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Washington, D.C. --- U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ,) co-chairman of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues, made the following statement today at a press conference announcing the introduction of the Armenian Genocide Resolution, which calls on the President and the U.S. Government to properly recognize the atrocities committed against the Armenian people beginning in 1915 as genocide. He was joined today by the other lead sponsors of the legislation, U.S. Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA), George Radanovich (R-CA) and Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) and two genocide survivors, Sirarpi Khoyan and Rose Baboian.
"Thank you all for coming. I want to especially thank my colleagues, Representatives Knollenberg, Schiff, and Radanovich for their collaboration. Together, we have worked tirelessly to help to ensure the Armenian Genocide's legacy and properly honor its victims and survivors. Ninety years is too long to wait for justice to be served and proper recognition to be made.
"Today we are privileged to have two genocide survivors in attendance: Mrs. Sirarpi Khoyan and Mrs. Rose Baboian. Ladies, thank you for being with us.
"Moments ago, my colleagues and I introduced a Resolution urging the President to properly affirm the Armenian Genocide. Tomorrow, we will add the names of more than 150 members of the House of Representatives as cosponsors. This same Resolution passed in Committee last Congress by an overwhelming majority. It is long past time for this House to go on record recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
"President Bush and the State Department need to stop playing politics with this tragic time in history and take a firm stance for the truth. Genocide must not be tolerated. April 24th, 1915 marked the beginning of the systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire. Over the following eight years, one and a half million Armenians were tortured and murdered, and more than half a million were forced from their homeland into exile. As it was the first Genocide of the 20th Century, it is crucial that we remember this atrocity and collectively demand reaffirmation of this crime against humanity.
"Instead, the Bush administration continues to be influenced by the government of Turkey by placing parts of our foreign policy in their hands. When it comes to facing the judgment of history about the Armenian Genocide, Turkey, rather than acknowledge truth, has instead chosen to trample on the rights of its citizens to maintain its lies.
"We cannot continue to submit to Turkey’s shameless threats and intimidation. We must stand up to the Turkish Embassy and its paid lobbyists here in Washington. The United States owes it to the Armenian-American community, to the 1.5 million that were massacred in the Genocide and to its own history, to reaffirm what is fact.
"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 stand up and recognize the tragic events that began in 1915 for what they were, the systematic elimination of a people.
"Avoidance of the word genocide is equally as deplorable as denial. It takes humanity to overcome the ignorance that spurs the evil crimes of Genocide. By recognizing these actions for what they were -- genocide -- we can prevent such atrocities from occurring again." |
