COMMEMORATION OF ARMENIAN MARTYRS' DAY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP87B00858R000400580031-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 6
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 2, 2011
• Sequence Number: 31
• Publication Date: April 22, 1986
• Content Type: OPEN SOURCE

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S 4628 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE
other country who were in transit, or, as a
courtesy, to the highest officials of a foreign
government, which Captain Boerenveen
does not appear to be.
The surprise appearance of a new country.
Surinam, on the list of South American
drug connections reminds us once again of
how difficult it is to staunch the flow of
drugs into the United States. If the authori-
ties crack down in one producing area, like
Colombia, production picks up elsewhere. If
a transiting network in the Bahamas is un-
earthed, another pops up in Surinam.
This is not at all to argue for the futility
of our efforts against the flow of illegal
drugs. We must continue to fight on all
fronts against not only the supply but also
the domestic demand for drugs. That is
where promising new initiatives like drug
testing in the workplace can be of special
help.
Once we are able to cut the huge market
for illegal drugs In the United States down
to manageable size, the Surinams of the
world will no longer hold their attraction as
a yet unthought of transit area for drug
traffickers.
Mr. SIMPSON. Mr. President, I will
reserve the remainder of the leader's
time and yield to my friend from Cali-
fornia, the Democratic whip.
RECOGNITION OF THE ACTING
MINORITY LEADER
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr.
STAFFORD). The Chair recognizes the
acting minority leader.
Mr. CRANSTON. Mr. President, I
reserve the time of the minority
leader. I will speak in a moment on my
own order but I suggest the absence of
a quorum for a moment so I can
confer with the acting majority leader.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk pro-
ceeded to call the roll.
Mr. CRANSTON. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. With-
out objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. CRANSTON. Mr. President, of
all the values that America stands for,
respect for the rights of the individual
is one of the most significant. U.S. for-
eign policy cannot disassociate itself
from the values we as a nation
uphold. We must continue to reaffirm
this most basic American value and
make it a cornerstone of our foreign
policy.
In 1975, I joined with the late Sena-
tor Hubert Humphrey to author and
gain enactment of legislation that
linked continued U.S. military and eco-
nomic assistance to a foreign govern-
ment's human rights record. Since
1975, Congress has taken many impor-
tant initiatives in the area of human
rights which have improved countless
lives abroad. We should continue our
efforts on behalf of individuals who
are denied these basic rights.
Most fundamental among these
basic human rights is freedom from
the cruel, inhuman, and degrading
practice of torture. This year, Amnes-
ty International USA has chosen Mo-
rocco as the focus of its campaign to
abolish torture. Since the 1970's, Am-
nesty International has received wide-
spread reports about the systematic
use of torture by Moroccan authorities
to extract information and forced con-
fessions from prisoners. These reports
come from former political prisoners
and their relatives and human rights
organizations.
One such case is that of Mohammed
Amin Mechbal. Mr. Mechbal was ar-
rested in 1975 or 1976-the time is un-
clear because he was held in incommu-
nicado detention for an indefinite
period. According to the Moroccan
Code of Criminal Procedure, detainees
can be held for limited periods of in-
communicado detention following
arrest. In reality, this pretrial period is
often repeatedly extended without
legal justification or hearing, and it is
during this period that most instances
of torture reportedly have taken place.
The police have sole custody of citi-
zens held in incommunicado detention,
and no authority monitors the behav-
ior of the police.
In 1977 Mr. Mechbal was tried with
100 other Moroccans for antistate ac-
tivities for his involvement in a leftist
student organization. The proceedings
were marred by many irregularities-
the defense counsel received death
threats, files were stolen, and testimo-
ny in Mr. Mechbal's defense was sup-
pressed. Mechbal was sentenced to 20
years in prison. He was 21 at the time.
During the past 9 years Mr. Mechbal
has been incarcerated in Kenitra
Prison-a prison known for its over-
crowding and harsh conditions. Am-
nesty International reports that he
has been physically, mistreated and
tortured by police and security guards,
both in the pretrial period and since
he was sentenced.
Despite these hardships, Mr. Mech-
bal has managed to earn a degree in
sociology while in prison, and has
taught himself English and Spanish.
Subsequently, the authorities have re-
voked his correspondance course study
privileges.
Father Timothy S. Healy, president
of Georgetown University, has in-
formed the Moroccan Ambassador
that Mr. Mechbal would be granted a
full scholarship at Georgetown if re-
leased from prison. Father Healy has
repeated his appeal directly to Moroc-
can authorities and through State De-
partment contacts. There has been no
response from the Moroccan Govern-
ment.
There have been other documented
cases of abuse. Many detainees have
died as a result of torture and mis-
treatment. In November 1985, Tahane
Amine, a 29-year-old engineer, died of
heart failure after suffering torture
during incommunicado detention: A
number of the 36 other people who
were arrested by the Moroccan Gov-
ernment along with Tahane alleged
that they had been tortured during
April 22, 1986
the pretrial period. The charges
levied against Tahane and his
codefendants by the public prosecutor
were membership in an Illegal organI-
zation, threatening public order, and
distribution of illegal tracts.
In another instance, over 2,000
people were arrested In late 1983 and
1984 during a series of strikes and
demonstrations. Many claimed they
were subjected to torture. These nu-
merous allegations of torture have ap-
parently never been investigated by
Moroccan courts. Moroccan Govern-
ment officials have also failed to re-
spond adequately to questioning by
the U.N. Human Rights Committee
and Amnesty International about spe-
cific reports of torture.
