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SENATE FLOOR STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY
US Fed News
May 9, 2011 Monday 6:23 PM EST
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The office of Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued
the following news release:
Mr. President, each year we commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day. April 24th came during our recess this year, and marked
the 96th anniversary of the date in 1915 when Turkish Ottoman
authorities ordered the rounding up and detention of hundreds of
Armenian intellectual leaders, civic leaders, writers, priests,
teachers, and doctors. Many of these leaders would eventually be
executed. What followed between 1915 and 1923 was an organized campaign
of deportation, expropriation, conscription, starvation, and other
atrocities that resulted in the deaths of over 1.5 million Armenians.
Large numbers of Armenians fled their homeland to seek safety
elsewhere, including in Michigan and other communities in the United
States. We remember the tragic events of this period to honor those
who died and to show our respect and solace for those who survived
the suffering inflicted on the Armenian people.
We also remember the Armenian Genocide to remind ourselves of the evil
which mankind is capable of and to reaffirm our collective commitment
to a future in which such mass atrocities will not be repeated. While
the horrific abuses suffered by the Armenians have been described as
the first genocide of the 20th century, they were soon followed by
other genocides and mass atrocities, including the Holocaust, which
Hitler said could be pursued because "Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?" As the tragedies in Rwanda,
Bosnia, Darfur and elsewhere show, when mankind turns a blind eye to
an unfolding massacre, those who would use wholesale violence against
others are emboldened to believe they can act with impunity.
More recently, the international community has come together to
prevent a massacre of civilians from occurring in Libya. The memory
of the tragic consequences of mankind's collective failure to act in
the past has helped to motivate world leaders to commit at the United
Nations to the protection of the Libyan people against the murderous
threats of the Qaddafi regime.
It is also important to remember the events of 1915-1923 with honesty
and integrity for reconciliation and healing to occur. Some have sought
to deny that these events constituted genocide. But the devastating
effects of the Ottoman Turkish regime's systematic engagement in
the killing and deportation of the Armenian community cannot be
denied. The consequences of these acts are with us today among the
Armenian diaspora living and thriving throughout the world and in the
tensions within the Caucasus region. The costs of these violent acts
to the victims and the survivors must not be discounted through denial.
These acts were not committed by the present day Republic of Turkey.
Over the last few years, Armenia and Turkey have engaged in an
important dialogue on normalizing relations. This process has
unfortunately stalled, and should be re-invigorated to remove barriers
and promote reconciliation between the two countries. In addition,
Turkey, as a NATO ally, has played an important role in the enforcement
of the U.N. resolutions regarding Libya and the protection of the
Libyan people from brutal attacks by the Qaddafi regime.
So in honor of the 97th anniversary of Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the prevention of mass atrocities
and the principles of justice and understanding, which are essential
for the promotion of human dignity.
From: A. Papazian
US Fed News
May 9, 2011 Monday 6:23 PM EST
WASHINGTON, May 9 -- The office of Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued
the following news release:
Mr. President, each year we commemorate Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day. April 24th came during our recess this year, and marked
the 96th anniversary of the date in 1915 when Turkish Ottoman
authorities ordered the rounding up and detention of hundreds of
Armenian intellectual leaders, civic leaders, writers, priests,
teachers, and doctors. Many of these leaders would eventually be
executed. What followed between 1915 and 1923 was an organized campaign
of deportation, expropriation, conscription, starvation, and other
atrocities that resulted in the deaths of over 1.5 million Armenians.
Large numbers of Armenians fled their homeland to seek safety
elsewhere, including in Michigan and other communities in the United
States. We remember the tragic events of this period to honor those
who died and to show our respect and solace for those who survived
the suffering inflicted on the Armenian people.
We also remember the Armenian Genocide to remind ourselves of the evil
which mankind is capable of and to reaffirm our collective commitment
to a future in which such mass atrocities will not be repeated. While
the horrific abuses suffered by the Armenians have been described as
the first genocide of the 20th century, they were soon followed by
other genocides and mass atrocities, including the Holocaust, which
Hitler said could be pursued because "Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?" As the tragedies in Rwanda,
Bosnia, Darfur and elsewhere show, when mankind turns a blind eye to
an unfolding massacre, those who would use wholesale violence against
others are emboldened to believe they can act with impunity.
More recently, the international community has come together to
prevent a massacre of civilians from occurring in Libya. The memory
of the tragic consequences of mankind's collective failure to act in
the past has helped to motivate world leaders to commit at the United
Nations to the protection of the Libyan people against the murderous
threats of the Qaddafi regime.
It is also important to remember the events of 1915-1923 with honesty
and integrity for reconciliation and healing to occur. Some have sought
to deny that these events constituted genocide. But the devastating
effects of the Ottoman Turkish regime's systematic engagement in
the killing and deportation of the Armenian community cannot be
denied. The consequences of these acts are with us today among the
Armenian diaspora living and thriving throughout the world and in the
tensions within the Caucasus region. The costs of these violent acts
to the victims and the survivors must not be discounted through denial.
These acts were not committed by the present day Republic of Turkey.
Over the last few years, Armenia and Turkey have engaged in an
important dialogue on normalizing relations. This process has
unfortunately stalled, and should be re-invigorated to remove barriers
and promote reconciliation between the two countries. In addition,
Turkey, as a NATO ally, has played an important role in the enforcement
of the U.N. resolutions regarding Libya and the protection of the
Libyan people from brutal attacks by the Qaddafi regime.
So in honor of the 97th anniversary of Armenian Genocide Remembrance
Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the prevention of mass atrocities
and the principles of justice and understanding, which are essential
for the promotion of human dignity.
From: A. Papazian