John Sarbanes: “I rise to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century. One and a…”

“I rise to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the Armenian genocide, the first genocide of the 20th century. One and a half million men, women, and children lost their lives as a result of the violent massacres and extensive deportation carried out by the Ottoman Turkish rulers against their Armenian citizens. 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. Nine decades have passed since the terrible blows that befell the Armenian people in 1915. On April 24 of that year, more than 250 Armenian intellectuals and civic leaders in Constantinople were rounded up and killed, in what was the first step in a systematic plan to exterminate the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire. After the round-up, 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. Finally, the remaining Armenian population, women, children, and the elderly, were driven from their homes and deported to the Syrian Desert. In reality, ``deportation'' was merely a euphemism for 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.…”