The United States and Morocco
share a long history. In 1777, Morocco
became the first nation to recognize
the independence of the United
States, and our two nations have en-
joyed friendly relations over the inter-
vening decades. Despite this long
friendship, however, we cannot iknore
and must protest the consistent re-
ports of human rights abuses in that
country.
Last month marked the 25th anni-
versary,of the enthronement of King
Hassan II in Morocco. The United
States has extended its help and sup-
port throughout the King's reign and
the Moroccan-American relationship
in these years has been marked by co-
operation and friendship. His Majes-
ty's support in investigating these re-
ports of abuse and torture, and his as-
sistance in resolving the case of Mo-
hammed Mechbal would be a most
welcome step in reaffirming Morocco's
commitment to our common goals of
justice, democracy, and human rights.
Mr. President, I hope that the U.S.
Government will do what it can to
cope with these very unfortunate
events in Morocco. and I hope that
Morocco will respond with recognition
of human rights and what they truly
mean.
RECOGNITION OF SENATOR
LEVIN
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
Senator from Michigan (Mr. LEvIN] is
recognized for not to exceed 5 min-
utes.
COMMEMORATION OF
ARMENIAN MARTYRS' DAY
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I am
pleased to once again participate in
the Senate's commemoration of Arme-
nian Martyrs' Day.
Every April 24, Armenians all over
the world pause to honor the memory
of the 1.5 million Armenians massa-
cred between 1915 and 1923 in the
Turkish Ottoman Empire. This tragic
event is recorded by eyewitness ac-
counts in historical archives through-
out the world. The historical record
documents the crime perpetrated
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April 22, 1986 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE S4629
against the Armenian nation and and one of our NATO allies, the Gov- Armenians were systematically uprooted
people by the Ottoman Government ernment of Turkey. Unfortunately, from their homeland of 3,000? years and
as the first genocide of the 20th centu- this unprecedented situation has made eliminated through massacres or exile.
ry. it difficult for Congress to consider Few events have evoked American sympa-
thy
This year's commemoration of the this issue, even in the context of reso- cid and concern as irk the Armenia Gr -
Armenian genocide is particularly sig- lutions recognizing the victims of all ride in Ottoman Turkey,; Eight at ntesif
nificant in light of the Senate's ratifi- genocides. dents spoke sout , against the treatment of
earlier this year of the Interna- The current Turkish Government g grreeasses es Armenians, and the and or Con-
adopted ed resolutions deploring ng the
tional Convention on the Prevention should acknowledge the role of its massacres. In recent years, President
and Punishment of the Crime of predecessor government-the Ottoman Reagan, President Carter, the House of
Genocide. The Armenian-American Turkish Government-in the Armeni- Representatives, and other officials reaf-
community strongly supported U.S. an genocide, just as the present West firmed American recognition of this trage-
ratification of the Genocide Conven- German Government has acknowl- dy'
tion as a statement of purpose-a edged the crimes perpetrated by the U.S. REAFFIRMATION
statement of our country's commit- Nazis. Has the West German Govern- President Ronald Reagan:
ment to combat genocide directed ment's acknowledgment of the Holo- Days of Remembrance of Victims of the
against any people. Armenians realize caust strained its relations with the Holocaust;
that future genocides can only be pre- United States or diminished West Ger- Proclamation 4838;
vented if we recognize that genocide is many's role as a vital strategic ally? To April 22, 1981: eLike the Genocide of the
a crime against all of humanity, not the contrary, our country's relation- the Cambodians which followed it-and like
just against the national, ethnic, ship with the Germans remains warm too many other such persecutions of too
racial, or religious group directly af- and close, and West Germany remains many other peoples-the lessons of the Hol-
fected. And Armenians also realize an integral part of our NATO alliance. ocaust must mever be forgotten."
that the prevention of future geno- The argument that recognizing and President Jimmy Carter:
tides will only be possible if we re- commemorating the Armenian geno- White House Ceremony;
member the genocides of the past, cide endangers our strategic interests May 16, 1987: . it is generally not
Adolf Hitler recognized this fact when, is a specious one, and should be reject- known in the world that in the years pre-
on the eve of his invasion of Poland, as ed by this body. ceding 1918, there was a concerted effort
he plotted the destruction of what he The historical evidence that the Ar- made to eliminate all the Armenian people,
roably
r befellne of the greatest tragedies that
called the "subhuman" peoples of menian people were the victims of a eve
Europe, he remarked, "Who, after all, any group. And there weren't
speaks today of the annihilation of genocide is unambiguous. Indeed, the Nuremberg trials."
the Armenians?" founder of modern Turkey, Kemal President Herbert Hoover.
Sadly, the world did not learn a Ataturk, recognized the crimes com- The Memoirs of Herbert Hoover, 1952:
lesson from the Armenian mitted by his predecessor regime, the "The association of Mount Ararat and
genocide. Ottoman Empire. Ina 1926 interview, Noah, the staunch Christians who were
By honoring the memory of the vic- he stated that his party "should have massacred periodically by the Mohammed-
r
tims of that genocide, we can try to been made to account for the lives of fiftTyeaarrs and atheir miseries-all all
prevent history from again repeating millions of our Christian subjects who cumulate to impress the name Armenia on
itself. were ruthlessly driven en masse from the front of the American mind."
