[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5449]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. LAURA RICHARDSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2012

  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
victims and survivors of one of the darkest chapters in human history, 
the Armenian Genocide. Today, April 24, marks the 97th commemoration of 
the first genocide of the 20th Century where Ottoman Turkish 
authorities ordered the systematic annihilation of more than 1.5 
million Armenians. The Armenian Genocide was carried out from 1915 to 
1923 through massacres, deportations, and death marches where hundreds 
of thousands were herded into the Syrian Desert to die of thirst and 
starvation. Sadly, to this day this chapter of history has yet to be 
admitted by the Government of Turkey.
  Many international observers, including then Ambassador and later 
U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, witnessed the nightmare 
firsthand and reported detailed accounts of the atrocities to their 
governments. Respected organizations and eminent scholars and 
historians agree and recognize the Armenian Genocide, including the 
Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and the renowned International 
Association of Genocide Scholars. Their judgments are supported by 53 
Nobel laureates who signed an open letter to the Government of Turkey 
on April 9, 2007. I ask unanimous consent to include in the Record a 
listing of those Nobel laureates.
  Mr. Speaker, the historical record is clear and the Armenian Genocide 
is a tragic fact. It must be acknowledged and remembered so that it 
will never be repeated.
  As a member of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, I know 
that the refusal of modern-day Turkey to acknowledge one of the worst 
examples of man's inhumanity in the 20th Century haunts survivors of 
the Armenian Genocide, as well as their families. As a Member of 
Congress from California, which is home to more Armenian-Americans than 
any other state, I believe this is not only an affront to the memory of 
the victims and to their descendants, but it does a disservice to the 
United States as it seeks to stand up for the victims of violence 
today.
  The issue of recognizing the Armenian genocide and helping the 
Armenian people is neither a partisan nor geopolitical issue. Rather, 
it is a question of giving the Armenian people the justice they 
deserve. In doing so, we affirm the dignity of humankind everywhere.
  It has been said that ``all it takes for evil to triumph, is for good 
men to do nothing.'' This is one of the reasons I am proud to have 
joined with so many of my colleagues in cosponsoring the resolution 
affirming the occurrence of the Armenian genocide throughout my career 
in Congress. I will continue to do for as long as it takes.
  In recognizing the Armenian Genocide we do not seek to persecute any 
person or state; we seek to build a path that will lead to 
reconciliation between Armenians and Turks. And in doing so, we will 
remain true to our nation's highest aspirations for justice and peace. 
It was President Lincoln who called upon the ``better angels of our 
nature'' when he said in his Second Inaugural Address that all 
Americans should ``do all which may achieve and cherish a just and 
lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.''
  Mr. Speaker, the Armenian Genocide has been officially recognized by 
42 states. These States have gone on public record rejecting any claim 
or assertion that denies the occurrence of one of history's worst 
crimes against humanity. I believe it is time for us to join these 
nations in that endeavor by passing H. Res. 304, the ``Affirmation of 
the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.''
  Mr. Speaker, I ask for a moment of silence in memory of the millions 
of silenced voices and interrupted lives of those Armenians who 
perished between 1915 and 1923 in the genocide committed by the Ottoman 
Empire.

List of 53 Nobel Laureates Urging the Turkish Government To Acknowledge 
                           Armenian Genocide

       Peter Agre, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (2003); Sidney Altman, 
     Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1989); Philip W. Anderson, Nobel 
     Prize, Physics (1977); Kenneth J. Arrow, Nobel Prize, 
     Economics (1972); Richard Axel, Nobel Prize, Medicine (2004); 
     Baruj Benacerraf, Nobel Prize, Medicine (1980); Gunter 
     Blobel, Nobel Prize, Medicine (1999); Georges Charpak, Nobel 
     Prize, Physics (1992); Steven Chu, Nobel Prize, Physics 
     (1997); J.M. Coetzee, Nobel Prize, Literature (2003); Claude 
     Cohen-Tannoudji, Nobel Prize, Physics (1997); Mairead 
     Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Prize, Peace (1976); Robert F. Curl, 
     Jr., Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1996); Paul J. Crutzen, Nobel 
     Prize, Chemistry (1995).
       Frederik W. de Klerk, Nobel Prize, Peace (1993); Johann 
     Deisenhofer, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1998); John B. Fenn, 
     Nobel Prize, Chemistry (2002); Val Fitch, Nobel Prize, 
     Physics (1980); Jerome I. Friedman, Nobel Prize, Physics 
     (1990); Donald A. Glaser, Nobel Prize, Physics (1960); 
     Sheldon Glashow, Nobel Prize, Physics (1979); Roy J. Glauber, 
     Nobel Prize, Physics (2005); Clive W.J. Granger, Nobel Prize, 
     Economics (2003); Paul Greengard, Nobel Prize, Medicine 
     (2000); David J. Gross, Nobel Prize, Physics (2004); Roger 
     Guillemin, Nobel Prize, Medicine (1977); Dudley R. 
     Herschbach, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1986).
       Avram Hershko, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (2004); Roald 
     Hoffman, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1981); Daniel Kahneman, 
     Nobel Prize, Economics (2002); Eric R. Kandel, Nobel Prize, 
     Medicine (2000); Aaron Klug, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1982); 
     Edwin G. Krebs, Nobel Prize, Medicine (1992); Sir Harold W. 
     Kroto, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1996); Finn E. Kydland, Nobel 
     Prize, Economics (2004); Leon M. Lederman, Nobel Prize, 
     Physics (1988); Anthony J. Leggett, Nobel Prize, Physics 
     (2003); Rudolph A. Marcus, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1992); 
     Daniel L. McFadden, Nobel Prize, Economics (2000); Craig C. 
     Mello, Nobel Prize, Medicine (2006).
       Robert C. Merton, Nobel Prize, Economics (1997); Marshall 
     W. Nirenberg, Nobel Prize, Medicine (1968); Sir Paul Nurse, 
     Nobel Prize, Medicine (2001); Douglas D. Osheroff, Nobel 
     Prize, Physics (1996); Martin L. Perl, Nobel Prize, Physics 
     (1995); John C. Polanyi, Nobel Prize, Chemistry (1986); 
     Stanley Prusiner, Nobel Prize, Medicine (1997); Jose Ramos-
     Horta, Nobel Prize, Peace (1996); Richard J. Roberts, Nobel 
     Prize, Medicine (1993); Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize, Literature 
     (1986); Elie Wiesel, Nobel Prize, Peace (1986); Betty 
     Williams, Nobel Prize, Peace (1976); Kurt Wuthrich, Nobel 
     Prize, Chemistry (2002).

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