Speech #990139970

I would like to express my pleasure that this resolution has been again brought before us and that we will have the opportunity to recognize a tragedy that spanned a number of years and decimated the Armenian population in the Ottoman Empire while leaving innumerable scars on the survivors of this tragedy. Last June. we observed the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the tragic genocide that lasted until 1923 and caused the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians and the exile of 500.000. The Armenian people were not only deported and robbed of their lands and possessions but they were also subjected to coldblooded massacres and atrocities and brutal extermination. Countless survivors witnessed the atrocities perpetrated upon their families. relatives. and friends. the survivors still carry with them the memory and the scars of this tragedy. Many of these survivors later emigrated to our country where they have demonstrated a determination to contribute to our socie. ty to the fullest extent possible. The most glaring aspect of this entire tragedy is the fact that the Turkish Government still continues to deny that this genocide ever occurred and explains the deaths of 1.5 million Armenians as having resulted from years of civil strife in the region. This denial of history which has been document. ed by survivors. eyewitnesses. correspond-