Mr. President, I want to take this op- their homes and massacred." President Warren G. Harding:
portunity to once again express my het those who deny this genocide Letter to Secretary of State Charles Evans
profound disappointment at the con- tell the men and women who sur- Hughes;
tinuing eby the Government of vived-people November 22, 1921:
Turkey effort f rewrite history by denying in their seventies, eight- "If it is believed that a warship can be
that the Armenian stor d ever nk ies, nineties, and even one-hundreds- sent to an Armenian
that there was no genocide. The survi- port on the h sitai hesitancy in
place. A similar effort has been made vors should not have to respond to Wean I shola a have very on hesitancy these
in recent years by those who would such a charge and to such making such ec l suggestion there behalf of tome
deny tattempted destruction of Eu- a shameful stricken people. Surely must be some
ropean the Jewry during d trcti War II- campaign of denial. way in which to utter the admonition of the
They spJe of "the hoax rld 6 mil- We owe it to the victims of the Ar- five great powers to restrain the hands of
lion," aclaim that documentary e vi- menian genocide to perpetuate the assassins in that unfortunate land."
dente and the la Holocaust that documentary
doctored story of what happened to them and President Woodrow Wilson:
or fabricated. These historical rev' share its lessons with all the people Letter to Acting Secretary of State Wil-
of the world. Only in that way can Liam Phillips;
commu-
sionists claim that Jews have exagger- some of the suffering of the genocide nication with1..19the"app opriate commit-
ated the extent of their suffering in be redeemed, and future genocides tees of Congress with regard to our being
order to gain the world's sympathy, avoided.
I am afraid that I hear echoes of authorized to send troops to Armenia. I am
these arguments that the campaign of Mr. President, I ask unamimous con- heartily in favor of such a course if the Con-
thesei gum in by campaign
Turkish sent to have printed in the RECORD a gress will authorize it ..."
Government waged
They, , tob, claim that the fact sheet regarding the recognition of President William Howard Taft:
Government.
record ambiguous, that the Armenian genocide by various U.S. Taft Papers on the League of Nations,
the Armenians were not sin that Presidents and by the Congress. This say that the the people e po wholef It th e ie not Jewish the race much hav ve
singled fact sheet was prepared by the Arme- say for persecution, that the extent of Ar- suffered more in this war, as noncombat-
menian suffering has been exaggerat- nian Assembly, a national nonprofit ants, than any other people, unless it be the
ed, and that the Armenian pwas organization representing the Armeni- Serbians and the Armenians."
ed and
on of many Armenian people
who sas an-American community. President Theodore Roosevelt:
m
fe of wartime ere as a eef many peoples who conditions. There being no objection, the fact Letter to Cleveland Hoadley Dodge;
The difference between the two cam- sheet was ordered to be printed in the May 11, 1918: ".. the Armenian massacre
paigns of denial it eent those who RECORD, as follows: was the greatest crime of the war, and fail-
is to
deny the Jewish [Fact Sheet No. 2-Armenian Assembly of urn to act ure t
o deal Turkey rad
ically ie
y the faillure means ally withthe
viewed as part of the genocide lunatic are fringe- widely America] Turkish horror m
ethat all talk of guar-
charlatans from the academic world or U.S. RECOGNITION OF THE ARMENIAN anteei ev the future peace of the world Is
members of political groups on the ex- GENOCIDE mischievous nonsense ... "
treme edges of the political spectrum. During the second half of the nineteenth Annual Message of the President:
The campaign to deny the Armenian century, the Armenian population of the December 6, 1904: ". . it is inevitable
genocide, on the other hhe, is - Ottoman Turkish Empire became the target that [the United States] should desire ea-
aged and actively participated in by government. These persecutions culminated occasion like ... such systematic and long-
the government of a sovereign state in a three-decade period during which the extended cruelty and oppression as the cru-
elty and oppression of which the Armenians
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S 4630 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE April 22, 1986
have been the victims, and which have won witnesses it appears that a campaign of race an people were virtually eliminated
for them the indignant pity of the civilized extermination is in progress under a pretext from their homeland as a result of a
world." of reprisal against rebellion." carefully planned act of genocide by
President William McKinley: ARMENIAN MARTYRS DAY the Ottoman Turks.
Annual Message of the President; Mr. WILSON. Mr. President, I stand Today, on this 71st anniversary of
December 5, our claims . ms . . during a just
settlement r- before this body to give recognition to this tragedy, it is important to call this
massacre what it was-genocide. By
menian ian troubles of 1895 .... . " during the A April 24 as Armenian Martyrs Day.
President Grover Cleveland: April 24 is a significant day for all publicly acknowledging this, we Amer-
Annual Message of the President; Armenians and those of Armenian de- icans can hope to prevent any future
December 7, 1896: ". . . it would afford me scent. Each year, this community re- attempts of annihilation of a people
satisfaction if I could assure the Congress members and mourns the loss of more on the basis of their race or beliefs.
that the disturbed condition in Asiatic than 1.5 million men, women, and chil- In February, the Senate ratified the
Turkey had during the past year assumed a dren slaughtered by the Ottoman
less hideous and bloody aspect and that . ? ? Turks in the early 1900's. Ywill not Genocide Treaty, a vote that was long
not overdue. With passage of the treaty, I
as a consequence of the awakening of the meet Armenian today You o who will
Turkish Government to the demands of meet an
one close relative has not believe we have demonstrated our
humane civilization ... the shocking fea- lost at desire to prevent any further acts of
tures of the situation had been mitigated. genocide. In addition, Armenians genocide upon an innocent group of
Instead, however ... we have been inflicted throughout the world also remember people. The Armenians have suffered
by continued and not unfrequent reports of the half million survivors, many of greatly because of this brutal series of
the wanton destruction of homes and the whom came to this country to seek
bloody butchery of men, women, and chit- refuge and to build a better life. Yet it massacres.
