Frank Pallone Jr.: “I rise this evening to join with my colleagues to pay tribute to the one and a half million Armenians who were murdered…”

“I rise this evening to join with my colleagues to pay tribute to the one and a half million Armenians who were murdered during the genocide organized and perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish Empire. I have taken part in this Special Order, which we hold every April, since my first year in the House, and I am confident that this annual rite of remembrance will continue for as long as people of conscience are elected to serve in this House. In particular, we will feel compelled to raise our voices as loud and strong as possible until such time as the Government of Turkey finally ends its disgraceful policy of denying that this genocide ever took place. Indeed, it is the obstinate policy of the Turkish Government, in large part, that motivates us to keep alive the memory of one of history's darkest chapters. Let me say to all enemies of the truth, to all those who wish to rewrite the past: your efforts will not succeed, cannot succeed. Crimes against humanity may, at times, go unpunished. But as long as there is any sense of decency and a belief in the truth, these crimes will never be forgotten.”