Congressional Record: April 24, 2007 (Extensions)]
[Page E840]
>From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:cr24ap07-13]

NINETY-SECOND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

______

speech of

HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

of new york

in the house of representatives

Monday, April 23, 2007

Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, as a proud member of the
Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, and the representative of a
large and vibrant community of Armenian Americans, I rise to join my
colleagues in the sad commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
Today we declare to people living in every corner of our globe that
the Turkish and American governments must finally acknowledge what we
have long understood: that the unimaginable horror committed on Turkish
soil in the aftermath of World War I was, and is, an act of genocide.
The tragic events that began on April 24, 1915, which are well known to
all of us, should be part of the history curriculum in every Turkish
and American school. On that dark April day, more than 200 of Armenia’s
religious, political and intellectual leaders were arrested in
Constantinople and killed. Ultimately, more than 1.5 million Armenians
were systematically murdered at the hands of the Young Turks, and more
than 500,000 more were exiled from their native land.
On this 92nd anniversary of the beginning of the genocide, I join
with the chorus of voices that grows louder with each passing year. We
simply will not allow ice planned elimination of an entire people to
remain in the shadows of history. The Armenian Genocide must be
acknowledged, studied, and never, ever allowed to happen again.
Last year I joined with my colleagues in the Caucus in urging PBS not
to give a platform to the deniers of the genocide by canceling a
planned broadcast of a panel which included two scholars who deny the
Armenian Genocide. This panel was to follow the airing of a documentary
about the Armenian Genocide. Representative Anthony Weiner and I led a
successful effort to convince Channel Thirteen in New York City to pull
the plug on these genocide deniers. The parliaments of Canada, France,
and Switzerland have all passed resolutions affirming that the Armenian
people were indeed subjected to genocide. The United States must do the
same. I will not stop fighting until long overdue legislation
acknowledging the Armenian Genocide finally passes. I am hopeful that
this resolution will make it to the Floor for a vote before the full
House of Representatives this Congress.
An acknowledgment of the genocide is not our only objective. I remain
committed to ensuring that the U.S. government continues to provide
direct financial assistance to Armenia. Over the years, this aid has
played a critical role in the economic and political advancement of the
Armenian people. I have joined with my colleagues in requesting
military parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the FY08 Foreign
Operations Appropriations bill.
We also have requested an adequate level of economic assistance for
Armenia and assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh. Legislation passed in the
109th Congress and signed into law to reauthorize the Export-Import
Bank included important language prohibiting the Bank from funding
railroad projects in the South Caucasus region that deliberately
exclude Armenia. American tax dollars should not be used to support
efforts to isolate Armenia, and these provisions would prevent that by
ensuring that U.S. funds are not used to support the construction of a
new railway that bypasses Armenia. A railway already exists that
connects the nations of Turkey, Georgia, and Azerbaijan, but because it
crosses Armenia, an expensive and unnecessary new railway had been
proposed. Allowing the exclusion of Armenia from important
transportation routes would stymie the emergence of this region as an
important East-West trade corridor. It is in our economic and security
interests to ensure that the aggression against Armenia comes to an
end.
On this solemn day, our message is clear: the world remembers the
Armenian genocide, and the governments of Turkey and the United States
must declare–once and for all–that they do, too.

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