[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 6074]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


             THE 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, on Monday we observed the 91st anniversary 
of the Armenian genocide. On April 24, 1915, the Turkish Ottoman Empire 
began a coordinated campaign of deportation, expropriation, torture, 
starvation, and massacre which lasted 8 long years and left an 
estimated 1.5 million Armenians dead. The violence forced an additional 
500,000 people to leave their homeland and live in exile.
  The Armenian genocide is a shameful period in world history that 
highlights the catastrophic consequences of inaction in the face of 
violent persecution. It is a tragedy which could have and should have 
been prevented by the intervention of all nations who value freedom and 
peace. A retired Theodore Roosevelt wrote in 1918, ``The Armenian 
horror is an accomplished fact. Its occurance was largely due to the 
policy of pacifism this nation has followed for the last four years.'' 
Roosevelt argued for U.S. involvement ``because the Armenian massacre 
was the greatest crime of the war, and failure to act against Turkey is 
to condone it; because the failure to deal radically with the Turkish 
horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the 
world is mischievous nonsense.''
  It is important to make clear that the annual remembrance of the 
Armenian genocide is not a condemnation of our NATO partner, the 
present day Republic of Turkey. Indeed, it was the founder of the 
Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who ended the Ottoman government.
  Instead, the annual remembrance of the Armenian genocide presents us 
with an opportunity to both honor the memory of those that were lost 
and rededicate ourselves to working with our allies, including Turkey, 
to prevent any occurrences of persecution and genocide around the 
world.
  Unfortunately, we know too well that the Armenian genocide was the 
first but not the only genocide of the 20th century, and millions more 
perished as additional genocides were perpetrated against innocent 
minorities in Europe, Africa, and Asia. In remembering the victims of 
past genocides, we must now turn our efforts to ending the first 
genocide of the 21st century in the Darfur region of Sudan.
  Only by remembering the loss of family and loved ones and by working 
to alleviate the current suffering of others can we truly honor the 
victims of the Armenian genocide. That is the goal of the 91st 
anniversary remembrance of the Armenian genocide.

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