[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Pages 7042-7043]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915-1923

  Mr. KOHL. Mr. President, this is in observance of the 90th 
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide where atrocities were committed 
against the Armenian people of the Ottoman Empire during the First 
World War. In April 1915, the Ottoman government embarked upon the 
systematic decimation of its civilian Armenian population. The Armenian 
genocide was centrally planned and administered against the entire 
Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian people were 
subjected to deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, 
and starvation. The great bulk of the Armenian population was forcibly 
removed from Armenia and Anatolia to Syria, where the vast majority was 
sent into the desert to die of thirst and hunger.
  Large numbers of Armenians were methodically massacred throughout the 
Ottoman Empire. Women and children were abducted and horribly abused. 
After only a little more than a year of calm at the end of WWI, the 
atrocities were renewed between 1920 and 1923, and the remaining 
Armenians were subjected to further massacres and expulsions. In 1915, 
33 years before the UN Genocide Convention was adopted, the Armenian 
Genocide was condemned by the international community as a crime 
against humanity.
  In 1923, the people of the region overthrew the Ottoman government 
and established modern day Turkey. Since its establishment, the 
Republic of Turkey has disputed the tragic suffering inflicted on the 
Armenian people during

[[Page 7043]]

this period. Sadly, it is estimated that 1.5 million Armenians perished 
between 1915 and 1923.
  Affirming the truth about the Armenian genocide has become an issue 
of international significance. The recurrence of genocide in the 
twentieth century has made the recognition of the criminal mistreatment 
of the Armenians by Turkey all the more a compelling obligation for the 
international community. It is a testament to the perseverance and 
determination of the Armenian people that they were able to overcome 
one of the most egregious acts in history. I support this important 
annual commemoration of a horrible chapter of history so that it is 
never repeated again. Congress should continue to show support for 
Armenia and their struggle to set the historical record straight on 
this tragedy.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, we solemnly remember the men and women 
who perished in the Armenian genocide 90 years ago. A million and a 
half Armenians were systematically massacred at the hands of the 
Ottoman Empire and more than 500,000 fled their homeland.
  When the Armenian genocide occurred from 1915 to 1923, the 
international community lacked a name for such atrocities. In January 
1951, the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of 
Genocide entered into force to affirm the international commitment to 
prevent genocide and protect basic human decency. Today, we have the 
words to describe this evil, and we have an obligation to prevent it. 
But we must also have the will to act.
  During the Holocaust, and later in the former Yugoslavia and in 
Rwanda, the world has seen the crimes of ethnic cleansing and genocide 
recur again and again. Too often, the will to stop atrocities has been 
lacking, or far too late in coming. Today, as we read report after 
report detailing the horrific plight of the people of Darfur, Sudan, we 
must muster the will and the sense of urgency required to save lives.
  The international community has made the first steps, but it has a 
long way to go in punishing and, especially, preventing genocide. As we 
move forward, we must learn the lessons of Armenia's genocide. We 
cannot be misled by the rhetorical veils of murderous leaders, thrown 
up to disguise the agenda at hand. We cannot respond to evidence of 
methodical, brutal violence by wringing our hands and waiting for some 
definitive proof that these events qualify as genocide. Enforcing a 
collective, international commitment to prevent and stop genocides from 
occurring is imperative. We owe the victims of the Armenian genocide 
this commitment.
  This is why we must remember the Armenian genocide. To forget it is 
to enable more genocides and ethnic cleansing to occur. We must honor 
its victims by reaffirming our resolve to not let it happen again.

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