Political Quotes

“Today we reflect on one of the worst crimes against humanity committed in our century: the Turkish massacre of 1/2 million Armenians beginning in 1915. Nationalism based on notions of ethnic purity is not something most Americans identify with or accept. So it is fitting that many of the descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide found homes in the United States. Armenians are a great and talented people. Their achievements are disproportionate to their numbers. I have myself seen, during a visit to Armenia last year, the fortitude of Armenians in coping with post-Soviet economic dislocations, blockades by Turkey and Azerbaijan, and the war over Nagorono-Karabakh. History and geography have been unkind to the Armenians and I understand and join in the sentiments of Armenians, like all victims of ethnic cleansing: "never again." That feeling is, I am sure, in the hearts of the refugees and inhabitants trapped in Gorazde, subjected to bombardment from Serbian tanks, artillery, mortars, and machineguns in a town which the world community has declared to be a "safe area." The hysteria and cruelty which led to the Armenian massacres is still with us and, wherever it occurs, Americans and their Government should decisively reject it--not wring their hands and try to look the other way. Armenians deserve a homeland which is as prosperous as the people are industrious and talented, and which is as secure as the Armenian past was difficult.”