Political Quotes

“Today marks the 79th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. We commemorate here today the 1 million Armenian men, women, and children whose lives were taken between 1915 and 1923 by forces of the Ottoman empire, and indeed, the hundreds of thousands slaughtered or forced into exile in the years preceding. Untold thousands suffered exhaustion unto death in work camps, walked into oblivion on death marches, suffered rape and degradation, starvation, torture, mutilation and murder. It was, to recall the words of the American Ambassador, Henry Morganthau, a campaign of race extermination conducted under the pretext of reprisal against rebellion. This heinous act brought to a virtual end, the 3,000-year-old heritage of the Armenian people of the region. Today, the survivors can be found across the globe, from the cities and towns of Pennsylvania to Europe, and to the cities of the Middle East, and beyond. More than 130,000 Armenian orphans were taken in by the United States, filled with fear and the memories of horror they never forgot. Mr. President, we have said many times that the world should never forget. However, we have forgotten, and time and time again, the world has witnessed history repeat itself in different places with different peoples, all with the same terrible purpose. The destruction of the Kulaks, Jewish Holocaust, Pol Pot's extermination of millions of Cambodians are but a few that come to mind.”