S. Res. 150
Floor Speech
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Ms. STABENOW. Mr. President, this week, the United States House of Representatives made history. For the very first time, an overwhelming majority of its members--more than 400--adopted a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide. I rise today to urge my colleagues in the Senate to do the same thing--the right thing--and pass S. Res. 150.
It has now been 104 years since the Armenian people became targets of the most evil and hate-filled campaign of violence that the world had ever seen. From 1915 to 1923, a million and a half Armenian men, women, and children were murdered at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Government. It was so atrocious that no word yet existed to describe what was happening--not until the creation of the word ``genocide,'' the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.
Unfortunately, nobody has ever been held accountable, and the events surrounding the Armenian genocide continue to be denied, but the truth is simple: What happened to the Armenian people was absolutely genocide, and the Armenian community is right to insist that it be described that way.
This is why I have always supported Senate resolutions calling for the recognition of the Armenian genocide and urged my colleagues to join me.
We know that the deeper the wound, the longer it takes to heal, and nothing cuts deeper into the collective consciousness of a people than genocide.
At the same time, we know now that the Ottoman Empire's determination to exterminate the Armenian people was no match for their will to survive, and those who survived embodied the best qualities of the human spirit: hope, resilience, perseverance, and love.
Some survivors made their way to America, and many of them built their new lives in Michigan. They have created thriving communities, built businesses, raised families, founded schools, and contributed their rich culture to the fabric of our State.
The more than 20,000 Armenians who are living in Michigan today have not forgotten what happened--none of us should, for we know that, if we do not recognize the atrocities of the past, we risk blinding ourselves to atrocities in the future.
Recognition of the Armenian genocide is long overdue. A crime like this casts a long shadow, and this shadow can be conquered only by light, the light of truth that comes from fully acknowledging the full scale of the horror that the Armenians endured.
I urge my colleagues to take up and support this resolution.
Thank you.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Source