In Recognition of the 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

Floor Speech

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Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to join with Armenians throughout the United States, Armenia, and the world in commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. This past week, members and friends of the Armenian community gathered to remember April 24, 1915, when the arrest and murder of 200 Armenian politicians, academics, and community leaders in Constantinople marked the beginning of an eight-year campaign of extermination against the Armenian people by the Ottoman Empire.

Between 1915 and 1923, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were killed and over 500,000 more were exiled to the desert to die of thirst or starvation. The Armenian genocide was the first mass murder of the 20th century, a century that was sadly to be marked by many similar attempts at racial or ethnic extermination, from the Holocaust to the Rwandan genocide to Darfur, Sudan.

As we solemnly remember the victims of this tragedy, let us also celebrate the extraordinary strength and spirit of the Armenian people, who have fought successfully to preserve their culture and identity for over a thousand years. They overcame the horrors of genocide, two world wars, and decades of Soviet dominance in order to establish modern Armenia. In addition, the vibrant Armenian diaspora continues to thrive and around the world.

It is only by acknowledging and learning from the past that we can build a future free of racial, ethnic, and religious hate and violence. By remembering the Armenian genocide and speaking out against all such atrocities, we can live up to the promise made to all those who suffered of ``never again.''

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