[Congressional Record: March 1, 2005 (House)]
[Page H819-H820]
The Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr01mr05-111]
STOP DENIAL OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE BY TURKEY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Evans, the U.S. Ambassador to
Armenia, recently when meeting with Armenian Americans during visits in
several U.S. cities referenced the Armenian genocide. In a series of
public statements, Ambassador Evans who has studied Russian history at
Yale and Columbia and Ottoman history at the Kennan Institute stated,
“I will today call it the Armenian Genocide.”
Mr. Speaker, Ambassador Evans’ statements did not contradict U.S.
policy, but rather articulated the same message that the Bush
administration has sent to the public, the only difference in this case
is that Ambassador Evans simply assigned the word to the definition that was
already
provided by President Bush as well as members of his administration.
Breaking with a pattern on the part of the State Department of using
alternative and evasive terminology for the Armenian genocide,
Ambassador Evans pointed out that “no American official has ever
denied it.”
Now, Ambassador Evans was merely recounting the historical record
which has been attested to by over 120 Holocaust and genocide scholars
from around the world. In so doing, he was merely giving a name, the
accurate description of genocide, to this very administration’s
statements on the issue.
President Bush on April 24 of each of the last four years when
commemorating the Armenian genocide used the textbook definition of
genocide with words and phrases such as “annihilation” and “forced
exile and murder.” Before him, President Reagan used the word
“genocide” in 1981 when describing the annihilation of over 1.5
million Armenians.
In the day of the genocide, our U.S. ambassador, then Henry
Morgenthal, had the courage to speak out against the atrocities which
he stated were a planned and systematic effort to annihilate an entire
race.
In conclusion, Mr. Speaker, I just want to add my name and my voice
to all those who, like Ambassador Evans, know the truth and speak it
plainly when discussing the Armenian genocide.