Armenian National Committee of America
1711 N Street, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Tel. (202) 775-1918
Fax. (202) 775-5648
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Internet
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
May 3, 2009
Contact: Elizabeth S. Chouldjian
Tel: (202) 775-1918
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS URGE PASSAGE OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
RESOLUTION IN FLOOR SPEECHES
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators and Representatives called for
increased vigilance and activism against genocide and genocide
denial in floor statements commemorating the Armenian Genocide,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).
A major themes of their remarks were the need for passage of the
Armenian Genocide resolution (H.Res.252), which currently
has 116 cosponsors, and the goal of ensuring that that the proper
recognition of past genocides be used to prevent future genocides.
Video of Rep. Jim Costa’s floor speech is posted at:
ses.php?prid=1712
Excerpts from the Senate and House floor speeches follow (listed in
alphabetical order).
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA): On this solemn anniversary, we remember
those who were lost in the Armenian genocide, while honoring the
survivors and their descendants who have done so much to make
America and the world a better place. I am personally grateful that
so many of those individuals have chosen to call California home.
We also take pause to acknowledge that such crimes are continuing
today. There is perhaps no more fitting example than the genocide
that is raging in the Darfur region of Sudan. Since 2002, the
Sudanese Government has attempted to exterminate the African Muslim
population of Darfur with horrific acts of brutality. Villages have
been burned to the ground, innocent women and children slaughtered
by helicopter gunships, and rape has been used as a tool of
genocide. What happened to the Armenians is genocide. What is
happening today in Darfur is genocide, even though the Government
of Sudan denies this. Genocide is only possible when people avert
their eyes. Any effort to deal with genocide–in the past, present
or future–must begin with the truth. By acknowledging the truth of
the Armenian genocide, we can end the phony debates and strengthen
our ability to stand up against mass killing today.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI): The Armenian genocide demonstrated the evils
humans are capable of, and unfortunately, it was only the first of
several 20th century tragedies. As we reflect and recall this
tragic time, let us call for our own country to recognize the
Armenian genocide, just as my own State of Rhode Island has done,
along with many other States and governments. Menk panav chenk
mornar–We will never forget.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV): On April 24, 1915, the
Ottoman Empire began a campaign of forced deportation against the
Armenians. Around 2 million Armenian men, women, and children were
driven from their homeland, 1.5 million of whom were killed.
Hundreds of thousands were massacred outright, while others
perished from forced marches, deliberate starvation, and epidemics
that ravaged through concentration camps.
Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN): On April 24, 1915, the then-Ottoman
Empire began the systematic execution of Armenians, an event now
known as the Armenian Genocide. While a large number of Armenians
were killed outright, many others suffered and died of starvation
and diseases which spread through their concentration camps. By
1923, the entire Armenian population previously inhabiting the
landmass of Asia Minor and West Armenia had been
eliminated….Madam Speaker, the United States serves as an example
to the world of what can be achieved when basic human rights are
protected and nurtured. It is in this role that we must recognize
this methodic extermination of over one million Armenians during
World War I.
Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA): From 1915 to 1918, more than a million
Armenians died of starvation or disease on long marches, or were
massacred outright by Turkish forces. From 1918 to 1923, Armenians
continued to suffer at the hands of the Turkish military, which
eventually removed nearly all remaining Armenians from Turkey….
We hope the day will soon come when it is not just the survivors
who honor the dead but also when those whose ancestors perpetrated
the horrors acknowledge their terrible responsibility and
commemorate as well the memory of genocide’s victims.
Rep. Michael Capuano (D-MA): I understand that this topic evokes
painful memories and raises difficult issues of national identity
for persons of both Armenian and Turkish ancestry. Nonetheless, I
believe that we must call genocide by its proper name and
acknowledge it when it has occurred so that we may better learn to
recognize and resist its horrors in the future. That includes
recognizing the policies of the Ottoman Empire during World War I
and its aftermath as genocidal.
Rep. Jim Costa (D-CA_: This year, our Nation has the opportunity to
finally recognize the Armenian Genocide as such in the annual
commemoration from the White House. Year after year, we have seen
the same standard letter from the White House which offers sympathy
and apology for the “mass killings,” yet refused to label these
events as genocide. However, President Obama made promises during
his campaign that he would right this wrong, and recognize the
Armenian Genocide. I am hopeful Madam Speaker, we finally escape
from being under Turkey’s thumb on this issue. It is vital our
Nation has a foreign policy that accurately reflects history. In
closing, Madam Speaker, I will say again, genocide is not something
that can simply be 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. 252 to recognize the
Armenian Genocide in our Nation.
