09/12 - Statement on the release and pardon of Ramil Safarov - I'm deeply concerned about the release of Ramil Safarov by the Hungarian Government. Safarov, a former Azerbaijani military officer, was sentenced to life in prison by a Hungarian court for the murder of Armenian Gurgen Margaryan. This brutal hate crime took place during a 2004 NATO program and was motivated by the worst kind of ignorance and prejudice. Safarov's release dangerously undermines the rule of law and peace throughout the region. The Azerbajani government should immediately reverse its decision to pardon Safarov.

04/24/12 - Statement submitted for the Congressional Record - Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and commemorate a solemn occasion of deep personal significance. Today marks 97 years since the infamous episode in which the Ottoman Empire began rounding up and murdering Armenian intellectuals and community leaders in Constantinople. By 1923, some 1.5 million Armenian women, children and men were dead from a systematic campaign we now know as the Armenian Genocide, or Great Crime. Their lives ended in the most brutal ways imaginable, subjected to death marches, burnings, rape and forced starvation. Some 500,000 Armenians who did survive--my own grandparents among them--were forced into exile.

Like others whose families experienced this tragedy first-hand, I did not first learn of the Armenian Genocide in history books. I learned about it from my own Grandmother as she recounted the murders of priests and her flight from the only home she knew.
We must be clear: There is no doubt to the fact that the Armenian Genocide took place. There is no credible historian who can dispute it, and there is no evidence that detracts from its horror and magnitude. What's missing is a moral clarity as penetrating as the facts themselves, and a willingness in this House and in our government to acknowledge the Genocide.

The consequences of surrendering the moral high ground on Genocide denial are manifest and tragic. Since 1915, we have witnessed the same tragedy again and again. In 1939, Adolf Hitler is said to have asked, in justifying his awful crimes, ``Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?'' In the Holodomor in Ukraine, the killing fields of Cambodia, the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, the red clay hills of Rwanda, and now, today in Darfur--genocidal crimes continue. We must acknowledge the Armenian genocide for our collective future, for those who suffer around the world today, and to honor the memories of those who died.

Each time this question arises, there are those who demand we once again sweep history under the rug for political convenience, calling what began 97 years ago anything but Genocide. My response is simple. The systematic extermination of an ethnic group is Genocide, and we insult ourselves and degrade our values when we claim otherwise.

I hope we use this solemn occasion to redouble our support for a more honest appraisal of the facts. So much of who I am is informed by my Armenian heritage, including the moral grounding to demand the truth. As we pray today for those who died, let us also work toward an open and just acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide, the truth, and a strengthened commitment to prevent such atrocities from ever happening again.

04/12 - Armenian President will be Awarding Mkhitar Gosh Medal to Rep. Eshoo, Sen. Kirk, and Rep. Sherman.

02/27/12 - Statement submitted for the Congressional Record on Sumgait - Mr. Speaker, February 27th marks the 24th anniversary of a violent and horrific attack against Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian descent. The 1988 attacks began in the town of Sumgait in Soviet Azerbaijan. Dozens of Armenians were killed, and hundreds more were wounded. During what even the Soviet government officially described as a ``pogrom''--an organized massacre of helpless people--Armenian women and children were raped, and people were set on fire and beaten to death, all while police stood by.

Tragically, the events in Sumgait presaged further pogroms in Kirovabad in November of 1988 and Baku in January of 1990. This violence initiated a broader attack against Azerbaijan's Armenian population, resulting in thousands of deaths. The conflict persists today, and the Azeri military blockade of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and other aggression sadly continues.

For me, it is also a very personal remembrance. My own family fled the slaughter of the Armenian Genocide under the Ottomans, and when we learned of the massacres against Armenians in 1988, we saw history repeating itself. These vicious acts of murder targeted at ethnic groups, must be forcefully condemned whenever and wherever we see them. Yet 96 years after the slaughter of Armenians, the U.S. House of Representatives has yet to officially recognize the Armenian genocide.

Without our recognition and our forceful condemnation, the cycle of violence will continue. Today, Christians and other minority groups are being driven from Iraq by extremists, and the once large and diverse ethnic communities are being eradicated. Without our attention and action by the world community, there will be no end to this senseless violence around the world.

Today, let us remember the Armenians who lost their lives in Azerbaijan in 1988, and pray that the world will finally take greater account of these atrocities and work together. Let us take up the work that our principles demand of us, standing united against ethnic violence, discrimination, extremism and brutality, wherever we find it.

07/27/11 - HR 440 was considered on the floor of Congress. Bill introduced by Frank Wolf (R-VA) who co-chairs with Eshoo on the Religious Minorities in Iraq Caucus. The bill calls for a special envoy at a diplomatic level dedicated specifically to religious minorities in the Middle East and South Asia.

02/18/11 - Mr. Speaker, the 26th and 27th of February mark the 23rd anniversary of a violent and horrific attack against Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian descent. The 1988 attacks occurred in the town of Sumgait in Soviet Azerbaijan. Dozens of Armenians were killed, and hundreds more were wounded. During the pogrom, Armenian women and children were raped and people were set on fire and beaten to death while police stood by, unwilling or unable to intervene.

The violence touched off a broader attack against Azerbaijan?s ethnic Armenians, ultimately resulting in a war with Nagorno-Karabakh in which tens of thousands of people were killed. The conflict persists and remains unresolved today, as does the military blockade of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The pogroms precipitated a massive refugee situation displacing hundreds of thousands of people, virtually eliminating Azerbaijan?s once-significant Armenian population.

Mr. Speaker, as people of conscience, this is a remembrance we must all engage in. For me, it is also a very personal remembrance. My own family members fled the slaughter of the Armenian Genocide under the Ottomans, and when we learned of the massacres against Armenians in 1988, we saw history repeating itself. These vicious acts of murder, targeted at ethnic groups, must be forcefully condemned whenever and wherever we see them. Yet 96 years after the slaughter, Congress has yet to officially recognize the Armenian genocide.

Without our recognition and our forceful condemnation, the cycle of violence will continue. Even today, Christians and other minority groups are being driven from Iraq by extremists, and the once large and diverse ethnic mosaic there is all but eradicated. Without our attention and action by the world community, there is no end in sight.

Today, Mr. Speaker, let us remember the Armenians who lost their lives in Azerbaijan 23 years ago. And then let us take up the work that our principles demand of us, standing united against ethnic violence, discrimination, extremism and brutality, wherever we find them.