It was the goal of a group of men 100 years ago to recreate a vast empire. They had
managed over the centuries to conquer and assimilate a great number of people and
vast swaths of territory. All save one: The nation that would not die.
Their goal was to recreate that once vast empire, to reunite the Turkic peoples and to
once again become a threat to the world. The people were still there; the territories were
still there. There was just one problem in their eyes, the nation that would not die.
For 3,000 years these people had inhabited their lands. They had seen many empires
come and go: The Assyrians, the Persians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs and
eventually they would see the Turks go too.
And so in 1915 with the world distracted, they seized upon the chance to try and destroy
the nation that would not die. But of course, they did not succeed. How do I know this? I
know this because the people from the nation that would not die are here, in this room.
This room full of Armenians. These are not only descendents of the survivors of the
Genocide. These are also the people who have come from the ancestral lands of the
nation that would not die.
Armenians from the land of Armenia who for 3,000 years have lived in their ancestral
homeland and will continue to do so for centuries to come. For while Turkey’s leaders
sill threaten to finish the job they started in 1915, then turn to the world and deny it ever
happened, I still have hope that they will answer for the crimes they committed against
humanity beginning 91 years ago.
Do you know why I have hope? I’ll tell you why. If I had told you 20 years ago that there
would be a free and independent Armenia, would you have believed me? If I had told you
15 years ago that Nagorno-Karabagh would be an autonomous region with its border to
Armenia secured, would you have believed me? If I had told you 10 years ago that
Europe would formally recognize the Armenian Genocide as historic fact, would you have
believed me?
It is for these reasons that I have hope, that I believe that the time is coming for the world
to finally come to terms with that great crime committed all those years ago. For things
have not gone as the Turks had hoped.
The nation that would not die is still here. And while Hitler may have been quoted as
saying “Who today remembers the Genocide of the Armenians”, the answer is that
millions still do. And the Genocide deniers are losing more ground every day.
The Turkish lobby no longer has the strength to suppress the Genocide from being
formally recognized in the United States as historic fact. For years they have spent tens
of millions of dollars lobbying lawmakers to suppress Armenian Genocide Legislation.
They have paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bob Livingston, Stephen Solarz and
others who are willing to sell their souls in exchange for the money that Turkey was
willing to offer. But it wasn’t enough.
In the year 2,000 the Turks pulled every favor they could to keep the U.S. Congress from
voting on and passing the Armenian Genocide Legislation and thanks to special
intervention on the part of the Executive Branch, they managed to prolong the recognition
a little longer.
But it still was not enough. Now they are turning to their allies in the in the American
Israeli Lobby to exert their influence to continue to suppress Genocide legislation. Let
them continue to try and hide the truth. In many individual states the Genocide is already
being taught as historic fact. In states like Massachusetts the Turks have taken to suing
the state to try and stop the Genocide from being taught in the public school systems
without the Turkish version of events being taught right alongside. That argument
makes about as much sense as the Nazi version of the Holocaust being taught
alongside the Jewish version of those events.
In California thanks to dedicated lawmakers and the efforts of the Armenians statewide,
the California legislature passed S.B. 424 formally recognizing the Armenian Genocide
as historic fact. With the ongoing efforts of dedicated lawmakers, the Armenian National
Committee of America and our supporters we will continue to make strides towards the
proper resolution of those events that took place 90 years ago.
So while Turkey may continue its ongoing policy of denial, their friends number fewer
and fewer every year. Only Turkey’s staunchest allies, the United States thanks to
pressure from the State Department and the Government of Israel still join Turkey in
trying to deny the Genocide ever happened.
With recall of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans for having used the word
Genocide, I believe that this too shall pass. For no longer is the United States going to
be able to support Turkey on the Genocide issue. With the Turkish government refusing
to let the United States use its bases in Turkey that it pays $2 Billion dollars a year for,
they actually give me hope. When the Turkish Government asks for an additional $40
Billion to allow the United States to use its bases and Turkish airspace, they are actually
giving me hope.
When the #1 runaway blockbuster hit in Turkish movie history is “Valley of the Wolves”, a
movie about how American soldiers are slaughtering civilians and harvesting their
organs to send to Israel, they are giving me hope. Because these events show just how
close an ally Turkey truly is to the United States. If this is the position of an “ally” of the
United States, who needs enemies?
Most of all I have hope because of the people in this room. You, the living, breathing
representation of the nation that would not die are my greatest hope. To quote William
Saroyan “for when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if they will not create a
new Armenia”.
20 years ago we didn’t have a free and independent Armenia. 15 Years ago Karabagh
wasn’t free. People once said that we would never again see Armenians in Western
Armenia. I don’t believe this to be true. Thanks to the people of the nation that would not
die, I think it is only a question of time before we once again have a free, independent
and United Armenia!
Thank you and have a good night.
