WASHINGTON, DC – In a letter to President Bush today, Rep. Adam Schiff called on the president to properly recognize the atrocities committed against the Armenian people by using the term “Genocide” in his annual statement commemorating the events of 1915. Schiff was joined by Reps. Pallone, Knollenberg, Radanovich, and more than 165 members of the bipartisan Armenian Caucus.
Each year, President Bush issues a statement commemorating the events of April 24, 1915, which set the stage for the systematic killing of 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children by the Ottoman Empire. Regrettably, the president has never used the word “Genocide” in describing these events.
“By properly recognizing the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as ‘genocide’ in your statement, you will honor the many Americans who helped launch our first international human rights campaign to end the carnage and protect the survivors,” urged the Members of Congress who signed the letter. “Now more than ever as your administration seeks to bring an end to global terrorism and to help establish democracies in Afghanistan and Iraq, the memory of the genocide underscores our responsibility to help convey our cherished tradition of respect for fundamental human rights and opposition to mass slaughters. The victims of the Genocide deserve our remembrance and their rightful place in history. It is in the best interests of our nation and the entire global community to remember the past and learn from these crimes against humanity to ensure that they are never repeated.”
“It was heartening that so many members of Congress joined this effort,” said Congressman Schiff, who has introduced legislation with Rep. Radanovich that would officially recognize the Genocide. “It is indicative of the overwhelming sentiment in Congress that Turkey’s efforts to deny the Genocide must end.”
Even though modern-day Turkey was established in 1923 out of the ashes of the Ottoman Empire and was not the actual perpetrator of genocide, it spends millions of dollars each year to fight recognition of the Genocide.
Schiff is hopeful that the administration will use the appropriate phrase “Genocide” in this year’s statement. “The time is now. Euphemisms, vague terminology or calls for more discussions are just some of the dodges used to avoid Turkish discomfort with its Ottoman past,” he said. “There is nothing to discuss, there is nothing to discover, there is nothing to be gained by denial – but there is much to be lost. Let us not minimize the deliberate murder of 1.5 million Armenians. Let us not equivocate. Let us not temporize. Let us instead pay homage to the memory of those innocent victims and honor the courage of the survivors. Let us call genocide, genocide."
Rep. Schiff is the co-founder of the Democratic Study Group on National Security and a member of both the House Judiciary and International Relations Committees. He represents the communities of California’s 29th Congressional District, including Alhambra, Altadena, Burbank, East Pasadena, East San Gabriel, Glendale, Monterey Park, Pasadena, San Gabriel, South Pasadena and Temple City.