dren. made martyrs to their profession of is thlbugh these people that this sig- The sons and daughters and grand-
Christian faith." nificant act of history is remembered. children of the victims of this geno-
Annual Message of the President: cide have gone on to contribute much
December 2, 1895: "Occurrences in Turkey We are fortunate that there are still to those societies in which they now
have continued to excite concern. The re- survivors of this ordeal living today live, including our own country. We
ported massacres of Christians in Armenia and it is through their personal expe can only hope that the international
and the development there and in other dis- riences that this event is remembered community has learned from this eal
tricts of a spirit of fanatic hostility to Chris- and preserved.
tian influences naturally excited apprehen- While the magnitude of the pain perience and will come together to
sion...." and suffering Lhat occurred is real, prevent such tragedies from ever hap-
President Benjamin Harrison: pening again.
Letter to Robert J. Thompson. Esquire: what has been equally as disturbing
December 14, 1894: "My indignation and are the attempts to simply rewrite this ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
sympathy have been greatly roused by the history. Even through this was the Mr. BRADLEY. Mr. President, I join
press reports of the fearful outrages prac- first mass organized slaughter in this my colleagues in honoring Armenian-
tised on the Armenians." century. this atrocity has been largely Americans as they mourn the genocide
House Joint Resolution 247: ignored in history books. This is a of their ancestors. Between 1915 and
September 10, 1984: ". . . April 24, 1985 is great danger and we must make every 1923, over 1.5 million Armenians were
hereby designated as 'National Day of Re-
membrane of Man's Inhumanity to effort to insure that we learn and re- slaughtered by the Turkish Ottoman
Man' . . . for all victims of genocide, espe- member the Armenian massacre. Empire and 500,000 survivors were
daily the one and one-half million people of This year, the United States has forced from their homeland. There are
Armenian ancestry who were victims of the made a great stride by ratifying the some who ignore extensive historical
genocide perpetrated in Turkey between Genocide Convention. This action puts documentation and insist that these
1915 and 1923..." the United States on record as oppos- events never occurred. Others argue
House Resolution 148: ing genocide and insures that this that tragedies are best forgotten. I dis-
April 8. 1975: ". . . April 24, 1975 is hereby country will take the necessary steps agree. We need to remember these Remem- brance o
brnce of d as Man' ' sInnhuhum manity Day to of Man' . . ' to insure that all acts of genocide will events so that history does not repeat
for all victims of genocide, especially the be remembered. For many years, the itself.
one and one-half million people of Armeni- United States refused to ratify this There is a great need to educate
an ancestry who succumbed to the genocide convention due to the legal ambigu- Americans and the rest of the world
perpetrated in 1915 ..." ities that are encompassed in such a about the horrors of genocide. During
Senate Resolution 359: treaty. However, after clarifying the this century alone we have witnessed
May 13, 1920: "... the testimony adduced intentions of the convention, I, along the massacre of the Armenians, the
at the hearings conducted by the subcom-
mittee with 84 of my colleagues, voted to Holocaust of the Jewish people in
Relations the have e clearly Committee established the e truth h ratify the convention. This is a demon- World War II, and the mass murders of the reported massacres and other atroc- stration of United States resolve to in Cambodia. Even today, Soviet forces
ities from which the Armenian people have learn from the past to insure that in Afghanistan are attempting to sys-
suffered." such actions will never happen again. tematically annihilate the Afghan
Concurrent Resolution of Congress: "Ar- Mr. President, Armenians today people and their culture.
menian Outrages": have set aside April 24 as a day of re- Today, as we acknowledge the 70th
January 27. 1896: "Whereas the American membrance. The world would do well anniversary of the Armenian genocide,
people, in common with all Christian people to follow the example of their devo- many Armenian-Americans are haunt-
reeagh horror the tion. We must pledge the United ed by the memory of their own experi-
recent appalling e n outrages s and massacres of
which which the Christian population of Turkey States to remembrance of the Armeni- ences or the suffering inflicted upon
have been made the victims ..." an genocide. We must do this for the their families. At this time of sorrow
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council Chair- sake of their victims and survivors; for we can all be proud that the U.S.
man Elie Wiesel: their counterparts in Nazi Germany, Senate recently ended nearly four dec-
Days of Remembrance Commemoration. Southeast Asia, and elsewhere. And ades of delay and ratified the U.N.
Capitol Rotunda;
April 30. 1981: "Before the planning of the for ourselves. Genocide Convention. I was pleased to
final solution. Hitler asked, 'Who remem- ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DAY vote for ratification. Our action sends
bered the Armenians?' He was right. No one Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, on April a clear message to all nations of the
remembers them, as no one remembers the 3, we celebrated Armenian Apprecia- world that the United States is willing
Jews. Rejected by everyone, they felt ex- tion Day, a day to commemorate the to take action on the matter of geno-
pelled from history." Armenian people who have struggled cide.
