John Tierney: “today I rise to commemorate one of the most tragic events in the 20th century and that is, of course, the Armenian…”

“today I rise to commemorate one of the most tragic events in the 20th century and that is, of course, the Armenian Genocide of 1915 to 1923. It ranks amongst the most tragic episodes. It was the first but unfortunately not the last of the incidents of ethnic genocide that the world experienced during the last century. More than one and a half million innocent Armenians had their lives ended mercilessly. It is staggering to even contemplate the idea of one and a half million people having their lives ended so arbitrarily, but we must remember the victims of this genocide as they were, not numbers but mothers and fathers and sons and daughters, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins and, of course, friends. Each and every victim had hopes, dreams, and a life that deserved to be lived to the fullest. It is our duty to remember them today and every day. As we stand here today at the beginning of a new century and a new millennium, we should take a moment to speak about the need that that tragic event serves as a constant reminder for us to be on guard against the repression of any people, particularly any oppression based on their race or their religion. Unfortunately, during the genocide, the world turned a blind eye to the horrors that were inflicted. Too often during the last century the world stood silent while whole races and religions were attacked and nearly annihilated. As the saying goes, those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”