Barbara Boxer: “today I wish to recognize the 101st anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Empire…”

“today I wish to recognize the 101st anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Empire executed a deliberate massacre of more than 1.5 million Armenians. Over the course of 8 years, Armenians were marched to their deaths in the deserts of the Middle East, murdered in concentration camps, drowned at sea, and forced to endure unimaginable acts of brutality. These barbaric acts were systematic, methodical, and intentional. More than 100 years have passed since the start of that horrific massacre, which an overwhelming number of academics and institutions have recognized as genocide, and there are countless testimonies from victims who lived to tell of their harrowing experiences. Pope Francis called the massacre against the Armenians ``the first genocide of the 20th century,'' declaring that ``concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.'' However, despite an irrefutable body of evidence, the U.S. Government has refused to call the deliberate massacre of the Armenians by its rightful name: genocide. For years, I have urged both Democratic and Republican administrations to acknowledge the truth of the Armenian genocide. Today I reiterate my call, and I hope that, this year, the United States will finally correct this century-old injustice.…”