second suffolk and middlesex district william brown's worker the representative from the town middlesex district john long the representative from the night the worst are district david meridian and the reveren my name is jonathan hacked and i have a great honor to represent the people of watertown and cambridge in this house of representatives and on behalf of the other legislators hosting this event senator william bro berber representative john long representative david meridian representative jim misselling and representative dave rogers i thank you for joining us for the commemoration of the one hundred and anniversary of the armenian genocide last year we gathered in ashburton park on the grounds of the state house as part of the centennial commemoration of the genocide many of you i'm sure were there for me walking down the stairs from the state house with governor baker speaker dileo and other elected officials and seeing that huge crowd and that sea of american and armenian flags was one of the most moving and powerful experiences of my public li this year we are back in the house chamber with a continued indeed a strengthened commitment to honor the victims and survivors of the armenian genocide to demand recognition and justice for the genocidal crimes committed by the ottoman empire to dedicate ourselves to preventing the recurrence of genocide anywhere in the world and to celebrate the remarkable tri spirit of the armenian people oh man on the pledge of allegiance so i'd ask you to remain standing for the pledge of allegiance and then after the pledge of allegiance remain standing because we have the beautiful children here from st stephen singing america the beautiful and the armenian national thank you very much children from st stephen's was very beautiful as always and thank you very much to your teachers this house has been led by a speaker of really uncommon decency and hard to no speaker in recent years has been more supportive of the cause of the armenian people we simply could not hold this event without the enormous assistance that we received from him and from his office and even more important he makes time each year in his own schedule to be here personally for the to host this commemoration here in the house chamber and last year as we mark the one hundredth anniversary of the armenian genocide i was heartened to see that a gathering was so large that we had to move it to the ashburton pock right outside you look around to our state house has a storied history that i feel exemplifies democracy it legacy is particularly president today when as we mark a solemn occasion we also celebrate the armenian community and the contributions that immigrants and their descendants have made to public life in our great state i came to this issue through the traditions of also represented one of my predecessors speaker can vary and began this commemorate commemoration some years ago he had the courage to speak up at a time when many americans did not know about the genocide today it's a pleasure to have the speakers brother jack with us it's great to see him through leaders like speak we're also going to have with us the united states senator and a good friend senator ed markey into also have mifflin here today the mayor has written in my office we keep a copy of a book by the important armenian author peter blakey of the burning tigers through that book i have learned that there was a group of local americans committed to raising awareness of the genocide even as it was happening during world war one and because of this a band i've had the opportunity to meet with the architect  to visit the sculpture if you haven't already regardless of where your family hails from i believe we can all appreciate the symbolism of the park and reflect on how we are a better nation because of how  unique experiences come together as one much like that sculpture as we look towards the future i hope that a bands like this will encourage people across the nation and the perished we must fight to carry on the legacy to ensure the world never forgets as humans as americans we must ensure law that human spirit i shines in humanity today's commemoration will help us remove that commitment i sincerely want to thank you and again welcome you to the state house and thank you for the honor  today thank you very much programs to hear remarks from a very special surprise guest my guest is not such a surprise you did hear him come in come in the dog this this gentleman go he's start right here in the massachusetts house and it's going to a tremendously effective career as a u s congressman and now u s senator throughout his time in congress he has been a strong and vocal supporter of recognition of the armenian genocide we were grateful for his very eloquent and powerful remarks last april at armenian the most beautiful legislative chamber in the united states of america  and and what a day to start it with the future of me and americans in america weren't they beautiful when i was a member of the massachusetts house of representatives it was an honor to serve here when i was a member of the united states congress i use to help to ensure that there i know i'm successful i mean in the media can we i'm here to continue this effort to make sure that we give the support to me which and even today we gather today to commemorate the one hundred and first anniversary of the armenian genocide on earth and remember the one point five million who were killed in this great atrocity one year ago at mass at the vatican honoring the centennial of the start of the mass killings pope francis issued a call for us to honor the memory of those i mean ians who perished in the genocide he referred to it as the first genocide of the twentieth century pope francis said that it was our duty to owner the memory of those who to tell the truth about what happened in  and no longer align the evil that was perpetrated upon the armenian people to continue to be concealed but tonight we must call it what it was a genocide the first to begin with the president president obama promised in his first campaign that he would properly recognize the armenian genocide yet seven years later he still has not said the word that we all know he must aloud the word genocide and it was who died and i join all of you in continuing to urge the president to not let his final opportunity in office pass in vain the united states must be the moral leader of the world if