Joe Biden vows "never again", hails House's Armenian Genocide vote

PanARMENIAN.Net - Contender for the Democratic Presidential nomination, former vice-President Joe Biden has said he welcomes the House of Representatives' passage of H Res 296, which recognizes and condemns the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23.

The bill was approved with a vote of 405 yeas against 11 nays, three abstentions on Tuesday, October 29.

"By acknowledging this genocide we honor the memory of its victims and vow: never again," Biden tweeted.

Introduced by Rep. Adam Schiff, the resolution states that it is U.S. policy to (1) commemorate the Armenian Genocide, the killing of 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923; (2) reject efforts to associate the U.S. government with efforts to deny the existence of the Armenian Genocide or any genocide; and (3) encourage education and public understanding about the Armenian Genocide.

Mississippi remains as the last U.S. state to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide, the other 49 having already done so.

April 24, 1915 is the day when a group of Armenian intellectuals was rounded up and assassinated in Constantinople by the Ottoman government. On April 24, Armenians worldwide commemorated the 104th anniversary of the Genocide which continued until 1923. Some three dozen countries, hundreds of local government bodies and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.