U.S. Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire for freedom throughout their history. Americans must never forget the Ar-
Henry Morgenthau: Today, April 22, we pay tribute to the menian martyrs. I am pleased to join
July lygra 16, , to 1915: "Deportation the eof State; and ex- estimated 1.5 million Armenians who my colleagues today to pay tribute to
July against peaceful Armenians is in- were massacred at the hands of the those who died and those who sur-
creasing and from harrowing reports of eye Ottoman Turkish troops. The Arment- vived this tragic event.
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April 22, 1986
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE S 4631
Mr. RIEGLE. Mr. President, I am
pleased today to join with my col-
league from Michigan [Mr. LEVIN] in
paying tribute to the 1.5 million Arme-
nian men, women, and children who
were the victims of the first genocide
of the 20th century.
Just 2 months ago, the Senate voted
overwhelmingly to ratify the Genocide
Treaty, thus ending a 38-year effort to
place the United States on record with
96 other nations of the world in de-
claring the use of genocide as an in-
strument of national policy-against
any people, by any nation, at any
time-a crime against all of humanity.
Despite the Senate's condemnation
of the crime of genocide, and the spe-
cific citing, during Senate floor debate,
of the Armenian tragedy, the world
has still not fully acknowledged the
suffering inflicted on the Armenians
by the Turkish Ottoman Empire 71
years ago.
And so, we are here today to retell
the story and to recount the facts re-
lating to the Armenian genocide. We
do so in order to make the historical
record clear and to challenge the claim
that this genocide never occurred.
The Government of the Republic of
Turkey today continues to deny the
facts in this case. In a letter to me
dated February 28, 1986, the Turkish
Ambassador to the United States
stated that "no reliable evidence exists
to justify the allegation that the Otto-
man Empire either planned or carried
out a systematic massacre of its Arme-
nian population."
Our own Government has recently
cautioned the Congress against
making too big an issue out of the fact
that millions of Armenians were mur-
dered or forced to leave their home-
land because of the brutal policies of
the Turkish Ottoman Empire. To do
so, it is argued, risks harming U.S. re-
lations with an important ally,
Turkey.
What we are being asked to do, it
seems to me, is close our eyes to a
genocide because of other policy con-
siderations; to, basically, set new con-
ditions which tell us when it is accept-
able to acknowledge that a genocide
occurred and when it is not.
This is intolerable. Not to fully ac-
knowledge the full extent of the suf-
fering of the Armenian people is an of-
fense not only to the victims of that
genocide, but also to those who sur-
vived and the generations of Armeni-
ans that follow.
It also raises a question as to how
committed our Nation is to fulfilling
the mandate of the recently approved
Genocide Treaty, to tell the story of
man's inhumanity to man so that
future generations might learn from
past mistakes.
And so we must restate the facts as
we know them.
First, we know that 1.5 million Ar-
menians perished following systematic
persecution and massacre by the Otto-
man Turkish Government during
1915-23.
The full horror of the massacres
began on the night of April 14, 1915,
when the Turkish police rounded up
all of the Armenian intellectuals from
their homes in Constantinople, effec-
tively silencing the voice of a genera-
tion. In the villages, Turkish soldiers
gathered the unarmed Armenian men
into the village square, and executed
them.
The approximately 250,00 Armeni-
ans serving in the Ottoman Army
during World War I were disarmed
and placed in forced labor battalions
where they were either starved or exe-
cuted. The Armenian people, deprived
of their leadership S and young able-
bodied men, were disarmed under
threat of severe punishment, and then
deported from every city, town and vil-
lage of Asia minor and Turkish minor.
The majority of the deportees died on
the marches from starvation, disease,
and massacre. Some 500,000 refugees
escaped to the north across the Rus-
sian border, south into Arab countries,
or to Europe and the United States.
Second, we know that our own State
Department and the United States
Ambassador to Ottoman, Turkey,
Henry Morgenthau, led the' outcry
against the atrocities at the time.
For years, Morgenthau tried to alert
our Government to the tragedy. In
one message he wrote:
When the Turkish authorities gave the
orders for these deportations they were
merely giving the death warrant to a whole
race.
I have by no means told the most terrible
details, for a complete narration of the sa-
distic orgies of which these Armenian men
and women were the victims can never be
printed in an American publication ... I am
confident that the whole history of the
human race contains no such horrible epi-
sode as this. The great massacres and perse-
cutions of the past seem almost insignifi-
cant when compared to the sufferings of the
Armenian race in 1915.
On several other occasions, Ambas-
sador Morgenthau wired the U.S.
State Department with the facts. In a
"confidential" telegram of July 16,
1915, he stated:
Deportation of and excesses against peace-
ful Armenians is increasing and from har-
rowing reports of eye witnesses it appears
that a campaign of race extermination is in
progress under a pretext of reprisal against
rebellion. . . . Protests as well as threats are
unavailing ...
Morgenthau, in his published mem-
oirs, tells of these confrontations with
Talaat Pasha, the Ottoman Minister
of the Interior. One was as follows:
Americans are outraged by your persecu-
tions of the Armenians. You must base your
principles on humanitarianism, not on
racial discrimination, or the United States
will not regard you as a friend and an equal.
You say that, if victorious, you can defy the
world, but you are wrong. You will have to
met public opinion everywhere, especially in
the United States. Our people will never
forget these massacres.
Third, we know that Kemal Ataturk,
founder of modern Turkey, con-
demned the genocide. In a 1926 article,
he wrote of those turkish rulers "Who
should have been made to account for
the lives of millions of our Christian
subjects who were ruthlessly driven en
masse from their homes and massa-
cred."