we expect the rest of the world to follow our leadership because you know the truth of what occurred knowing a paid for and misleading advertising from the forces of denial can change the fact that the armenian genocide happened no amount of denial no are right and turkey is wrong and the great george kerry rose up to begin this education effort to make sure that everyone understood what happened and he was a great man and i was honored to speak at the every year and in the united states senate i have not stopped i will not stop fighting in the senate until a resolution is passed affirming the genocide and it is made the clear unambiguous conclusion of a nation that seeks to be the azerbaijani underscores the need to stand with i mean against this aggression the united states should immediately condemn the escalation of aggression targeting i mean eons by the a series we need to take action to put an end to these sorts of attacks once and for all we need to help ensure that there  we must continue to stand with our allies to address the challenges they face we have a shared responsibility to ensure that the i mean people are able to build their own independent and prosperous future ultimately no reader no country should be allowed to avoid being honest about our history because as long as the world continues to be silent suffering will continue as long as nations continue to deny we rest the same of us we the privilege to carry on the lives not lived the voices not heard the dreams not realized that is what the armenian people in america represent those voices that we never heard last summer i  honored to be in the audience i capitol hill the united nations when pope francis addressed congress as we joined together today and as we move forward in this class for justice in the days ahead let us take the ether as one in a renewed spirit of fraternity solidarity cooperating generously for the common good it is my honor to continue to stand with you and to fight for what is right today proud state representative of the ninth was to district which is the communities of grafton north bridge and up to unfortunately the governor cannot be here today but will be joining us afterwards downstairs where he will be making a few remark right you get to come in presenting the proclamation from the governor in from our hotel a governor that reads where x on april twenty fourth nineteen fifteen a mass genocide of the armenian population began in the ottoman turkish empire the first genocide in the twentieth century and whereas i mean families were operated from their ancestral homeland and brutally exposed to very dignities resulting in more than half of the armenian population killed and whereas we consider these atrocities against the armenian people to be repulsive and a horrible and civilised society and whereas americans of armenian descent have contributed to the holy of life in the united states in massachusetts in the best traditions of our nation state in times of war and peace and where as the armenian citizens around the world and of the commonwealth are to honoring the memory of the brave men and women who died and where as our thoughts often in memory of the armenian martyrs of one thousand nine hundred fifteen will serve to remind everyone that persecution torture and killing must cease for ever now therefore i charles de baker governor of the commonwealth of massachusetts to hear my proclaim april twenty four two thousand and sixteen to be i mean ian martyrs day plan and implement a series of events in two thousand and fifty in remembrance of the armenian genocide and where inventors are substantial contributions to the commemoration through the public's attention to the duty to educate students in the marin county area public schools about the armenian genocide and for that i'm recognizing today the following resolution congratulations again drove the recipients and thank you very much loudly for the presentation and for all the work that you did to organize today's event i want to take the opportunity now to recognize some additional special guests who are among us today they are our local elected officials members of the consular corps who are representing countries from around the world as well as leaders of human rights groups that are dedicated to preventing genocide and other crimes against humanity the presence of these people here today is proof of the broad support in massachusetts and around the world for recognition of the armenian genocide and testimony to the understanding that it is the cause of all humanity to ensure that no genocide is ever denied or forgot i would ask them all to stand as i call their names and if you could please hold your applause until i've introduced them all on our special guests are the watertown town council vice president vincent pitcher really all of them are th thank you representative hacked in now looking at the program i get my couple minutes of fame so once again i am representative david meridian and forgive me if i'm a tad emotional appear but if you look around on the educators children parents all proud armenians were systematically removed from their homes rounded up and murdered by the young turk government forever altering generations of families to c today we are here in the house of representatives chamber for our ceremonial commemoration of the one hundred first anniversary of the armenian genocide last year the centennial anniversary served  final chapter in a one hundred year book written by the documentaries and reflections of our people in our struggle the next one hundred years will provide  have a ray of sunshine starting to shine through we will never ever forget our history it's upon us to not let the world ever forget it either but it's also part of us to highlight our success we are succeeding and no one is going to stop us from being those proud armenians our heritage provides us with a burning desire to keep us going to keep us striving to shine through that dark cloud the armenian dime store or the heartbreaking in its impetus has given armenian people a new opportunity to prove that we and our culture will survive and flourish everywhere that we  throughout the world i am heartened that so many world leaders have stood up and called it what it is a genocide not the least of which would be pope francis's comments last year  wrong i think that our keynote speaker knows fully well our keynote speaker is a former ambassador to the vatican