Armenian community.
  In my district, there is a significant population of Armenian 
survivors and their families that showed heroic courage and a will to 
survive in the face of devastating obstacles and adversities. These 
survivors are an important window into the past and an invaluable part 
of our society. With faith and courage, generations of Armenians have 
overcome great suffering and proudly preserved their culture, 
traditions, and religion. It is through their unforgettable tragedy 
that we are able to share in their history and strong heritage. The 
history of the Armenian Genocide must never be forgotten.
  Mr. Speaker, genocide is the most potent of all crimes against 
humanity because it is an effort to systematically wipe out a people 
and a culture as well as individual lives. Denying that genocide took 
place when there are recorded accounts of barbarity and ethnic violence 
is an injustice. Instead, we must ensure the lessons of the Armenian 
genocide are properly understood and acknowledged by paying tribute to 
the Armenian community on this solemn occasion. I am pleased my 
colleagues and I have this opportunity to ensure this legacy is 
remembered.
  Mr. VISCLOSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in solemn memorial to the 
estimated 1.5 million men, women, and children who lost their lives 
during the Armenian Genocide. As in the past, I am pleased to join so 
many distinguished House colleagues on both sides of the aisle in 
ensuring that the horrors wrought upon the Armenian people are never 
repeated.
  On April 24, 1915, over 200 religious, political, and intellectual 
leaders of the Armenian community were brutally executed by the Turkish 
government in Istanbul. Over the course of the next 8 years, this war 
of ethnic genocide against the Armenian community in the Ottoman Empire 
took the lives of over half the world's Armenian population.
  Sadly, there are some people who still deny the very existence of 
this period which saw the institutionalized slaughter of the Armenian 
people and dismantling of Armenian culture. To those who would question 
these events, I point to the numerous reports contained in the U.S. 
National Archives detailing the process that systematically decimated 
the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. However, old records are 
too easily forgotten--and dismissed. That is why we come together every 
year at this time: to remember in words what some may wish to file away 
in archives. This genocide did take place, and these lives were taken. 
That memory must keep us forever vigilant in our efforts to prevent 
these atrocities from ever happening again.
  I am proud to note that Armenian immigrants found, in the United 
States, a country where their culture could take root and thrive. Most 
Armenians in America are children or grandchildren of the survivors, 
although there are still survivors amongst us. In my district in 
Northwest Indiana, a vibrant Armenian-American community has developed 
and strong ties to Armenia continue to flourish. My predecessor in the 
House, the late Adam Benjamin, was of Armenian heritage, and his 
distinguished service in the House serves as an example to the entire 
Northwest Indiana community. Over the years, members of the Armenian-
American community throughout the United States have contributed 
millions of dollars and countless hours of their time to various 
Armenian causes. Of particular note are Mrs. Vicki Hovanessian and her 
husband, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian, residents of Indiana's First 
Congressional District, who have continually worked to improve the 
quality of life in Armenia, as well as in Northwest Indiana. Three 
other Armenian-American families in my congressional district, Dr. Aram 
and Seta Semerdjian, Heratch and Sonya Doumanian, and Ara and Rosy 
Yeretsian, have also contributed greatly toward charitable works in the 
United States and Armenia. Their efforts, together with hundreds of 
other members of the Armenian-American community, have helped to 
finance several important projects in Armenia, including the 
construction of new schools, a mammography clinic, and a crucial 
roadway connecting Armenia to Nagorno Karabagh.
  In the House, I have tried to assist the efforts of my Armenian-
American constituency by continually supporting foreign aid to Armenia. 
This past year, with my support, Armenia received $93 million in U.S. 
aid to assist economic and military development. In addition I am once 
again joining with several of my colleagues in signing a letter to 
President Bush urging him to honor his pledge to recognize the Armenian 
Genocide.
  The Armenian people have a long and proud history. In the fourth 
century, they became the first nation to embrace Christianity. During 
World War I, the Ottoman Empire was ruled by an organization known as 
the Young Turk Committee, which allied with Germany. Amid fighting in 
the Ottoman Empire's eastern Anatolian provinces, the historic 
heartland of the Christian Armenians, Ottoman authorities ordered the 
deportation and execution of all Armenians in the region. By the end of 
1923, virtually the entire Armenian population of Anatolia and western 
Armenia had either been killed or deported.

[[Page 9042]]

  While it is important to keep the lessons of history in mind, we must 
also remain committed to protecting Armenia from new and more hostile 
aggressors. In the last decade, thousands of lives have been lost and 
more than a million people displaced in the struggle between Armenia 
and Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabagh. Even now, as we rise to 
commemorate the accomplishments of the Armenian people and mourn the 
tragedies they have suffered, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and other countries 
continue to engage in a debilitating blockage of this free nation.
  Consistently, I have testified before Foreign Operations 
Appropriations Subcommittee on the important issue of bringing peace to 
a troubled area of the world. I continued my support for maintaining of 
level funding for the Southern Caucasus region of the Independent 
States (IS), and of Armenia in particular. I also stressed the critical 
importance of revisiting Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act that 
restricts U.S. aid for Azerbaijan as a result of their blockade. 
However, I commend my colleagues on the Foreign Operations 
Appropriations Subcommittee for striking the appropriate balance last 
year regarding Section 907 of the Freedom Support Act, which will now 
allow Azerbaijan to do their part in the war against international 
terrorism. Unfortunately, Armenia is now entering its fourteenth year 
of a blockage and I must request that the Congress review the waiver of 
Section 907 on a yearly basis. The flow of food, fuel, and medicine 
continues to be hindered by the blockade, creating a humanitarian 
crisis in Armenia.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleagues, Representatives Joe 
Knollenberg and Frank Pallone, for organizing this special order to 
commemorate the 88th Anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Their 
efforts will not only help bring needed attention to this tragic period 
in world history, but also serve to remind us of our duty to protect 
basic human rights and freedoms around the world.

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