Political Quotes

“This week marks the 79th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Between the years 1915 and 1923, over 1.5 million Armenians were killed by the Ottoman Turkish Empire, marking the first genocide of the 20th century. We call attention to this tragic event today to recognize not only its historical significance, but also its implication for current U.S. foreign policy toward Turkey. To this day, the Republic of Turkey has pursued a sophisticated campaign to deny the Armenian Genocide despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. The evidence speaks for itself. By the beginning of World War I, there were more than 2.5 million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire; today, fewer than 80,000 declared Armenians remain in Turkey. Turkey's refusal to admit its pattern of persecution against the Armenian people in the first half of this century has contributed to the current instability in the region. The valuable role Turkey could play in helping to resolve the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict has been thwarted by their efforts to rewrite the history of the Armenian Genocide. I sincerely hope that this Congress and the Administration will be mindful of Turkey's refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide when the foreign aid bill is debated this year. The least our government should expect from an ally that receives hundreds of millions of dollars each year in U.S. aid is a formal recognition of the Armenian Genocide.”