Fourth, we know that American
newspapers printed hundreds of arti-
cles about the massacres. Stories of the
suffering of the Armenians appeared
in the New York Times, the Christian
Science Monitor and dozens of Ameri-
can newspapers. The American public
was alerted to the tragedy through
coverage provided in literary journals
and magazines, and through sermons
which were delivered in Protestant
and Catholic churches as well as
Jewish synagogues at the time.
The terrible suffering of the Arme-
nians during the period 1915-23 must
not be denied.
To believe the Turkish claim that
the world is misinformed and that the
genocide never really occurred files in
the face of the facts as recounted by
American missionaries, the American
consular officials, the American Am-
bassador, past American Presidents,
and the American people.
Beyond all of the Turkish and for-
eign witnesses to the Armenians' geno-
cide-which include Americans, Rus-
sians, Germans, Austrians, French-
men, Englishmen, Italians, Greeks,
and Arabs-we have the testimony of
the Armenian eyewitne. ses survivors
themselves. The facts, as recounted by
the survivors, provide the most com-
pelling evidence of the tragedy which
occurred.
To the Armenians who survived and
their families, the facts are indisputa-
ble. For they still carry with them the
painful memories of this tragedy.
Indeed, every Armenian family has
been scarred by the events of the past
about which we speak today.
The few survivors and their descend-
ants have been struggling with this
memory for too long. The world has
refused to recognize the Ottoman
action as genocide. Turkey has orches-
trated a vocal, bitter campaign to deny
these million and a half murders, and
has gone to great lengths to muzzle
any recognition or criticism of the Ar-
menian genocide in this country.
We owe it to every victim of geno-
cide to remember the horrible events
of the past, to better understand and
appreciate the magnitude of suffering
involved, and to educate our children
so that these terrible acts will not be
repeated.
The Armenian-American community
is recognizing the importance of public
education to their struggle to achieve
world recognition of the atrocities
that befell 1.5 million of their people.
With the hope that a better under-
standing of the Armenians will ulti-
mately result in a more positive, sym-
pathetic acceptance of the Armenian
tragedy, efforts to share the riches of
the Armenian civilization and the
tragedies of the Armenian experience
are moving ahead.
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S 4632
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD - SENATE April 22, 1986
The opening of the Armenian Re-
search Center at the University of
Michigan-Dearborn next month will
facilitate important research and
study into the Armenian question and
the history of the Armenian people.
Central to the operation of the re-
search center is the establishment of a
computer data base which will enable
the center to store in the computer all
the relevant information contained in
print on Armenian history and culture
as well as the Armenian genocide. The
center can then be a major resource
center for schools, colleges and organi-
zations interested in the story of the
Armenians. It can also help to balance,
with objective scholarship, the efforts
of those who seek to alter history by
denying the significance of the Arme-
nian genocide.
Another critically important project
undertaken in conjunction with the
center for Armenian research at the
University of Michigan-Dearborn, is
the production of the film "The Wit-
nesses." This film, which records the
accounts of 28 eyewitness survivors of
the Armenian genocide provides im-
portant insights into this chapter of
history.
Mr. President, nothing so clearly
threatens our future than the refusal
to recognize the mistakes of the past.
The stcries of the survivors can help
us come to terms with those facts, and,
in so doing, bring justice to the Arme-
nian people.
We still do not have justice. We still
have a situation in which an account-
ing has not been made, and we must
maintain the pressure until it is made.
Until justice is done, neither the vic-
tims of genocide nor the conscience of
our Nation can rest.
When it was suggested to Hitler that
world public opinion would be hostile
if he proceeded with his so-called final
solution of the Jewish problem, he re-
torted: "Who remembers the Armeni-
ans?"
Perhaps he thought no one would
remember his crimes. We must show
that we do remember, and that we do
care. For ignorance of history is an in-
vitation to repeat it.
And so today we pledge to work with
Armenian-Americans and other con-
cerned citizens to illuminate this issue,
to remind ourselves about it, to dedi-
cate ourselves to making sure not only
that history is clear about what has
happened, but also to put ourselves in
a stronger position to resist the evil
forces that bring about events such as
this.
Mr. DECONCINI. Mr. President,
today we commemorate the 71st anni-
versary of the beginning of the Arme-
nian genocide in the Ottoman empire.
It is a day set aside for remembrance
of the victims of all genocides, but es-
pecially for those 1.5 million Armeni-
ans who were brutally persecuted from
1915 to 1923. The senseless persecu-
tion and slaughter of Armenians
during the outbreak of World War I
resulted in the banishment of Armeni-
ans into a fragmented and scattered
people.
The displacement and death that re-
sulted from this persecution have left
thousands without a homeland. It is
the responsibility of everyone in the
world community never to forget these
horrible atrocities. This genocide was
the first of a long line of sadistic at-
tempts to annihilate an entire race
due to prejudice and unfounded
hatred.
As Americans, it is important to rec-
ognize the moral obligation we have to
aid any group of peoples who are
being persecuted and to defend them
against any further attempt of geno-
cide. We have learned that evil does
not stop its terrible yet persistent
spread when ignored, and that its reas-
suring lies are able to lull nations into
ignoring the plights of unprotected
peoples. We can only look back now at
the undeniable truth of the attempted
genocides of other peoples: Jews, Rus-
sians, and Cambodians. To remember
these victims is to ensure that history
will not repeat itself and that men will
never again stand idly by to watch the
decimation of fellow humans.
