Congressman applauds imminent House vote on Armenian Genocide

October 25, 2019 - 10:48 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) released a statement regarding the announcement that a resolution affirming the United States record on the Armenian Genocide, has been scheduled for a floor vote next week.

“Next week, the House will vote on H.Res. 296, the Armenian Genocide Resolution. This is a moment that has been years in the making, and I’m grateful for the tireless advocacy of so many who insisted that the United States must never be a party to genocide denial. In my years of advocacy for recognition, I have met countless survivors, and though their numbers have dwindled with the passage of time, their children and grandchildren carry forward their legacy. As we move towards a vote, their faces are seared into my memory, as are their stories of escaping the killing fields, surviving the death marches, and striving to build a new life as Americans, with tens of thousands who settled in Los Angeles," the lawmaker said on Thursday, October 25.

“Recent weeks have brought images of families and children fleeing their homes in terror, headed to nowhere except away from the bombs and mortars. These images make the memory of one hundred years ago feel like yesterday. Denial of genocide causes pain to the survivors, yes, but it also gives succor to human rights abusers of today, who can rest easily that the passage of time and the accumulation of power will wipe clean their reputation. As Hitler said at the outset of the Holocaust, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians.”

“We will never forget, not the Armenians, not the Jews, not the Kurds. And we will act with the same urgency to recognize the genocides of the last century as we do to halt the atrocities of today. I hope all Members will join me in support of H.Res. 296 next week.”

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.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.