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April 16, 2015 Thursday
Washington: SPEECH OF HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
Washington
The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the following Speech:
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, genocide is the most terrible
crime a people can undergo, or another people can commit. It must
never be forgotten--to forget it would be to dull our consciences and
diminish our own humanity. It must never be denied, but fully
acknowledged--otherwise any meaningful attempt at reconciliation will
be thwarted.
Last weekend I was present as Brookdale College, the Center for
Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Education presented two exhibits
and launched a book on the Armenian genocide. The exhibit A Journey to
Life: Armenia teaches the history of the Armenian Genocide through the
lives of local Armenian Genocide Survivors who settled in Monmouth
County, while Illuminating Images: A Hundred Year Remembrance is an
art exhibit created by middle school, high school and college students
from across the county and beyond. The book released last weekend was
Hundred-Year Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide: Celebrating the
Lives of Armenian Genocide Survivors in Our Community, which features
the personal histories of 54 Survivors who lived in Monmouth County.
Everyone who contributed to these exhibits and this book has performed
a great service to New Jersey--not only to Armenian-Americans, but to
everyone, including those who deny the genocide. They opened paths to
the truth, and therefore to a better future.
In September 2000 I chaired a hearing on the Armenian Genocide and
co-sponsored legislation to finally put the United States on record
officially acknowledging it. It was a four-hour hearing, the first
hearing the House of Representatives ever held on the Armenian
Genocide. The testimony I heard that day, and accounts of the
atrocities I have read in the articles and books over the years have
shocked me deeply. The resolution H. Res. 398--vigorously opposed by
the Clinton Administration--never got a vote.
But just as shocking then is what we still see today: a completely
political and callous campaign to deny the Armenian genocide.
In 1915, there were about 2 million Armenians living in what was then
the Ottoman Empire. They were living in a region that they inhabited
for 2,500 years. By 1923, well over 90 percent of these Armenians had
disappeared. Most of them, as many as 1.5 million, were dead. The
remainder had been forced into exile.
There is no lack of historical record. In fact, we only have to listen
to the words of the US Ambassador to Turkey at the time, Henry
Morgenthau, who called it a ``campaign of race extermination.''
We only have to listen to the British, French, and Russian governments
who said the Young Turks committed a ``crime against humanity,'' the
first time in history that charge was ever made by one state against
another.
And we only have to listen to the government of Turkey itself, which
tried and convicted a number of high-ranking Young Turk officials for
their role in what the Turkish government's indictment called, ``the
massacre and destruction of the Armenians.''
When the term genocide was invented in 1944 to describe the systematic
destruction of an entire people, its author Raphael Lemkin explained
the term by saying it was ``the sort of thing Hitler did to the Jews
and the Turks did to the Armenians.''
The campaign to deny this genocide--often driven by the Turkish
government--is repulsive. It is a slap in the face to Armenians
everywhere. It is this denial that keeps the Armenian genocide a
burning issue and prevents much needed healing of old wounds.
Armenians are unfortunately not alone in suffering the hurt and pain
that stems from the denial of truth. The international community
failed the victims of the Holocaust, China, the Soviet Union, Eastern
Europe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Bosnia, DRC, Darfur, Syria to name a few.
That means that we here in the United States, and that means not only
the Congress but also the President, have the responsibility to speak
truthfully and to speak boldly about the past in order to secure our
future. We must write and speak the truth so that generations to come
will not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Only 20 nations around the world have recognized the Armenian
Genocide. That includes Canada as well as eleven EU countries
including France, Germany Italy, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Greece and Cypress. Conspicuously absent
from the list of nations that have officially recognized the Armenian
Genocide is the United States of America.
When political leaders fail to lead or denounce violence, the void is
not only demoralizing to the victims but silence actually enables the
wrongdoing. Silence by elected officials in particular conveys
approval--or at least acquiescence--and can contribute to a climate of
fear and a sense of vulnerability.
History has taught us that silence is not an option. We must do more.
