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Rep. Costa Statement Regarding 95th Anniversary Of Armenian Genocide

April 27, 2010
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Jim Costa (D-Fresno) today made the following statement on the floor of the House of Representatives regarding the 95th anniversary of the start of the Armenian Genocide.

Video of Costa's remarks can be seen here . Excerpts from Costa's statement (as prepared) are below:

"This past Saturday marked the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Last Saturday, I joined with Fresno's Armenian community to commemorate this horrific tragedy. Today, I once again call upon this body to pass the Armenian Genocide Resolution to officially recognize this genocide in our nation.

"In my remarks before the Foreign Affairs Committee markup of H. Res. 252, The Armenian Genocide Resolution, I indicated how historians had clearly documented this event. I said, ‘My Armenian friends believe this systematic approach to eliminate the Armenian communities from their homes and farms was among the first genocides of the 20th century, and so do I.'

"Theodore Roosevelt once wrote, ‘...the Armenian massacre was the greatest crime of the war, and the failure to act against Turkey is to condone it ... the failure to deal radically with the Turkish horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievous nonsense.'

"There is never a ‘right time,' to recognize genocide and we cannot wait around for a convenient moment to recognize this truly catastrophic event."