On October 29, 2019, The U.S. House of Representatives voted 405-to-11 in favor of recognizing the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek Genocide; House Resolution 296. The House denounced the atrocities, committed by the Ottoman Empire in the 1910s during World War I. This marks the first time that Congress has officially recognized the plight of the Armenians, Assyrians, and Greeks as Genocide. At the same time, the House voted in favor of sanctions against Turkey for its ongoing involvement in Northern Syria today. Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians were systematically slaughtered at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Members of my own family were among those murdered, and my parents fled with my grandparents to America. What all of the persecuted had in common was that they were Christians. Curiously, House Democrat Ilhan Omar did not vote for the resolution, instead simply voting “present.” Turkey has expressed its outrage in the House’s resolution. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu opined that the House of Representatives passed the Genocide resolution because Turkey had reached an agreement on Syria with both Russia and the United States. The Foreign Minister stated that the House was “trying to avenge this,” and that “there is no other explanation” why the House would pass the Genocide resolution. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s communications team released a statement in opposition of the resolution, stated that “those who voted for this resolution will be responsible for the deterioration of a critical strategic relationship in a turbulent region.” Historical evidence suggests that around 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Genocide. Similar estimates suggest that about 300,000 Assyrians were slaughtered at the same time. The House’s resolution has received praise from Armenian and Assyrian advocacy groups. Attorney Michael Ibrahim himself, an Assyrian-American with ancestors who were among those lost, applauds the U.S. House of Representatives for recognizing the horrendous events that occurred during World War I and the impact it still has on the Assyrian community worldwide today. The fate of both the Genocide bill and sanctions against Turkey await a vote at the U.S. Senate.
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