The approval of the Genocide Con-
vention this year by this esteemed
body represents the commitment
Americans have to recognizing and
ending past and present genocides.
While I commend and applaud this
success, I am concerned with the
future. We must periodicially pause
and reflect to move toward a better
future for the generations to come.
We recognize Armenian Martyrs' Day
in somber salute to persecuted peoples
everywhere. And, to answer Hitler
when he asked, "Who remembers the
Armenians?" Today, we remember
them. I pledge that we will never
forget.
THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President,
on this 71st anniversary of the Arme-
nian genocide, we recall with sorrow
the 1.5 million men, women, and chil-
dren who died in the first genocide of
the 20th century.
Between 1915 and 1918, over 11/2 mil-
lion Armenians perished of starvation
and butchery at the hands of the
Ottoman Turks. The genocide in-
volved not only the killing of inno-
cents but their forcible deportation
across Asia Minor. They were perse-
cuted, banished, and slaughtered while
much of Europe was engaged in World
War I.
Acknowledgement of the Armenian
genocide is particularly fitting since
this year the Senate at long last has
ratified the Genocide Treaty. It was
Prof. Raphael Lemkin, a lawyer who
escaped Poland during the Nazi inva-
sion of 1939, who first coined the
world genocide in 1944, After designat-
ing the term "genocide" to describe
the deliberate destruction of a people,
Lemkin became the first person to
characterize the atrocities of 1915-23
as the "Armenian genocide." In his
tireless work for the ratification of the
Genocide Convention, he repeatedly
referred to the Armenian genocide, to-
gether with Holocaust, as a prototype
of the crime of genocide.
We must be ever vigilant against
those who would deny- the truth or
downgrade the horror of the Armeni-
an genocide. It is our responsibility to
help keep its memory alive for future
generations. So, for the past 16 years,
on or around April 22, Members of
Congress have set aside a day to com-
memorate and reflect upon this time-
less tragedy.
Remembering is a way to serve
notice on those who would perpetrate
future genocides that we will not
forget, nor permit it to happen again.
Who still talks nowadays of the exter-
mination of the Armenians? Hitler
asked his top commanders on August
22, 1939, as they prepared for the inva-
sion of Poland. Let us make sure he
would not ask such a question today.
THE 71ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE
Mr. MOYNIHAN. Mr. President, the
passing of seven decades has not less-
ened the tragedy of the Armenian
genocide. The death of over I Y2 mil-
lion Armenians at the hands of the
Ottoman empire is a crime of such
magnitude, and of such profound his-
torical significance, that the com-
memoration of this event is essential.
Genocide was unheard of until the
suffering of the Armenian people
helped force the coining of that term.
To remain vigilant against the recur-
rence of such a crime, we must never
lose sight of the events 71 years past.
THE 71ST ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENOCIDE
AGAINST THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE
Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise to
join my colleagues in this special order
to commemorate one of the darkest
events in 20th century history, the
genocide against the Armenian people
that started 71 years ago.
The fact that after 37 years of un-
necessary delay the Senate in Febru-
ary gave its advice and consent to the
ratification of the Genocide Conven-
tion gives a particular poignancy to
this commemoration. Many of us, who
consistently supported the convention
throughout the years had used the ex-
ample of the Armenian genocide over
and over to warn about the conse-
quences of indifference to and igno-
rance about such horrible crimes
against humanity.
Remembering the Armenian geno-
cide does not mean engaging in point-
less recriminations or rekindling an-
cient hatreds. It means setting the his-
torical record straight and learning
from that record. The massacre of the
Armenians was followed by the Nazi
Holocaust against the Jewish people.
More recently genocide was arguably
committed in Cambodia and is being
committed in Iran against the adher-
ents of the Baha'i faith. The historical
lesson of the Armenian genocide, if
recognized and utilized in time, could
have prevented or at least mitigated
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April 22, 1986
these later tragedies. As it were, the
lesson was ignored the world remained
indifferent and silent to the plight of
the Armenians and, as a consequence,
other millions paid with their lives.
Today, when we remember the 1.5
million Armenian victims, we have to
rededicate ourselves to assuring that
genocide will disappear as a tool of sta-
tecraft even for the most extreme re-
gimes. Let us remember, for instance,
that our responsibility with respect to
the Genocide Convention has not been
discharged yet. The enacting of the
implementing legislation is still ahead
of us. To go ahead speedily with that
task would pay a more meaningful
tribute to the memory of the victims
of past genocides than the most elo-
quent speeches we may deliver here
today.
Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I suggest
the absence of a quorum.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The
clerk will call the roll.
The legislative clerk proceeded to
call the roll.
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President, I
ask unanimous consent that the order
for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. With-
out objection, it is so ordered.
RECOGNITION OF SENATOR
PROXMIRE
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Under
the previous order, the Senator from
Wisconsin [Mr. PROXMIRE] is recog-
nized for not to exceed 5 minutes.
STAR A
TRILO
WHY \.n G
TRIL
Mr. t,
what wo
build te
[SDI] r.
Presideis
country is
hardwae
in this g
the stait
fully deployed. In this speech I inclu
nothing for modernizing star wars to
keep it ahead of the inevitable ad-
vance of Soviet offensive nuclear
weapons. I include nothing for the cost
of research on star wars.
