103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday, the world marked the 103rd anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the systematic murder of 1.5 million Armenians and the displacement of millions more in the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923.

In my district in Los Angeles, I joined tens of thousands of descendants of genocide survivors and others to march through the streets, a living testament to the resilience of the Armenian people. Yet, in our Nation's Capital, the White House and Congress were once again sadly silent, failing to properly recognize the genocide.

More than a century after the Armenian Genocide, it is our solemn responsibility to remember those who were lost, to seek justice and restitution, and to educate Americans and the world about the crime of genocide.

A recent poll of Americans found that the details of the Holocaust are increasingly fading from memory, particularly among younger generations. Two-thirds of millennials do not know what Auschwitz is or what happened there, and many others of all ages couldn't answer basic questions about the Holocaust. As someone who lost family members in the Holocaust, I find these results horrifying.

There is no doubt that public understanding of the Armenian Genocide is far lower, and that is due, in part, to the silence of those who should be leading the conversation about it and to Turkey's nefarious campaign of denial.

How many Americans know of Red Sunday, the day in 1915 in which Armenian leaders and intellectuals in Constantinople were rounded up to be sent to camps from which many would never return?

How many know of the concentration camps in Deir ez-Zor, where Armenians were tortured, raped, and starved?

How many Americans know that, in the years after the genocide, through the Near East Relief effort, the generosity of the American people saved the lives of thousands of survivors and helped secure the future of the Armenian people?

And finally, how many Americans know that the Congress and the President have refused to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, intimidated into silence by Turkey?

Turkey has invested heavily in the cause of denial, and to our shame, the U.S. Government has been intimidated into silence. Though Turkey remains a member of NATO, under the autocratic and repressive rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey has become the leading jailer of journalists in the world and discussion of the genocide can bring criminal punishment.

U.S. citizens have also been the victims of Erdogan's crackdown on free expression. Last year, Erdogan's security detail brutally assaulted peaceful protesters in Washington, D.C. Charges against 11 of the 15 Turkish nationals charged have been dropped, and there is little indication that Turkey will pay any diplomatic price for this attack.

In northern Syria, where the United States has worked closely with partners to devastate ISIS, Turkey has chosen to place its paramount focus on fighting the Kurds, even launching a military offensive into Syria that threatens our own soldiers and those of our allies. Erdogan has even gone so far as to threaten the United States with an ``Ottoman slap.''

These are not the actions of an ally. They are the actions of a nation that feels emboldened to act with indifference to the United States. And who can blame them? For over a quarter century, Presidents and Congresses of both parties have been bullied into genocide denial for fear Turkey will withdraw their already transactional and fleeting cooperation.

It has never been in our national security interest to be complicit in another country's denial of human rights, let alone denial of genocide. It is time for America to speak plainly about the Armenian Genocide and the violation of human rights anywhere in the world.

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