Thomas Manton: “I thank Mr. Lehman for reserving this special order to commemorate the tragic events that occurred in the Ottoman Empire…”

“I thank Mr. Lehman for reserving this special order to commemorate the tragic events that occurred in the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923. In 5 days, we will mark the 79th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. I am honored to join my colleagues today to remember and pay tribute to the 1.5 million victims of the genocide and their survivors. Mr. Speaker, on April, 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turkish Government launched a systematic and deliberate campaign of genocide. This violent campaign resulted in the deaths of over one-third of the Armenian population living in the Ottoman Empire and the exile of approximately 500,000 Armenians from the Empire. While most of us here today are familiar with the disturbing events of 1915-1923, there are those who deny the genocide ever took place. Today, we must remember. Mr. Speaker, we must remember the Armenian leadership in Istanbul and other Armenian centers who were executed. We must remember the Armenian males in the Ottoman Turkish Army who were segregated, disarmed, and worked to death or massacred. We must remember the women, children and elderly who were forced to march for weeks through the Syrian desert and subjected to rape, torture, and mutilation along the way. We must remember the more than 200 religious, political, and intellectual Armenian leaders who were systematically exiled and murdered. Finally, we must remember the mass deportations and deaths of thousands of Armenians.”