Political Quotes

“each year on April 24 many of us in Congress pause to remember the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide. On that date in 1915, more than 200 Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders were arrested in Constantinople--now Istanbul--and killed, marking the beginning of an organized campaign to eliminate the Armenian presence from the Ottoman Empire. This brutal campaign would result in the massacre of a million and a half Armenian men, women and children. Thousands of Armenians were subjected to torture, deportation, slavery and murder. More than 500,000 were removed from their homes and sent on forced death marches through the deserts of Syria. This dark time is among the saddest chapters in the history of man. But Armenians are strong people and their dream of freedom did not die. More than seventy years after the genocide, the new Republic of Armenia was born as the Soviet Union crumbled. Today, we pay tribute to the courage and strength of a people who would not know defeat. Yet, independence has not meant an end to their struggle. There are still those who question the reality of the Armenian slaughter. There are those who have failed to recognize its very existence. We must not allow the horror of the Armenian genocide to be either diminished or denied. Genocide is the worst of all crimes against humanity.”