Howard Berman: “I rise to commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide, a period of tragic oppression and…”

“I rise to commemorate the 83rd anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide, a period of tragic oppression and terrible suffering. On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government began to arrest Armenian community and political leaders. Many were executed without ever being formally charged with crimes. The following month the government deported most Armenians from Turkish Armenia, ordering that they resettle in what is now Syria. Many deportees never reached that destination. 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 all remaining Armenians from Turkey. We mark this anniversary of the start of the Armenian genocide in part because this tragedy for the Armenian people was a tragedy for all people. Genocide is not an ancient act, it is a horror which we must daily renew our commitment to prevent. If we do not remember, we will be condemned to witness such atrocities again and again. We should not be alone in remembering these events. We will know that humanity has progressed 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 honor as well the memory of genocide's victims. Sadly, we cannot say that such atrocities are history.…”