89th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
89TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today with my colleagues, my fellow Rhode Islanders, and our Armenian American community to observe the 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
At this time, it is fitting that we reflect on this tragic event in order to ensure that future generations remember and learn from the pain and suffering of those who came before us.
The Armenian Genocide was a demonstration of evil. From its genesis on April 24, 1915, through the end of 1923, nearly one and a half million Armenians were killed and over a half a million survivors exiled.
All the while, the United States Government, too busy trying to defeat the Austro-German alliance and attempting to stay out of a war in Europe, ignored these atrocities. The United States Ambassador to Turkey, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., attempted to bring the tragic string of events to a climax, pleading with both President Wilson and Secretary of State Robert Lansing to get involved. Former President Theodore Roosevelt, frustrated by a lack of response from his own government, petitioned President Wilson on 24 November 1915, saying "Until we put honor and duty first, and are willing to risk something in order to achieve righteousness both for ourselves and for others, we shall accomplish nothing; and we shall earn and deserve the contempt of the strong nations of mankind."
Unfortunately, the Armenian genocide was only the first of several 20th century tragedies-the Nazi extermination of the Jews and others during the Second World War; Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's slaughter of nearly two million Cambodians in the mid-1970s; the Hutu massacre of the Tutsis in Rwanda in the summer of 1993; and, at the same time, the Serbian annihilation of Bosnian Muslims in Bosnia from 1993 to 1995.
Thus, as we reflect on this atrocity, let us call for our own country to recognize the Armenian Genocide, just as my own State of Rhode Island has done, and as the parliaments of Belgium, Canada, Cypress, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Russia, and Sweden have done over the past 6 years. Let us also pledge never to ignore atrocities by those who claim the legitimacy of government. We must never ignore and we will never forget.