Cruz Stresses: “The Massacre of the Armenian, Assyrian and other Christian People Should be Called what it is: Genocide”
WASHINGTON—Republican Presidential candidate, Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today marked the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide with a statement calling for the proper recognition of the massacre of Armenian, Assyrian and other Christian peoples as genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.
Sen. Cruz’s statement, addressed to the Armenian Church of Austin, was read on the south steps of the Texas State Capitol, during the Austin Peace March and Rally, an observance attended by thousands and organized by the Armenian Genocide Centennial Committee of Texas.
“Senator Cruz got it right,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “As Americans, we cannot be silent. We must speak the truth. His remarks highlight the Armenian Genocide gag-rule that Ankara continues to enforce on the U.S. government, and spotlight the stark choice facing President Obama this April 24th: to reject or enforce Turkey’s veto on our nation’s Armenian Genocide policy.”
Prior to his election to the oval office, President Obama was clear and unequivocal in his pledge to properly characterize the murder of over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children from 1915-1923 by the Ottoman Turkish government as genocide. “The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide,” stated then Senator Obama in a January 19, 2008, statement. The full text of that statement is available at:
http://anca.org/change/docs/obama_pledge_011908.pdf
Since his election in 2008, President Obama has yet to honor that pledge. A complete record of Senator Obama’s statements on the Armenian Genocide prior to his election to the White House is available at:
http://anca.org/change/docs/Obama_Armenian_Genocide.pdf
The full text of Senator Cruz’s statement is provided below.
Senator Ted Cruz
United States Senate
April 18, 2015
Armenian Church of Austin
In Recognition of the Armenian Genocide
100 years ago, the world was too silent as the Armenian people suffered a horrific genocide. Today, we commemorate more than a million souls who were extinguished by the Ottoman Government. Let the terrors of those events awaken in us the courage to always stand for freedom against evil forces. As Pope Francis rightly said, “Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it.”
The massacre of the Armenian, Assyrian and other Christian people should be called what it is: genocide.
Sadly, many today are still unaware of this 20th century atrocity. We cannot neglect the brutality carried out on these innocent souls because we cannot leave any room for them to occur again. If we forget the annals of history, we will not honor those who suffered in the death camps of the Holocaust, Soviet Union, Cambodia, and many others. That is a tragedy we can and should prevent.
As the Russian novelist and Soviet prisoner Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn reflected, “In keeping silent about evil, in burying it so deep within us that no sign of it appears on the surface, we are implanting it, and it will rise up a thousand fold in the future.”
I commend your efforts to illuminate the past, and to prevent such injustice from occurring again, whether in your homeland or in any country around the globe. Thank you for your commitment to speaking the truth in love.
May God bless the Armenian people, and me he continue to bless America.
Sincerely,
Ted Cruz
United States Senator
Thank you for your help and support. Your brave words truly amazed me.
Yes I remember Obama calling for the same thing…we need more than “calling”at this stage dear….please try harder next time!
Don’t compare Obama to Cruz. A liberal Dem Harvard law prof, when asked what kind of student Cruz was, replied: smartest student I ever had. When asked the same about Obama answered: I can’t remember him. Obama was editor of the Law Review. Does that tell you anything?
Funny how the facts are undeniable before the election but become quickly ‘deniable’,’questionable’ ‘left to the historians” and then a total amnesia sets in…oh dear me..are Armenians that gullible? REMEMBER, OBAMA CAN NOT STILL UTTER THE G WORD.WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN THAT!
Never trust this snake.
Yessssss, Love it.
Spare us the details. We’ll talk when you win in November 2016 and release the annual message on April 24, 2017. Until then, we don’t have much to discuss.
There’s no time like the present…
Does anyone seriously believe this guy? As with past politicians, like Obama, once elected they backtrack on their words and promises. Remember politicians are bred to LIE. Armenians need to stop believing these odar politicians and elect their own.
When there will be more Armenian American politicians in office that is when things will start moving in our direction. A lesson to be learned from American Jews.
He must be really desperate. This is the guy turning back on Christians in the Middle East.
It’s amazing how gullible some Armenians can be. This reptile called Cruz is one of the most dangerous politicians in US inventory. I have absolutely no doubt that if Cruz is appointed US president he will all of a sudden have a problem with uttering the “G” word…