Transcript [PDF] - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

42
and time. Many political leaders, scholars, and professional organizations
have worked tirelessly to acknowledge this devastating
event to the Armenian people.
And there are still a number of survivors of the genocide here in
our own country, many of their children and grandchildren who reside
throughout our country. We must never forget the heinous
acts that victimized their families. If we let such atrocities be forgotten
then we are in danger of letting them be repeated, and I
have to thank my colleague Congressman Adam Schiff who has for
so long tried to get this Congress to do the right thing, so thank
you, Congressman Schiff, for your leadership and for staying strong
in spite of the oppositions that you are faced with.
Even now, in the twenty-first century, we have watched for years
as genocide has ravaged Darfur. The Holocaust, slavery. I am an
African-American, descendant of slaves. These horrific events of
our time must always be remembered. Since the Darfur genocide,
for example, it began in 2003, hundreds of villages have been destroyed,
an estimated 2.7 million people have been displaced and
more than 400,000 people have died.
So this resolution again reminds us that we must do everything
within our power to ensure atrocities like these never happen again
or risk condemning our children to a world caught in a cycle of
hate and bloodshed. And so with that in mind I urge my colleagues
on this committee to support this resolution. We have no option but
to do that. Thank you again, thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank
you, Congressman Schiff, for your leadership.
Chairman BERMAN. The time of the gentlelady has expired. The
gentleman from Nebraska, Mr. Fortenberry, moves to strike the
last word and is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. FORTENBERRY. I move to strike the last word. Thank you,
Mr. Chairman. I will be fairly brief. Mr. Chairman, the tragedy of
the Armenian Genocide clearly is a very powerful and painful
memory in the collective conscience of the region of Turkey as well
as Armenia, and it is understandable. America can recognize this
and work for reconciliation as may be appropriate, given our leadership
in the world. But, Mr. Chairman, I am very concerned that
this resolution before this committee may not actually be a force
for reconciliation. It may complicate reconciliation in the area
where it matters most, and where it matters most is not this committee.
I yield back.
Chairman BERMAN. Time of the gentleman has expired. The gentleman
from California, the chair of the Terrorism, Nonproliferation
and Trade Subcommittee, Mr. Sherman, seeks to strike the
last word and is recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. SHERMAN. Yes, thank you. I want to acknowledge our two
colleagues and their leadership, Adam Schiff and Frank Pallone,
who have been here throughout. I want to acknowledge the Ambassador
of Armenia who is in the audience, Mr. Tatoul Markarian,
and I want to thank him for the detachment of Armenian soldiers
who fought for 4 years alongside Americans in Iraq and for the detachment
that was sent 2 months ago to fight alongside Americans
in Afghanistan.
And I want to apologize for the fact that this Ambassador had
to sit here while an opponent of this resolution falsely stated that
VerDate 0ct 09 2002 14:28 May 18, 2010 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00046 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\FULL\030410M\55273 HFA PsN: SHIRL