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On Genocide Anniversary, it is Time
for Congress to Act
By Rep. Ed Royce
It is far past time when the United States Congress should
go on record officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
As a State Senator, with the help of Governor George
Deukmejian, I authored the first resolution recognizing the
Armenian Genocide, which passed the California Legislature.
In Congress, George Radanovich, Jim Rogan, and myself, along
with bipartisan support, were able to successfully pass the
first Armenian Genocide Resolution through the Foreign
Affairs Committee. Later, Adam Schiff, with the support of
myself and others, was able to do the same. But, regardless
of whether the President was Bill Clinton or George Bush,
and whether the Speaker was Dennis Hastert or Nancy Pelosi,
the impact of the government of Turkey’s protests has had
the same effect. The Genocide Resolution, which we have
passed through the Foreign Affairs Committee, has
consistently been checkmated by the government of Turkey.
The reason the government of Turkey can’t be allowed to halt
passage of this resolution is because of the gravity of the
subject of genocide.
On April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Empire set out on a campaign
to exterminate the Armenian people. Between 1915 and 1923,
the numbers were horrific. One and a half million Armenians
were murdered and 500,000 deported from their homelands. At
the end of these eight years, the Armenian population of
Anatolia and Western Armenia was virtually eliminated,
becoming one of the 20th century’s darkest chapters.
While acknowledging the role played by the Ottoman Empire in
killing the Armenians, some have laid doubt to the claim of
genocide, citing the subsequent deportation of the survivors
as merely a movement of a people from one land to another.
Henry Morgenthau, the U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire
from 1913-16, saw it much differently. In his memoirs,
Morgenthau recalls that the Turks, “never had the slightest
idea of reestablishing the Armenians in [a] new country”
knowing that “the great majority of those would...either die
of thirst and starvation, or be murdered by the wild
Mohammedan desert tribes.”
I recall Morgenthau’s words here because he saw first-hand
the atrocities wrought on the Armenians, and he had been
told by Turks that they understood quite well that they had
handed down a death sentence to the Armenian people. The
Turks not only knew of what they were doing, but spoke quite
freely of it. Eighty years later, however, many are still
unwilling to recognize the killing for what it was:
genocide.
The U.S. has long been a global leader in promoting human
rights around the world. On the issue of the Armenian
Genocide, however, we lag behind. The French, Swiss,
Swedish, German, and even the Russian governments recognize
the Armenian Genocide properly. As a global leader in human
rights, it is imperative for the U.S. to stand on principle
and recognize the annihilation of the Armenians.
However, it is no less important today to recognize the
Armenian Genocide for what it is. The deafening silence that
came in its wake set the stage for a century that saw
genocides occur in Europe, Africa, and Asia. While the
Armenian Genocide was the first of the 20th century, the
blind eye cast to the slaughter of Armenians was a point
used by Hitler who asked his joint chiefs of staff,
“Who…speaks today of [their] annihilation?”
To the critics who say that we should not dwell on history,
I say it’s much harder to get tomorrow right if we get
yesterday wrong. The world’s strength to oppose killing
today is made greater by accountability, for actions
present, but also past. It’s weakened by denial of
accountability of past acts. Not recognizing the Armenian
Genocide, as such, does just that.
Rep. Ed Royce is a Republican from California. He is the
ranking member of the Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and
Terrorism Subcommittee and is a senior member of the Armenia
Caucus.
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