Transcript [PDF] - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

34
Chairman BERMAN. The time of the gentleman has been yielded
back. The gentlelady from California, Ms. Woolsey, moves to strike
the last word. The gentlelady is recognized for 5 minutes.
Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to strike the last word. Mr.
Chairman, I am sorry. Mr. Chairman, thank you for the time. I am
proud to be a co-sponsor of this legislation and I urge my colleagues
to support it now. There will never be a perfect time, that
is clear. I have been here 18 years and I have been waiting to be
able to vote on this and on the floor particularly. All too often the
world has stood by while genocide rages. We saw it happen
throughout Europe during World War II, and we saw it in Rwanda
and Bosnia during the 1990s.
We cannot undo the atrocities of the past, but we can acknowledge
the actions and we can give the victims and their families
their rightful place in history. While they were in Congress, President
Obama as a Senator, Vice President Biden as a Senator, and
Secretary of State Clinton as a Senator, urged Congress to adopt
the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Both President Bill Clinton and
President George W. Bush recognized the horrific acts that lead to
the deportation of nearly 2 million Armenians, of whom 1.5 million
men, women, and children were killed. Five hundred thousand survivors
were expelled from their homes, and it succeeded in the
elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their
historic homeland.
These events cannot be categorized as anything other than genocide.
To deny that would be to deny the lives of those who perished.
Ours will not be a lone voice. Today we will join with 42 States of
the United States, 11 NATO allies, and the European Parliament
if we vote for this resolution. And those who say it is not the right
time, I will repeat it again, that this will upset international alliances,
I have this to ask you. If not now, when
When will the victims and their families get their day of recognition,
when will it be convenient When will it not be an excuse to
not go forward with friendship between Turkey and Armenia because
they want to have genocide proclaimed so they can go forward
I urge my colleagues to take a stand against genocide, to
stand up for human rights, to stand up for justice, vote in favor of
this resolution, and encourage our leadership to bring it up for a
vote on the floor. I yield back.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. If the gentlelady would yield
Ms. WOOLSEY. Yes.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you. Just because you started it we
have to continue, or let us not do that. I would like to make sure
that our colleagues understand that was then, this is now. Senator
Clinton might have given that response as a Senator from New
York, but when Secretary Clinton appeared before us last week in
a response to Congressman Boozman’s questions, and I quote,
‘‘Well, Congressman, on Turkey Armenia relations, it is our position
that the normalization process that Turkey and Armenia have
undertaken carries important benefits for both sides and it should
take place without preconditions and within a reasonable time
frame.’’
Ms. WOOLSEY. Well, if the gentlelady would yield back
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Yes, it is your time.
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