April 16, 2015 Thursday
Washington: SPEECH OF HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY IN THE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2015
Washington
The Library of Congress, The Government of USA has issued the following Speech:
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, genocide is the most terrible
crime a people can undergo, or another people can commit. It must
never be forgotten--to forget it would be to dull our consciences and
diminish our own humanity. It must never be denied, but fully
acknowledged--otherwise any meaningful attempt at reconciliation will
be thwarted.
Last weekend I was present as Brookdale College, the Center for
Holocaust, Human Rights, and Genocide Education presented two exhibits
and launched a book on the Armenian genocide. The exhibit A Journey to
Life: Armenia teaches the history of the Armenian Genocide through the
lives of local Armenian Genocide Survivors who settled in Monmouth
County, while Illuminating Images: A Hundred Year Remembrance is an
art exhibit created by middle school, high school and college students
from across the county and beyond. The book released last weekend was
Hundred-Year Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide: Celebrating the
Lives of Armenian Genocide Survivors in Our Community, which features
the personal histories of 54 Survivors who lived in Monmouth County.
Everyone who contributed to these exhibits and this book has performed
a great service to New Jersey--not only to Armenian-Americans, but to
everyone, including those who deny the genocide. They opened paths to
the truth, and therefore to a better future.
In September 2000 I chaired a hearing on the Armenian Genocide and
co-sponsored legislation to finally put the United States on record
officially acknowledging it. It was a four-hour hearing, the first
hearing the House of Representatives ever held on the Armenian
Genocide. The testimony I heard that day, and accounts of the
atrocities I have read in the articles and books over the years have
shocked me deeply. The resolution H. Res. 398--vigorously opposed by
the Clinton Administration--never got a vote.
But just as shocking then is what we still see today: a completely
political and callous campaign to deny the Armenian genocide.
In 1915, there were about 2 million Armenians living in what was then
the Ottoman Empire. They were living in a region that they inhabited
for 2,500 years. By 1923, well over 90 percent of these Armenians had
disappeared. Most of them, as many as 1.5 million, were dead. The
remainder had been forced into exile.
There is no lack of historical record. In fact, we only have to listen
to the words of the US Ambassador to Turkey at the time, Henry
Morgenthau, who called it a ``campaign of race extermination.''
We only have to listen to the British, French, and Russian governments
who said the Young Turks committed a ``crime against humanity,'' the
first time in history that charge was ever made by one state against
another.
And we only have to listen to the government of Turkey itself, which
tried and convicted a number of high-ranking Young Turk officials for
their role in what the Turkish government's indictment called, ``the
massacre and destruction of the Armenians.''
When the term genocide was invented in 1944 to describe the systematic
destruction of an entire people, its author Raphael Lemkin explained
the term by saying it was ``the sort of thing Hitler did to the Jews
and the Turks did to the Armenians.''
The campaign to deny this genocide--often driven by the Turkish
government--is repulsive. It is a slap in the face to Armenians
everywhere. It is this denial that keeps the Armenian genocide a
burning issue and prevents much needed healing of old wounds.
Armenians are unfortunately not alone in suffering the hurt and pain
that stems from the denial of truth. The international community
failed the victims of the Holocaust, China, the Soviet Union, Eastern
Europe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Bosnia, DRC, Darfur, Syria to name a few.
That means that we here in the United States, and that means not only
the Congress but also the President, have the responsibility to speak
truthfully and to speak boldly about the past in order to secure our
future. We must write and speak the truth so that generations to come
will not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Only 20 nations around the world have recognized the Armenian
Genocide. That includes Canada as well as eleven EU countries
including France, Germany Italy, Sweden, Belgium, the Netherlands,
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Greece and Cypress. Conspicuously absent
from the list of nations that have officially recognized the Armenian
Genocide is the United States of America.
When political leaders fail to lead or denounce violence, the void is
not only demoralizing to the victims but silence actually enables the
wrongdoing. Silence by elected officials in particular conveys
approval--or at least acquiescence--and can contribute to a climate of
fear and a sense of vulnerability.
History has taught us that silence is not an option. We must do more.