ICYMI: Rep. Schiff Speaks at Armenian Genocide Commemoration on Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C.— On Wednesday, Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) spoke at the Armenian Genocide Commemoration on Capitol Hill to mark the nearly 109 years since the Ottoman Empire began their concerted, and systematic effort to destroy the Armenian people.
Schiff’s 30th Congressional District, which includes the cities of Burbank and Glendale, is home to the largest Armenian diaspora community in the country. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Armenian Caucus. In 2019, the U.S. House passed Schiff’s resolution officially recognizing the Armenian Genocide with broad bipartisan support.
See key excerpts of his remarks below:
On the Facts and Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
This month, 109 years ago, Armenians from all walks of life were rounded up and brutally murdered. Writers, artists, business owners. Clergy were tortured and burned alive in churches, infants stolen from their parents’ arms.
Over a million men, women, and children. About a million and a half indeed. Entire families wiped out in the most brutal, heartbreaking of ways. All of you here likely to have someone in your family tree who suffered under the tragedy of this genocide.
And yet, despite overwhelming and increasing, ever increasing evidence of this methodical mass killing, Turkey has engaged in a long and dangerous campaign to deny the genocide and to silence anyone who seeks to speak truth.
Because of the district I represent, I've had the honor to sit with survivors. I've been welcomed into their homes. I've listened to their stories of how their parents and aunts and uncles and grandparents were murdered. How their property and the lives their families built were destroyed. I’ve watched them relive the pain over and over, reopening the wound to keep their family's history alive.
And while we are gathered this month to commemorate these atrocities, there was a time when Washington refused to recognize these methodical killings for what they were — genocide. The first of the 20th century.
Over many, many years, we've worked tirelessly to convince our colleagues in Congress, presidents of both parties and the American people, the importance of formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide.
And I'm so proud that in 2019, I had the honor of carrying the resolution that officially recognized the Armenian Genocide and passed by a near unanimous and bipartisan vote.
In 2021, President Biden became the first president in office to set aside decades of shameful silence and recognized the Armenian Genocide. These historic achievements took place because of a resilient and enduring Armenian diaspora and decades of work. It is a testament to thousands of activists, organizations, communities, and faith leaders. A victory for human rights and for the truth itself.
On the Duty to Protect Armenians
Abroad and to this day, President Aliyev of Azerbaijan continues to echo the genocidal language and actions of a century ago, and with the support of Turkey. They attacked Artsakh in 2020, they blockaded Nagorno Karabakh for nearly ten months starting in December 2022 and then in 2023, the Aliyev regime took control of the people they had systematically starved and ethnically cleansed — Artsakh’s indigenous Armenian population.
So, as we mark the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with pledges of ‘never again’, the democratic and peaceful Armenian people face threats that echo their darkest days.
The time for strong statements by the administration alone have long passed. Condemnation must be followed by real consequences. Crimes against humanity cannot be ignored and cannot go unanswered.
On the Resiliency of the Armenian People
On this solemn anniversary as we pause to remember the innocent victims of the Armenian Genocide, we also reflect on the resilience of those who survived, and the perseverance of their children and grandchildren, who built lives in the United States and around the world, who speak their beautiful Armenian language, and enrich every nation with the Armenian culture and heritage.
Despite the horrors the Armenian people have faced – and continue to face – it has not broken their faith, determination, or their will to survive. The Armenian people have overcome the harshest of trials and they remain strong and unbowed. In Southern California, in Yerevan and around the world.
And I'm proud to be before you, and to say that I will always stand with the Armenian community.
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