and has been a longtime friend of the armenian community especially here in massachusetts raymond hundred seventy nine ambassador flynn is an accomplished diplomat and political commentator while holding seventeen on a very doctorate degrees from multiple universities all across the united states also helped organize a humanitarian tour to armenia where he met with top government officials seeing firsthand the devastation that that earthquake caused it gives me great pleasure to introduce longtime friend first preselection and about the armenian genocide in recognition of it but that was not my first identification with the armenian american community growing up and neighborhoods of boston i mean community i mean americans always had a significant presence in our community which i was very proud to have a number of i mean american families as friends of my family and so i kind grew up in that culture as well so i know the ethnicity and the culture of armenian people i mean ian country pretty well as much as i guess an irish catholic from south boston would know but that was about the armenian culture but like it's representative said the senator markey above the legal this is a culture we got to respect and understand but it wasn't until later that i first recognize that i understood the situation in and i did today is a very very significant day and in the history of massachusetts in the chamber here i'll tell you why i want to stress the  the importance of one voice and how important each of you are to injustice in the worlds let me give you a specific yes i've i've read and studied the history of armenia i have a number of friends harry parsi given to i mean you're with us we went to speed doc this site of an earthquake that eighteen thousand people perish in a short period of time and i was very proud that we were able to raise billions of dollars here in the city of boston from people not just from the armenian american community but from people of all different faiths and background which i learned an incredible lesson in human history is what the lesson is my much more than forty years in political life now doing commentary the power of one person as i mentioned the power of a small group who sometimes feels disenfranchised and they don't feel that anybody is listening to them they don't hear they don't believe that there's any kind of interest in their cause i just heard the united states senate talk about what he hopes to achieve put on the national level in terms of getting the president of the united states for the first time to recognize genocide and actually say the world that takes my friends political coverage i've been behind the scenes with these discussions with presidents have never been more proud to be a catholic than i was when john when when pope francis called the atrocities of nine hundred fifteen genocide that i did that happen it happened because of people like you people your grandparents your relatives the people who refused you just come to america and forget what happened in the past you know i wish i could say to you beth this is behind us as a society but it is really not what is happening today in the middle east with the persecution yes genocide of christians in that area around the world that's genocide  close one of the first american politicians diplomats to but went so wrong i wanted and i spoke to a lot of people there every single one of them pointed out the stories that were taken place in red tape to get the united states government to call it like it is that was genocide so my friends what happened in one thousand fifteen what happened since then in cambodia ago we have a challenge my friends and i'll leave you with one or two maybe two little stories were in this house chamber here today in massachusetts i was doing a national radio show was out of chicago and i started at six o'clock in the morning so was very little time to hear comments for national radio show i had to get up at four o'clock to get to the station in chicago a phone call came in at six o'clock and it was from a retired telephone worker in the outside of chicago and he could probably tell that i wasn't completely prepared for the events of the day reading the sun times the chicago tribune or the new york times so i started my monologue well this fella called and he probably could understand that i wasn't all that well point i retired telephone worker one single person had the courage to call in on that radio show and ignited a whole movement in america about an injustice that had taken place you know perry and i were in yacht about where and speed up in the place was absolutely wiped out from new play eighteen thousand people died just one respected elder in the community they had nothing was freezing they had no food thanks to the people of boston and other communities charities i mean the community across california pitched in with with money medical supplies calling for children well this senior came up to me and he said in broken i ha an interpreter and he said in bassett mayor we want to thank you for what you and your team are doing for us here he said to one favor he says don't let this well we did and i years later i would be appointed united states ambassador and i had a very close personal relationship with pope john paul the second i told them about i told them that story the meaning of the story being that one person can have a profound impact influence in policy that people feel that it's not politically popular we are living in a very politically correct society and sometimes it's not to popular politically popular to point out some injustice in the world well my friends just like there was an injustice success has come in recognizing the genocide of one nine hundred fifteen but that's not the end of the story the story is you the story as you have been the coverage going out there  talking about this bringing this to the public's attention that's why i applaud the community committee for making this event happen every every every year one last or yesterday i was at st patrick's and he talked about the marvelous that were taking place and in the middle east today and he said this is the world's greatest tragedy this is what's campaign for political force and donald trump was there well trump spoke to the audience and then there were a lot of people asking questions afterwards the questions that they raised not an important don't get me wrong they were asking about who