Political Quotes

“I rise today to draw attention to the 79th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, which is being commemorated today. It is important to recall and recount the tragedy that befell the Armenians 79 years ago, not only to keep alive the memory of the past but also to make sure that it can never happen again in the future. Mr. President, in the early part of World War I, the Ottoman Turkish Army began a prolonged campaign to separate Armenian troops from the rest of its forces, fearing them disloyal. The turning point came on April 24, 1915, when Turkish leaders arrested 200 Armenian religious, political, and intellectual leaders in Constantinople. Many of them were executed. On May 27, 1915, the Armenian Genocide was officially launched with the edict of deportation. This edict legalized the murder of Armenian men and set in place a policy of forced death marches in the Syrian desert for Armenian women, children, and elderly. During the next 7 years appropriately 1.5 million Armenians were killed as a result of this policy of genocide. Mr. President, our history is riddled with examples when we have closed our eyes to the murder of an entire people, with predictable and horrible results. The Armenian Genocide is one such example, and in commemorating it today we remind ourselves that we must never let such a tragedy happen again.”