That research is just beginning. It is
expanding very rapidly. It has, in fact,
tripled in the last 3 years. It will quad-
ruple in 1987 if the administration has
its way. It is expected to reach $50 bil-
lion before deployment gets underway,
And, of course, it must go on, probably
at an increasing pace even after the
system is deployed, if we are to keep
star wars modernized and effective.
But for the purposes of this speech I
am ignoring the cost of research, the
cost of transporting the hardware into
space, the cost of maintenance of the
system in space, and the cost of mod-
ernizing and constantly improving the
star wars deployment. For purposes of
this speech I am talking only and ex-
clusively about the cost of building the
hardware.
In this speech, of course, I am not
us'ng classified material. My estimates
ar strictly estimates, not official data.
The are based on commonsense, edu
cate guesses. I have discussed these
costs ith highly competent and in-
forme persons. These persons dis-
agree ong themselves about the
precise c st of each of these weapons
or senso In each case I have tried to
arrive at asonable estimates by ap-
proximatin a median or consensus
among the fering experts. The esti-
mates are st ctly unofficial, and un-
classified. The are probably at least
as accurate as assified estimates be-
cause they come rom independent sci-
entists who have o ax to grind, and
no special contract terest to serve.
Of all the weapoi we need for star
wars, the space-base inetic kill vehi-
cle will be the most co ly. These vehi-
cles provide the firepo r heart of the
antimissile defense. The are not uni-
form. They vary in bility.
They also vary in Cr ost. In eneral the
cost would average about $ 0 million
more or less per vehicle; th is, for
each of them. How many do need?
Probably thousands. Two th and
would cost $1 trillion. Why do we eed
so many. We need them because e h
vehicle can only fire during a very lim-
ited fraction of its Earth orbit. That
orbit must be relatively low so that it
can be near enough to its target to ini-
tiate an effective strike. Because each
vehicle has such a limited effective
firing period and because the system
must maintain the capacity to strike
the adversary targets at 'all times we
will need 2,000, 3,000, or 4,000. Why
the huge cost? Because each must be
hardened-able to stand a hit from the
adversary. They must be maneuver-
able to avoid hostile fire. They should
be capable of firing back to fend off
concentrated attack.
While the space-based kinetic kill ve-
hicle is the fundamental crux of the
system, it cannot function effectively
without the following supplementary
weapons or sensors: First, ground-
ag egate cost, $37.5 billion. Second,
boos surveillance and tracking sys-
tems; ost per sensor, $750 million;
number equired, 10; aggregate cost,
$7.5 billio Third, interactive discrimi-
nation lase or particle beams; cost
per weapon, $1 billion; number re-
quired, 10; ag egate cost, $10 billion.
Fourth, spaces veillance and track-
ing system; cost r sensor, $750 mil-
lion; aggregate c t, $561/4 billion.
Fifth, endoiand e.,,11-atmospheric in-
terceptor mssiles; cos per weapon, $5
million; number requir , 7,500; aggre-
gate cost, $37.5 billion. xth, ground-
based terminal imaging r ar; cost per
sensor, $250 million; number needed,
12; aggregate cost, $3 billion. Seventh,
airborne optical adjunct planes; cost
per weapon, $200 million; number
S4633
needed, 12; aggregate cost, $2.5 billion.
Eighth, battle management center, $1
billion; number needed, three; aggre-
gate cost, $3 billion.
omitting, leaving out research
cos transportation into space cost,
main enance cost and modernization
cost 11 very likely exceed $1 trillion.
The space-based kinetic kill vehicle
alone wi41 cost a trillion or more by
itself. Additional essential weapons
would add, on the basis of the calcula-
tions I hav made in this speech, an
additional $1 .75 billion.
Physics To has estimated the
cost of star wars t roughly $2 trillion.
As I have lndicat in other speeches,
because of the gr y underestimated
cost of transporting t is hardware into
space and of maintain and modern-
izing it, this $2 trillio estimate is
more likely to be an errestimate
rather than an overestimat
Maintaining and mode ing the
star wars system once it is space
will, in my judgment, cost 6eltween
$200 billion and $300 billion a ye . In
other words, it will come close to u-
bling t~e cost of our defense.
TRIBUTE TO ARMENIAN
GENOCIDE VICTIMS
Mr. PROXMIRE. Mr. President
today we pay tribute to the 1.5 million
Armenians who perished after a sys-
tematic persecution and massacre
during the period of 1915-23. This
year being the 71st anniversary of the
Armenian genocide, we recognize this
tragedy as one of the darkest episodes
in recorded history.
The Armenian persecution began in
1894, when, in the 2-year period lead-
ing up to 1896, 300,000 were killed
under the reign of the Ottoman
Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Thirteen
years later, another 21,000 Armenians
were massacred in Cilicia, Turkey.
While the preceding events seemed
horrendous in themselves, the most
brutal physical destruction of Armeni-
ans began in 1915.
Many of the victims were put into
labor camps and worked to their death
during the Turkish preparation for
World War I. The majority, however,
died while marching across the Syrian
Desert after being denied food and
water for days at a time.
Apart from the 1.5 million who per-
ished between 1915 and 1923, another
500,000 refugees escaped north to
Russia or fled elsewhere in Europe,
the United States, and the Arab coun-
tries. The Armenians were, therefore,
essentially eliminated from their
native homeland.
Many would like to forget that such
atrocities ever occurred. We must,
however, remember them to deter men
such as Hitler, who scoffed at the idea
that the extermination of the Armeni-
ans would be remembered for what it
was-a mass annihilation of innocent
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