should be on the twenty dollar bill whether or not there should be men allowed to go into a girl's bathroom these were the questions that were current and topical in a presidential forum when millions of people i watching this on television for us the world nick they had any comment about what's happening in today regarding the genocide  speak out as they build the speak out every politician and tell it like it is my friends that you you have to be organized you have to be united you have to be effective and yes like that man from chicago outside of chicago you have to pick up the phone talk to politicians encourage them inspire them to take a stand on these kind of important issues you deserve a great deal of attention i'm glad that i had the opportunity to travel to to armenia to meet its people and some listened to them in wide that i mean man who sent spy why he had such confidence that america would take the lead on this thing merican citizens would take this leader on on the genocide is just so heartwarming to me he has people out of injustice have a lot of confidence in america yes remember your history remember your tradition remember the battle is not all of you have a job to do as great armenian american people make sure the world he what's going on in the world and use i mean americans as an example of what happens when good people fight for it and justice that's what you did and that's why this state is so important that's why massachusetts is so important your people deserve all the credit in the world you're the grassroots movement for freedom justice in the world today and never ever forget thank you so she made sure that i visited my grandmother who lived in dorchester which was like leaving the not generated at that time and going to the country but i went every weekend and my grammar would tell me about see yeah yeah i want to run be sure to point out we've been joined by another of the truly great members of the house of representatives standing here next to representative mcgonagall is our friend from right representative kevin home  use the house chair of our housing committee and through the many years that he has been here his impact on the lives of people has been absolutely enormous and we thank him very much for being here today as has been great man a great speaker and a great armenian american and we're very fortunate to have with us today his brother jackie very who is going to offer some remembrances of his late brother and also  experiences and contributions that after my brother's death i came to understand that the most important events that shaped our life happened to either be further we were born or shortly thereafter i'm referring to the armenian genocide and the great depression my father had come to the united states before world war one and became a shoemaker my mother and her family your state the genocide by walking to going to the local turkey from my job all of my grandparents died because of the genocide my father my mother to be by mail and went by ship in one nine hundred twenty seven to seek her in america they returned to the united states just in time to experience the great depression starting in nineteen twenty nine my family survived by our mother opening a dressmaking business and on home to get our parents struggling to raise their two sons one who went to harvard and the other two mit it's clear to me that the deaths and the resulting traumatic disruptions caused by the genocide in combination with the great depression a huge impact on our lives we were not only we were not the only family to suffer many others had even more difficult experiences o r family had very little but my brother and i did not know how little we had days after george passed i found a copy of his goal of victorian i have extracted the two key sentences from his exceptional oration the first quote democracy if it is to survive must be born anew in the hearts of each generation and of course in nineteen eighty five he practiced belief in democracy to become the first ever to defeat a sitting speaker he succeeded by showing respect for all the luck to the representatives no matter their party affiliation he delivered transparency to his office and delegated authority to his fellow representatives as a result he was a claim as the speaker who believed in democracy george help out those people and me he did so without expecting anything in return moreover he was a strong advocate for the little guy house this is the thirty first such event in this great train after leaving the speakership and nine hundred ninety one he devoted the balance of his life and public service to will shape and your scholarship program our task is to a conceive in a world that will be truly inspirational in a world that is changing rapidly but a world that must never forget that certain basic principles of humanity and justice are critical to the survival of our society and civilization we are open to your ideas thank you so much mr could be our year we remember your brother fondly is like you see he's very very significant and you scholarship program sounds like a very wonderful way to honor his memory i'm extraordinarily honored to have the privilege to introduce our excellent governor who is in fact an excellent governor  first of all let me just say welcome to the people's house in the state house here in the commonwealth of massachusetts and to the people's chamber the home of the massachusetts house of representatives and occasionally the constitutional convention which brings together the house of representatives and the senate to debate important issues of the day and to the kids who are here what i would say to all of you is this is a living work of history and it's very important that all of you as you grow up and do what you're told and pay attention to the adults in your life most of the time i said most of the time you also appreciate the importance of history because what we're here today to talk about and what we're here today to honor and remember is history and that history is the hundred first on anniversary of the armenian genocide and that is a really important historical fact and the reason i bring it up is because for some odd reason that i will never understand there are some folks in this great big world of ours who refuse to acknowledge history and who are fused to acknowledge the fact that one hundred one years ago very terrible things were done to wonderful people of armenian