Congresswoman Chu Calls for Memory, Resolve on the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and Yom Hashoa

As Holocaust Remembrance Day (Yom Hashoa) and the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide were marked on Monday, Pasadena-area Congresswoman Judy Chu reminded the public of the horrific pogroms which killed millions.

“On this day in 1915, Ottoman Empire officials began rounding up and killing Armenian cultural leaders, the beginning of an attempt to wipe out the Armenian people. Orchestrated mass killings followed, eventually claiming 1.5 million lives simply because they were Armenian. And even though we have historical records and first person memories from those who survived it, the Armenian Genocide is still denied by Turkey and even our own government. We cannot deny the truth, and I will continue to stand with the Armenian community until the United States unequivocally stands on the side of history.

“Today also happens to be Yom Hashoa, Holocaust Remembrance Day, when the world remembers the attempted genocide of the Jewish people, and the mass murders of many others in World War II, and says ‘never again.’ It is vitally important that we remember atrocities like these not only to mourn the lives that were lost, but so that we prevent them from ever happening again.”

Rep. Chu is an original cosponsor of the H.Res.220, a congressional resolution that would formally recognize the Armenian Genocide. Earlier this year, she also authored a letter to President Trump urging him to recognize the Armenian Genocide.