REP. ROYCE: U.S. SHOULD GO ON RECORD OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
KarabakhOpen
24-04-2008 12:32:24
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Representative Ed Royce (R-CA), member of the
U.S. Congressional Caucus of Armenian Issues addressed an open letter
to Congress calling to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
The letter reads,
"It is far past time when the United States Congress should go on
record officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide. As a State
Senator, with the help of Governor George Deukmejian, I authored the
first resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide, which passed the
California Legislature.
In Congress, George Radanovich, Jim Rogan and myself, along with
bipartisan support, were able to successfully pass the first Armenian
Genocide Resolution through the foreign affairs committee. Later,
Adam Schiff, with the support of myself and others, was able to do
the same. But, regardless of whether the President was Bill Clinton
or George Bush, and whether the Speaker was Dennis Hastert or Nancy
Pelosi, the impact of the Government of Turkey’s protests has had the
same effect. The Genocide Resolution, which we have passed through
the Foreign Affairs Committee, has consistently been checkmated by
the Government of Turkey. The reason the Government of Turkey can’t be
allowed to halt passage of this resolution is because of the gravity
of the subject of genocide.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire set out on a campaign to
exterminate the Armenian people. Between 1915 and 1923, the numbers
were horrific. One and a half million Armenians were murdered and
500,000 deported from their homelands. At the end of these eight years,
the Armenian population of Anatolia and Western Armenia was virtually
eliminated, becoming one of the 20th Century’s darkest chapters.
While acknowledging the role played by the Ottoman Empire in killing
Armenians, some have laid doubt to the claim of genocide, citing the
subsequent deportation of the survivors as merely a movement of a
people from one land to another. Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador
to the Ottoman Empire from 1913-1916, saw it much differently. In his
memoirs, Morgenthau recalls that the Turks, "never had the slightest
idea of reestablishing the Armenians in (a) new country" knowing
that "the great majority of those would…either die of thirst and
starvation, or be murdered by the wild Mohammedan desert tribes."
I recall Morgenthau’s words here because he saw first hand the
atrocities wrought on the Armenians, and he had been told by Turks
that they understood quite well that they had handed down a death
sentence to the Armenian people. The Turks not only knew of what
they were doing, but spoke quite freely of it. Eighty years later,
however, many are still unwilling to recognize the killing for what
it was: genocide.
The U.S. has long been a global leader in promoting human rights
around the world. On the issue of the Armenian genocide, however,
we lag behind. The French, Swiss, Swedish, Germans, and even the
Russian governments recognize the Armenian genocide properly. As a
global leader in human rights, it is imperative for the U.S. to stand
on principle and recognize the annihilation of the Armenians.
However, it is no less important today to recognize the Armenian
genocide for what it is. The deafening silence that came in its
wake set the stage for a century that saw genocides occur in Europe,
Africa, and Asia. While the Armenian genocide was the first of the
20th century, the blind eye cast to the slaughter of Armenians
was a point used by Hitler who asked his joint chiefs of staff,
"Who…speaks today of the annihilation?"
To the critics who say that we should not dwell on history,
I say it’s much harder to get tomorrow right if we get yesterday
wrong. The world’s strength to oppose killing today is made greater
by accountability, for actions present, but also past. It’s weakened
by denial of accountability of past acts. Not recognizing the Armenian
genocide, as such, does just that.
Rep. Ed Royce is a Republican from California. He is the Ranking
Member of the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Terrorism Subcommittee
and is a senior member of the Armenia Caucus," Yerkir reports.