U.S. Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., one of the co-chairmen of the Congressional Armenian Caucus, said he supported the Biden administration recognizing the Armenian genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.
Bilirakis weighed in on the matter on Monday.
“It has been more than 100 years since the atrocities committed against innocent Armenians and other ethnic and religious minorities at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire’s genocidal campaign from 1915-1923 killed 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children, as well as Greeks, Assyrians, Chaldeans, and Syricas, through a series of executions and death marches,” said Bilirakis.
“I whole-heartedly welcome today’s historic announcement from President Biden formally recognizing the Armenian genocide,” Bilirakis added. “I have been a major supporter of recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s atrocious acts as genocide, co-authoring the Armenian genocide recognition resolution passed by the House of Representatives two years ago. We must acknowledge the atrocities of the past so that we might hopefully prevent them in the future. Our darkest moments as a human race have come during times when those who knew better stood silently, making excuses for passivity and allowing injustice and persecution to reign.”
Bilirakis said he talked to U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasia George Kent on the “pain of history to ensure future atrocities do not happen.”
There are more than 120 members in the Congressional Armenian Caucus including U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., and Ted Deutch, D-Fla.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com
