PALLONE WORKS TO BUILD SUPPORT FOR GENOCIDE RESOLUTION BY HONORING FORMER AMBASSADOR MORGENTHAU ON HOUSE FLOOR
States News Service, USA
July 12, 2007 Thursday
WASHINGTON
The following information was released by the office of New Jersey
Rep. Frank Pallone Jr.:
U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ,) co-chairman of the Congressional
Caucus on Armenian Issues, made the following statement yesterday on
the floor of the House of Representatives remembering Henry Morgenthau,
U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916, and the
first-hand descriptions he gave of the Armenian Genocide, which began
in that region in 1915. The New Jersey congressman plans to give a
series of speeches on the House floor in an effort to continue to
build support for the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
Earlier this week, the Resolution gained the support of a majority
of House members.
"Mr. Speaker, the Armenian Genocide that was orchestrated by the
Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1918 is an irrefutable fact. Looking
at the history of this catastrophic event, it is impossible to deny
that this was genocide on all accounts. One way to hear witness to
the truth is to make reference to first hand accounts at the time
the Armenian genocide occurred.
"Henry Morgenthau served with dignity as U.S. Ambassador to the
Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1916. In the wake of surging nationalism
in Turkey, and alarmed at reports of the Armenian genocide, he
repeatedly appealed to the U.S. government to intervene, without
success. Morgenthau addressed the genocide of the Armenians in a 1915
dispatch to the State Department in which he warned that "a campaign
of race extermination is in progress."
"He then appealed to Ottoman rulers, also without result. Finally,
he publicized his opinions in his 1918 book of memoirs, Ambassador
Morgenthau’s Story, which documented his experiences while in Turkey,
including his vivid views of the Armenian genocide.
"Morgenthau wrote: "When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for
these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to the
whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with
me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the factI am confident
that the whole history of the human race contains no terrible episode
as this."
"In one of his addresses Morgenthau commented on the United States
efforts during the Armenian Genocide, "If America is to condone
these offenses, if she is going to permit to continue conditions that
threaten and permit their repetition, she is party to the crime.
These people must be freed from the agony and danger of such horrors.
They must not only be saved for the present but they must be given
assurance that they will be free in peace and that no harm can come
to them."
"At great personal risk and sacrifice, Morgenthau chose to intervene
on behalf of the Armenians and even managed to help rescue an
unknown number of Armenians. Of course, in the end his efforts
were unsuccessful. Drained by his failure to avert this disaster,
Morgenthau returned to the United States in 1916 and for the remainder
of World War I dedicated himself to raising funds for the surviving
Armenians. He is considered a hero in Armenia and an American man of
courage and character.
"Mr. Speaker, if America is going to live up to the standards we
set for ourselves, and continue to lead the world in affirming human
rights everywhere, we need to follow Morgenthau’s example. We must
stand up and recognize the tragic events that began in 1915 for what
they were—the systematic elimination of a people. By recognizing
these actions as genocide we can renew our commitment to prevent such
atrocities from occurring again.
"I wish to express my support for swift passage of H. Res. 106
which reaffirms the Armenian Genocide. It now has a majority of the
Members of the House as cosponsors. As the first genocide of the 20th
Century, it is morally imperative that we remember this atrocity and
collectively demand reaffirmation of this crime against humanity."