Political Quotes

“I rise today to join in the observation of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide during the Ottoman Empire. I commend my colleagues Representatives Porter and Pallone for calling this special order to draw Congress' attention to the tragic slaughter of the Armenian people. In addition to participating in this special order, I am proud to have joined Representatives Bonior and Blute in cosponsoring House Concurrent Resolution 47, which honors the memory of the 1.5 million Armenians who perished earlier this century. I have also joined a number of my congressional colleagues in writing President Clinton urging that he, too, issue a strong statement of remembrance and recognition of the Armenian genocide as a crime against humanity. On April 24, 1915, despots of the Ottoman Empire began a systematic campaign of terror, brutality and murder against the Armenian people. This campaign was the first genocide of the 20th century. By the end of the campaign of terror in 1923, 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children had been massacred and more than 500,000 had been deported from their homeland of 3,000 years. These actions were a clear case of genocide. The genocide was horrific, it is well-documented and it must not be forgotten.”