Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I want to join my friends in the Armenian community in solemnly observing the 105th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. While we could not commemorate the Armenian Genocide in Rhode Island as we normally would due to the pandemic, I know we are united in our belief in the bright future and resilience of the Armenian people. More than a century ago, one of the worst tragedies of the 20th century began when the Young Turk leaders of the Ottoman Empire executed more than 200 prominent Armenians. What followed was an 8-year campaign of massacre and oppression. By 1923, an estimated one and a half million Armenians were killed and over a half a million survivors were exiled. These atrocities affected the lives of every Armenian living in Asia Minor and across the globe. The U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire during this dark time, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., unsuccessfully pleaded with President Wilson to take action and later remembered the events of the Genocide, saying, ``I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915.'' Those who survived the Armenian Genocide, however, persevered due to their unbreakable spirit. Survivors of the Armenian Genocide contributed greatly to the lands in which they established new homes and communities, including the United States.…”