[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8383]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      COMMEMORATING THE 90TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN F. TIERNEY

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 28, 2005

  Mr. TIERNEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise with my fellow members of the 
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues to commemorate the Armenian 
Genocide. Today, I stand with them and with Armenian-Americans in the 
6th District of Massachusetts as we rightfully recognize and renounce 
the unpardonable horror that occurred 90 years ago.
  What began in 1915 when Ottoman Empire officials forcibly led 
Armenians to their brutal death lasted until 1923. Those 8 long years 
saw the deaths of 1.5 million innocent victims, who were unsuspectingly 
led from their homes, their schools, their places of work and worship 
only to be systematically slaughtered at the hands of Turkish guards.
  All the while, the world stood silent, failing to act despite the 
fact the number of unmarked graves multiplied exponentially throughout 
Armenia. The tremendous magnitude of this genocide did not move 
prominent nations or their people to act. This is why, today, as we 
remember the victims of the Armenian genocide, we must also reject our 
collective unresponsiveness to this mass murder.
  Regrettably, this pattern continued throughout the 20th century--in 
Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, in Rwanda in the 1990s, and elsewhere 
throughout the world. Another such tragic example has emerged in Sudan. 
It is estimated that 300,000 or more people have been massacred in 
Darfur. One million people have been displaced from their homes, and 
more than 200,000 refugees have been forced to flee to neighboring 
Chad. We must not continue to ignore the dire situation in Darfur. In 
fact, the lessons of the Armenian Genocide, among others, should teach 
us that we must take further action in Sudan.
  Today, I honor the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, offer 
my respects to those who were killed, and pay tribute to the commitment 
and perseverance of the Armenian-Americans who have tirelessly 
struggled to ensure that the great sorrow of their people becomes known 
to all people.

                          ____________________