Political Quotes

“this Sunday, April 24, marks the 79th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Each year, Members from both the House and the Senate pause to honor the memory of the 1 rac{1}{2} ext{ million Armenians massacred by the Turkish Ottoman Empire. The Armenian community in the United States is largely descended from those who escaped death but were forcibly exiled from their historic lands and found home on our shores. Here in the United States, Armenian-Americans found security and opportunity, and have contributed to every aspect of life. On the evening of April 24, 1915, more than 200 Armenian religious, political, and intellectual leaders of the Armenian community in Istanbul were arrested, exiled from the capital city and executed. In a single nights sweep the voice of the representatives of the Armenian nation in Turkey was silenced. This tragic event was only the beginning of an unfolding, systematic policy of deportation and extermination being implemented by the young Turk Government. Consequently, the 24th of April represents for Armenia the symbolic beginning of the Armenian genocide. In the following years from 1915-1923, 1 rac{1}{2} ext{ million men, women and children were murdered in an attempted genocide of the Armenian people by the Government of the Ottoman Empire. This ethnic cleansing by the Ottoman Empire was indeed a tragic loss which resulted in the death of two of every three Armenians living in their homeland.”