Political Quotes

“I rise today with solemn reflection to remember one of the most inhumane episodes of the 20th Century, the Armenian Genocide. From 1915 to 1922, the Ottoman Empire, ruled by Muslim Turks carried out a policy to exterminate its Christian Armenian minority. The genocide started with a series of massacres in 1894-1896, and again in 1909. This was followed by another series of massacres, which began in 1920. By 1922 the Armenians had been eradicated from their historic homeland. There were three prevailing aspects of the Armenian Genocide: the deportations, the massacres, and the concentration camps. The deportations affected the majority of Armenians in the Turkish Empire. From as far north as the Black Sea and as far west as European Turkey, Armenians were forcibly removed and transported to the Syrian Desert. At many of these relocation sites, large-scale massacres were carried out. The few survivors were dispersed across Syria, Iraq, and as far south as Palestine. Winston Churchill once observed that "In 1915 the Turkish Government began and ruthlessly carried out the infamous general massacre and deportation of Armenians in Asia Minor.…”