PRESS RELEASE
Senator Barbara Boxer
Washington D.C.
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3553
Dear Friend:
I would like to share with you my recent comments, which were
printed in the Congressional Record, commemorating the 91st
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator
IN COMMEMORATION OF THE 91ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Mrs. Boxer. Mr. President, I take this opportunity to
commemorate the 91st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide on
April 24th. This anniversary offers an opportunity for us to
renew our efforts to achieve — finally — genocide recognition
for the Armenian people.
Ninety-one years ago, the Ottoman Turks began their systematic
effort to eradicate the Armenian people. From 1915 until 1923,
1.5 million Armenians were tortured and killed; men were
separated from their families and murdered; women and children
were forced to march across the Syrian desert without water,
food or possessions; many died of hunger or thirst or were
killed when they lagged behind during the forced marches into
the desert.
The brutality of the genocide was atrocious. But the
inhumanity continues today because the Turkish government
refuses to acknowledge the massacre as genocide. The wounds
cannot heal until the Armenian people receive recognition.
The Armenian Genocide was the first genocide of the 20th
Century. But as we have seen, it was not the last. As we
know, if we ignore injustice, we are likely to see it repeated.
In his justification for the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler said,
`Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?’ And today, we see ongoing atrocities in the Darfur
region of Sudan, with innocent civilians being murdered. In
the 108th Congress, I cosponsored a resolution declaring that
the atrocities in Darfur constitute genocide.
I am currently a co-sponsor of a resolution calling the
President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United
States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity
concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing,
and genocide documented in the United States record relating to
the Armenian Genocide and the consequences of the failure to
realize a just resolution. And I have signed onto a letter
urging President Bush to honor the United States’ historic
leadership in defending human rights and to properly
characterize the atrocities against the Armenian people as
genocide in his April 24th statement.
Every year, we move closer to recognition of the Armenian
Genocide. But every year we wonder how long it will take the
government of Turkey to acknowledge the genocide.
We need genocide recognition to honor those 1.5 million
Armenians who lost their lives and to honor the survivors who
are still with us today. We need recognition to send a message
to the 8-10 million Armenians worldwide that they have not been
forgotten. We need genocide recognition to remind the world
that crimes against humanity are crimes against us all. We
need genocide recognition because it is the right thing to do.
By acknowledging this genocide for what it is, I hope that we
are able to help create a more just and humane world.
Thank you. I yield the floor.
========================================== =======
For more information on Senator Boxer’s record and other
information, please go to:
To respond to this message, please click on the following link:
ck.cfm . This link
will take you to a webpage where you can respond to messages
that you receive from Senator Boxer’s office.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
