[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7856-7857]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. MARTIN T. MEEHAN

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 26, 2005

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 1.5 
million Armenian men, women and children who lost their lives during 
the Armenian Genocide.
  April 24th marks the anniversary of one of the darkest tragedies in 
human history--one that must be properly commemorated as the first 
genocide of the 20th century. On this day ninety years ago, the Ottoman 
Turk regime began rounding up hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and 
political leaders to be deported or executed. Thousands more Armenians 
were killed in their homes or on the streets. For five years, the 
brutal regime carried out the systematic destruction of the Armenian 
people through forced labor, concentration camps, and death marches, 
until millions were dead or exiled.
  As we look back on the bloodshed and atrocities committed against the 
Armenian people, we must publicly acknowledge the weight of this human 
tragedy. I am disappointed that President Bush failed to characterize 
the brutal massacre of the Armenian people as a genocide in his annual 
commemoration address. To deny this truth is to dishonor the memories 
of the millions of Armenians who lost their lives to ethnic cleansing.
  The April 24th remembrance of the Armenian Genocide is also a 
reminder of the responsibility of all nations to stop these human 
tragedies from reoccurring. Today, a genocide is taking place in the 
Darfur region of Sudan. It has resulted in the murders of at least 
70,000 innocent civilians, the internal displacement of 1.9 million, 
and the forced exile of 200,000. The international community must act 
now before Darfur reaches the scale of the Armenian Genocide.
  Massachusetts' Armenian community, much of which I have the honor of 
representing, is committed to raising awareness of the tragedy that 
befell Armenians of the Ottoman Empire. Every year, survivors and their 
descendants participate in commemoration services across

[[Page 7857]]

the Merrimack Valley to shed light on this dark tragedy. In my hometown 
of Lowell, the Armenian-American Veterans Honor Guard leads a 
procession to City Hall for a flag raising ceremony. Through these 
observances, we will never forget the truth.

                          ____________________