Mr. Speaker, tomorrow is the 81st anniversary of the Armenian genocide. This sad occasion commemorates the tragic end of more than one and a half million Armenians. The massacres of the Armenian people by the Ottoman government of Turkey, which lasted from 1915 to 1923, were the first genocide of the 20th century. It is important to condemn these atrocities and to increase public awareness of genocides committed throughout the world.
Any country that uses genocide and violence as an instrument of policy is guilty of a crime against humanity, a crime that will remain forever etched in the memory of those who suffered and that history can never forget.
The purpose of this day to remember the victims of the Armenian genocide is not only to remind us of the pain and suffering endured by the Armenian people, but also to assure us that such atrocities will not be repeated.