Rep. Jerry Costello (D-IL): Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor
the memory of the victims of the Armenian genocide and ask my
colleagues to support H. Res. 252, a bill to commemorate the
Armenian genocide. Over 94 years ago this week, Ottoman Empire
authorities arrested some 250 Armenian community and political
leaders in Constantinople. This event signaled the beginning of the
deliberate and systematic mass murder of 1.5 million Armenian men,
women, and children.
Rep. Scott Garrett (R-NJ): During World War I, the Turkish
government began an assault on the Armenian people by arresting and
killing religious, political, and intellectual leaders in Istanbul.
Then, groups of Armenian men, women, and children were rounded up
and forced to march through the desert. Along the way, the victims
were tortured, raped, and starved…. Hitler declared “Who, after
all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians ?” I, for
one, am still speaking about the annihilation of Armenians . I am
also speaking about the annihilation of Jews. I encourage my
colleagues to join me in speaking out against genocide.
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY): Today we declare once again 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 an act of
genocide. The tragic events began on April 24, 1915, when 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…. We simply will not allow the 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.
Rep Ed Markey (D-MA): Madam Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 94th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and to call, once again, for
the immediate passage of the Affirmation of the United States
Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution…. While the target of
this genocide was the Armenian people, it was indeed a crime
against all of humanity…. Madam Speaker, I call upon this House
once again to pass H. Res. 252, the Affirmation of the United
States Record on the Armenian Genocide Resolution.
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ): We have stood by for too long as the
Turkish government manipulates the issue of the Armenian Genocide.
We have watched them pay millions of dollars to Turkish lobbyists
to mislead and even threaten members of Congress. We have watched
the Turkish government bring scholars and writers to court for
insulting Turkishness just for writing the words Armenian Genocide.
And two years ago we watched in profound disbelief when Hrant Dink
was assassinated in Istanbul. It is enough. Armenian Genocide
Recognition is not only important for Armenians, it is important
for us as Americans. If we are 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 stand up and recognize the Armenian
Genocide.
Rep. Gary Peters (D-MI): On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire
arrested Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in
Constantinople, marking the beginning of an eight year campaign
against Armenian civilians. By the genocide’s end in 1923, roughly
one and a half million unarmed men, women and children were rounded
up, stripped of all their possessions and means of support, and
sent on death marches or to concentration camps.
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD): We welcome steps today by the
governments of Turkey and Armenia –as the official inheritors of
these fateful policies of the Ottoman government–to normalize
relations and begin working through this history. Indeed,
reconciliation of painful history is an important means of
preventing future tragedies of this scope. We believe this process
will be strengthened if the President–in his annual message
commemorating the April 24, 1915 declaration by Allied Powers–to
accurately characterize the mindless massacre of Armenians as
genocide and to recall the proud record of U.S. opposition to this
persecution.
Rep. Tim Walz (D-MN): I remain committed to the public recognition
of the fact of the Armenian genocide. It is the only way to make
sure we are forever vigilant to prevent genocide in the future. I
have hope, that we can all move forward, not in an exercise in
collective guilt, but in the simple recognition of what happened,
that a genocide was perpetrated upon the Armenian people, and that
such a thing, quite simply, never should have happened and must
never happen again.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA): Madam Speaker, today marks the 94th
Anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide. This
devastating event is a reminder that we cannot allow for such
atrocities to happen again. It is unacceptable to witness thousands
of innocent victims suffer and die without taking any action.
Ninety-four years ago, the Ottoman Turks began their attempts to
exterminate 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. These acts of
intolerance cannot be termed anything but genocide.
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-VA): The Armenian genocide, in which 1.5 million
perished, is widely recognized as the 20th century’s first
genocide. Raphael Lemkin, the Jewish legal scholar who coined the
word genocide and tirelessly advocated for international law
defining it and preventing it, was driven largely by what happened
to the Armenians. Adolph Hitler, in describing his murderous plans
and seeking to silence those with reservations, famously said,
“Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the
Armenians?” There is power in speaking the truth, even about
atrocities that occurred nearly a century ago, so that other men
with evil aims might not be empowered by our silence.
From: Baghdasarian