heritage and it's important that all of you and all of us honor and remember and recognize that history especially today but every day as well don't think many of the people in this room know that massachusetts has a second largest armenian population in the country and if it weren't for the fact that california was a really big place we probably have the largest population or medians here in massachusetts and the armenian community has been an incredible asset culturally economically and in almost every way i can think of to the rich tapestry that is the commonwealth of massachusetts and we're honored and pleased that the armenian community so many people chose to make massachusetts their home and the other thing i want to say to all of you and especially again to the kids is we had the unique opportunity earlier this year to host the armenian president and his what i would call sort of rock and roll tour here at the state house you know there  folks who represented the armenian community the armenian government from all over the united states who came with them on that visit and there were folks who came from his administration as well and we did something we only do and very special occasions which is we opened up the front gate in front of the state house and we literally rolled out a red carpet to welcome him and his entourage when they got here and we only do this when we have visiting heads of state coming to visit us here at the state house and the mayor of boston marty walsh and i greeted the president as he exited his vehicle and there was a crowd of armenian families and citizens and citizens of the u s who had armenian heritage on either side of the vehicle waiting for him to get out of that car and they were speaking to him and shouting to him in an enormously positive way in his native language and you could just see the warmth coming from the crowd and the smile on his face he felt hong hearing was far from home and he felt when he got out of that car and the mayor and i walked him up the red carpet and up the stairs and into the statehouse and the house of representatives opened up one of their main meeting rooms so that we could have lunch with the president and with his delegation and with a group of folks here in the commonwealth and talk about our shared interests and our common values and our hopes and dreams for the future and it was a glorious day and we were thrilled to have him here and i just want you to know speaking on behalf of the commonwealth of massachusetts and on behalf of the people of massachusetts we are truly grateful for everything the armenian community has done for the people here in massachusetts and for the culture and the community that is massachusetts and we will always always have your back thank you very the strength and resilience of the armenian community and in fact the enormous respect for the irony of community are overwhelmingly evident in this room today your myriad contributions are in fact the source of great pride for the commonwealth clearly we still have work to do there are still some who deny the horrors atrocities of the genocide the placement of a billboard close to the armenian heritage park earlier this month questioning the genocide condemnation of the billboard at a time in this country when so many are focused on issues that divide us the incredible response to this billboard reinforces to me that there is so much more that unites us thank you for these words  today's commemoration reflects the culmination of months of planning hard work and the contributions of many individuals and organizations a full list of which you will find in your program the following individuals composed the statehouse armenian hospitality and his leadership congratulations to all the resolution recipients speaker of any thank you for joining us and feel leadership i noticed by the way a representative calhoun is here thank you for being here with us representative and i also noticed selecting jim williams from belmont here thank you mr selectman williams now so it's my pleasure to invite all of you to join us down for a reception immediately to follow reverend father's ruffins benediction reception will take place one floor down from us in front of the grand staircase just now just to remind you the buses will leave the state house today at one p m to return to st james and st stephen's one final announcement tomorrow saturday april twenty third cardinal sean o'malley of the catholic archdiocese of boston will host ecumenical prayer service for the armenian community at four p m at the cathedral of the holy cross in boston so tomorrow buses will leap from holy trinity saint james and state stevens at two thirty p m for the prayer service so at this time i welcome reverend father drove him to come forward to provide the benediction closing p in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit amen our heavenly father praise and thanksgiving be to you for this day they are blessed us all with thank you for our leaders w pray for as you have instructed us to do so by your words we pray that you continue to bless them with your wisdom thank you for showing our forefathers the way into this great land of america for the opportunities that you have bestowed upon us your merciful love that is ever so clear the armenian people never gave up hope never gave up faith and today we are reaping what they had sown today in this great commonwealth and in many other states are cries for justice are being heard because you will or have always been with us and you have sheltered us under the care of this great nation oak riced our god to crown your saints with triumph and you do the will of all who fear you looking after your creatures with love and kindness hear us from your holy and heavenly realm by the intercession of the holy mother of god and by the prayers of all your saints especially the martyrs who gave up their lives during the our new genocide for faith and for the homeland we commemorate today let us remain steadfast in faith in hope and in love always keeping your commandments asking you for peace for the whole world stability in your holy church and salvation for ourselves hero's lord and show us your mercy forgive kancil and pardon our senses what's the stored with the grace of your holy spirit dismiss us with your peace and make us where the the thank you we glorify you with the father and with the holy spirit now and always and on to the ages of ages