Armenian Genocide

Floor Speech

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 101st anniversary of the Armenian genocide and honor the lives of 1.5 million Armenians who were killed between 1915 and 1923 by the Ottoman Empire. The Republic of Turkey, sadly, continues to try to silence the voices of the survivors and their descendants around the world, but we will never forget nor will we be intimidated into silence.

Several years ago I told the foreign minister of Turkey, who is now the President, that Turkey must recognize the genocide and put this chapter of history to rest. It is extremely frustrating that Turkey continues to ignore what really happened, but in addition to that, it is very disappointing and unacceptable that President Obama failed once again to call the murder of 1.5 million Armenians a genocide--because that is what it was.

Recognizing the Armenian genocide is not something to be debated. The Europe Parliament has gone on record of recognizing the genocide, and last year Pope Francis spoke of the tragedy that took place, the Armenian genocide. Scholars and historians acknowledge that the systematic killings and deportations that took place constituted a genocide.

I, however, simply do not have to rely on the word of historians. Growing up in the San Joaquin Valley in the Fresno area, I heard stories from my friends and neighbors, the Kezerians, the Abrahamians, and the Koligians, whose families experienced the horrors at the hands of the Ottoman Empire.

As we reflect on this day, it is equally fitting to honor the hundreds of thousands of Armenian men and women who bravely began new lives in the United States after witnessing unspeakable tragedies to their families and in their villages. Survivors and their descendants, many of whom settled in California, have become bright examples of what it means to live the American Dream in their own diaspora.

I would like to use this opportunity to tell you of an experience last Friday in Fresno. I had the distinct honor of participating in a wreath-laying event with leaders of the Armenian community and the Armenian National Committee of America, its national chairman, Raffi Hamparian.

I want to take this opportunity to honor someone who brought a sense of justice to those who perished during that time. We want to recognize a true Armenian hero, Soghomon Tehlirian. As a part of Operation Nemesis, planned by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Soghomon Tehlirian assassinated Talaat Pasha, who was the last prime minister of the Ottoman Empire and the orchestrator of the Armenian genocide.

This was an act of justice served on behalf of the Armenian people. Tehlirian was acquitted of the charges by a jury in Germany in the 1920s and later moved to Serbia, and then to San Francisco, California. He died in 1960 and is buried at the Ararat Massis Armenian Cemetery in Fresno, California, which then was the only Armenian cemetery in the country.

I hope my colleagues will join me and the Armenians throughout the Nation and throughout the world in honoring Mr. Tehlirian and to also pay tribute to the 1.5 million lives lost in the genocide--the first genocide in the 20th century--as well as their descendants who live today, for we must never ever forget the history. As Santayana once said: Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. Denim Day

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Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, on a separate matter, I rise today to recognize Denim Day, which is observed in April throughout the world as being Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

My staff today is wearing denim, joining other organizations throughout the district and throughout the Nation to raise the awareness about sexual violence prevention.

I would like to commend the Valley Crisis Center in Merced, the Madera Community Action Partnership, and the Marjaree Mason Center in Fresno, and the San Joaquin Valley organizations for all that they do to support and serve the victims of sexual assault.

Today, on Denim Day, and every day we stand with the victims and survivors, their families, and their friends to make everyone aware and to prevent the spread of sexual violence.

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