Political Quotes

“I wish to speak today in tribute to the courage and tenacity of the Armenian people, to recall the horrors they have suffered over the centuries, and to remind us all that we must never let these events be repeated. For generations these courageous people have fought against attempts to destroy their culture and erase their existence. In 1915, the Ottoman Empire began a genocidal campaign against the Armenian people. Armenians were forced from their homes and slaughtered by the millions. Armenian leaders were arrested by the Turks and executed en masse. Survivors of this horror--women, children and the elderly--were forced to march into the Syrian Desert. Approximately 1.5 million people lost their lives during the march, due to torture, starvation, and disease. The surviving Armenians lived under Ottoman Empire repression, until May 28, 1918. On this day, Armenian refugees, with the help of volunteers from abroad, defeated a Turkish attack and gained freedom. Sadly, the Armenian people were once again subjugated when the Soviet Union joined with Ottoman Empire forces to attack and defeat Armenia. The Armenians remained under Soviet domination until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, when the Armenian people voted for independence. The Republic of Armenia was born. The Armenians' hardship, unfortunately, did not end with the designation of their homeland.”