Rep. Chu Statement Addresses 100th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

On this day in 1915, the Ottoman government rounded up Armenian intellectual and cultural leaders, starting a mass killing of 1.5 million Armenians in what would become known as the Armenian Genocide. On the 100th anniversary of that event, Rep. Judy Chu (CA-27) released the following statement:

“One hundred years ago, one and a half million Armenians were killed, not by accident but by design. It would become the first genocide of the 20th century and it is our moral responsibility to remember this crime against humanity. Not just because we mourn for the lives lost, but so that it cannot happen again. Those who survived the Armenian Genocide bore its scars. But they escaped horrors and persecution and started new lives, raised families and put their roots somewhere new, many in my district in Southern California. This has given me the honor of meeting some of the few remaining survivors and hearing their stories. I am also proud that there is a new memorial to the Armenian Genocide opening in Pasadena in time for this solemn centennial. The memorial is a fitting and beautiful reminder of the lives cut short by hatred.

“Unfortunately, there are some who deny that this was a genocide – the intended extermination of an entire people. But explaining it away as the cost of war only makes it easier the next time a people is singled out for extinction. 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.”

Rep. Chu is an original cosponsor of H.Res. 154, a resolution that calls on the President to work towards constructive and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based on the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide, and work towards an international resolution.