REP. COSTA ISSUES STATEMENT ON 93RD ANNIVERSARY OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

US Fed News
April 24, 2008 Thursday

Rep. Jim Costa, D-Calif. (20th CD), issued the following news release:

Today, Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) made the following statement
on the Floor of the House of Representatives regarding the 93rd
anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide.

Costa is a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and supported
H. Res. 106, a resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide in the
United States, when it came before him in Committee last October.

"Madam Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 93rd anniversary of
the start of the Armenian Genocide, which was the first genocide of
the 20th century and sadly, the template for a cycle of genocide that
continues to this very day.

"It is, by any reasonable standard, established history that between
1915 and 1923 the Ottoman Empire systematically killed an estimated
1.5 million Armenians and drove hundreds of thousands of others into
exile from their ancestral homeland. The record of this atrocity is
well documented in the United States Archives and has been universally
accepted in the International Association of Genocide Scholars and
the broader historical and academic communities.

"However, there is still debate around the world, including here in our
nation, on whether this incident actually qualifies as genocide. On
April 26, 1915, the New York Times reported on the first reported
purges of Armenians in Ottoman Turkey. Later in 1915, the Times ran
a front page article about a report from the Committee on Armenian
Atrocities discussing exactly what was happening to Armenians in
Turkey. ‘The report tells of children under 15 years of age thrown
into the Euphrates to be drowned; of women forced to desert infants in
their arms and to leave them by the roadside to die; of young women
and girls appropriated by the Turks, thrown into harems, attacked or
else sold to the highest bidder, and of men murdered and tortured.’

"One can debate specific historical incidents, but growing up in
Fresno, California, the land of William Saroyan, I heard stories
shared by grandparents from the Kezerian, Koligian and Abramhian
families about being forced to leave their homes, the stories of the
long marches, and the random murders. Clearly, they believed there
was a systematic approach to eliminate the Armenian communities in
places that had been their homes and farms for centuries. My Armenian
friends believe this systematic approach was among the first genocides
of the 20th century, and so do I.

"Around the world, in the single, longest lasting and far-reaching
campaign of genocide denial, Turkey seeks to block recognition of this
travesty. It’s against the law to even mention the Armenian Genocide in
Turkey. The Armenian Genocide involved the issue of man’s injustice to
mankind, and it continued to occur throughout the 20th century in the
Holocaust, Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and now in Darfur. As leaders,
we must confront this and not allow Turkey to continue to stand alone
and ask us to believe that the Armenian Genocide was not genocide.

"In standing up to this policy of denial, we, of course, honor the
martyrs of the genocide and we encourage our Turkish allies and
friends to come to terms with their past. And, in a very powerful
and significant way, we reinforce our own vital role, as Americans,
in leading the international community toward unconditional opposition
to all instances of genocide.

"Last October, the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed H. Res. 106,
a resolution to recognize the Armenian Genocide in the United
States. Unfortunately, this bill has yet to come before the full
House for a vote. Supporters of this resolution are constantly told
that now isn’t the time to recognize the genocide, that scholars,
not Congress, should determine if this event was genocide, or that
passage of this resolution will hurt our relationship with Turkey. I
could not disagree more with these statements.

"First, there is never a ‘right time’ to recognize
genocide. Ninety-three years have passed since the start events
occurred, and we cannot wait around for a convenient moment to
recognize this truly catastrophic historical event. Secondly, the
scholars have spoken and the historical record is clear and thoroughly
documented. And finally, we have seen over and over again that Turkey’s
warning of disastrous consequences are dramatically overstated. In
fact, in nearly every instance, Turkey’s bilateral trade has gone up
with each of the countries that have recognized the Armenian Genocide –
including Canada, Italy, France, Russia, and Belgium.

"Genocide is not something that can simply swept under the rug and
forgotten. We need leaders around the world to not only recognize it,
but to condemn it so the world can truly say "Never Again." The United
States cannot continue its policy of denial regarding the Armenian
Genocide, and I encourage passage of H. Res. 106 to recognize the
Armenian Genocide in our nation."