John Sarbanes: “I rise to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, in which 1 million men, women, and children lost…”

“I rise to commemorate the 88th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, in which 1 million men, women, and children lost their lives as a result of the brutal massacres and wholesale deportation conducted by the Ottoman Turkish rulers against their Armenian citizens. This was the first genocide of the 20th century. Today, as we remember the bravery and sacrifice of the Armenian people in the face of great suffering, we renew our commitment to protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of all humanity. As time passes, we must not forget the terrible blows that befell the Armenians in 1915. On April 24 of that year, more than 250 Armenian intellectuals and civil leaders in Constantinople were rounded up and killed, in what was the first stage of a methodical plan to exterminate the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. Next, Armenian soldiers serving in the Ottoman army were segregated into labor battalions and brutally murdered. In towns and villages across Anatolia, Armenian leaders were arrested and killed. And then the remaining Armenian population, women, children, and the elderly, were driven from their homes and deported to the Syrian desert. "Deportation" was merely a euphemism for what were, in reality, death marches. Ottoman Turkish soldiers allowed brigands and released convicts to kill and rape the deportees at will; often the soldiers themselves participated in the attacks.”