John Parker Sweeney: “I would like to commend those who join me tonight in educating the world about the Armenian Genocide. I think I bring…”

“I would like to commend those who join me tonight in educating the world about the Armenian Genocide. I think I bring some special province to this occasion in that I am the grandson of Oscar Chaderjain, a first-generation Armenian American, and the son of Mary Chaderjain. So therefore, this is an issue that is near and dear to my heart. Mr. Speaker, for those who question whether the genocide ever occurred in the first instance, I must say that I have no doubt that it did. My grandfather was a first-hand witness to the bloodshed. He often told us of his experience of holding his uncle's arms, with his cousin, as Turkish soldiers executed that grammar school teacher. He also told us that the world first took notice of the genocide on April 24, 1915, when 254 Armenian intellectuals were arrested by Turkish authorities in Istanbul and taken to the distant provinces of Ayash and Chankiri, where many of them were later massacred. Throughout the genocide, Turkish authorities ordered the evacuation of Armenians out of villages in Turkish Armenia and Asia Minor. As they were evacuated, the men were often shot immediately. Prisoners were starved, beaten, and murdered by unmerciful guards. This was not the case for everyone, though. Not everyone was sent to concentration camps. For example, in Trebizond, many innocent people were put on ships and then thrown overboard into the Black Sea.”