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House OKs Resolution
Honoring Victims of Cambodia Genocide By JASON LEFFERTS, Sun Staff The U.S. House of
Representatives yesterday approved a federal resolution honoring the victims of
the Cambodian genocide and pledging the pursuit of justice for them. "The Cambodian genocide
was one of the darkest chapters in human history," Meehan said. "This
resolution represents a small but important step toward recovery for victims and
their families." During the reign of the Khmer
Rouge from 1975 to 1979, Pol Pot and his followers were responsible for killing
nearly 2 million Cambodians, focusing on eliminating the country's intellectual
leaders in an attempt to create a utopian agricultural society. Thousands fled
the country as refugees. Many of them immigrated to the
United States and Lowell, which is now home to an estimated 30,000 Cambodians,
the second-largest Cambodian population in the country. Meehan was not one of the 27
sponsors of the resolution. Kim Abbott, a Meehan spokeswoman, said he was not
asked to sponsor the legislation. ======== Concurrent
Congressional Resolution on the Cambodian Genocide November 19, 2003 Concurrent Congressional Resolution on the
Cambodian Genocide From the Congressional Record of November 19,
2003: H11524-27 H. CON. RES. 83 Whereas beginning in April 1975 and ending in
January 1979 at least 1,700,000 to 3,000,000 people were deliberately and
systematically killed in Cambodia in one of the worst human tragedies of the
modern era; Whereas in 1975, Pol Pot led the Communist
guerilla group, the Khmer Rouge, in a large-scale insurgency in Cambodia that
resulted in the removal of Cambodians from their homes and into labor camps in
an attempt to restructure Khmer society; Whereas traditional Khmer culture and society
were systematically destroyed, including the destruction of temples, schools,
hospitals, and other buildings; Whereas families were separated in an attempt by
the Khmer Rouge to prevent family formation, many individuals were punished or
killed for education, wealth, or sophistication, and doctors, nurses, clergy,
teachers, business owners, artisans, city dwellers, and even those individuals
who wore glasses were singled out for execution since they were seen as
bourgeois or contaminated with Western influence; Whereas the Khmer Rouge maintained control by
mass public torture, executions, and dismantling of the social order; Whereas men, women, and children were sent to
labor camps and forced to do strenuous farm work and famine and disease became
epidemic while medicine and medical care were non-existent; Whereas after the Khmer Rouge regime was
overthrown in 1979 thousands of Cambodians fled on foot to refugee camps in
Thailand and many refugees were processed again in other camps in the
Philippines and Indonesia; Whereas from these refugee camps approximately
145,149 Cambodians made their way to the United States between 1975 and 1999,
with the majority of Cambodians arriving in the early 1980s; Whereas these Cambodians were subsequently
resettled in communities across the United States; Whereas according to United States Bureau of the
Census figures for 2000, there are approximately 206,053 Cambodians currently
living in the United States; Whereas despite their tremendous loss, Cambodians
and Cambodian-Americans have shown courage and resiliency; Whereas the memory of those Cambodians who were
killed during the Cambodian genocide must never be forgotten and the survivors
of the Cambodian genocide should be honored; Whereas the resettlement of Cambodians reflected
the hard work of voluntary agencies through funding by the Federal government,
individual citizens, and Federal, State, and local governmental agencies, all
working together to assist the new arrivals in adjusting to American society; Whereas Cambodian refugees have done much to
further successful resettlement in the United States, including through mutual
assistance associations organized by previously resettled Southeast Asian
refugees to help new refugees through the provision of essential social,
psychological, cultural, educational, and economic services; and Whereas while remembering and honoring both their
traditional culture and their traumatic past, the new generation of Cambodian
Americans is contributing to American society in meaningful ways: Now,
therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the
Senate concurring), That Congress— (1) honors the victims of the genocide in
Cambodia that took place beginning in April 1975 and ending in January 1979; and
(2) is committed to pursue justice for the victims of the Cambodian genocide. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule,
the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LEACH) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
LANTOS) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Iowa (Mr. LEACH). GENERAL LEAVE Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on H. Con. Res. 83. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to
the request of the gentleman from Iowa? There was no objection. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 83, honoring
the victims of the Cambodian genocide. It is difficult to gain a full
perspective on historic events, particularly those that are most inhumane, such
as genocide. Tragically, the 20th century, which was marked by advances in
medicine and nutrition that raise the prospect of nearly doubling the life span
of countless people around the globe, also was marked by explosions of hatred
that mercilessly ended life for millions of others. The killing of so many
Cambodians under the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s stands among the worst of those
atrocities. In the field of law, there exists the precept of a statute of
limitations. But for genocide, mankind’s greatest crime, such a precept cannot
be bound merely by time. There also must be accountability. While justice and
time are interwoven, the preeminent principle is justice. To the extent that
accountability today is inadequate, accountability tomorrow must follow. For
some, justice for the Cambodian genocide seems a frail prospect, given that
almost a generation has passed in that country. Indeed, it does not lie within
our power to construct perfect justice for that, or any other, genocide. But as
time goes on and mortality places more of the perpetrators beyond our reckoning,
the most important accountability is not necessarily monetary, penal or
retributive. The march of time underscores the importance of memory. Victims
must be remembered and civilized peoples of the world must commit themselves to
ensuring that such horrific circumstances are not repeated within human history.
It is in this context that this resolution assumes its proper importance. I
would like to commend the gentlewoman from California (Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD)
for her efforts in introducing H. Con. Res. 83, which honors the victims of the
Cambodian genocide, gives voice to our desire for justice, and notes the
contributions of Cambodian Americans to our own society. To some, this
resolution may seem unimportant because it principally marks an instance of
symbolism. I disagree and believe that its power derives precisely from its
symbolism. This resolution deserves our unanimous support. Mr. Speaker, I
reserve the balance of my time. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. Mr.
Speaker, first I would like to commend my dear friend and wonderful neighbor,
the gentlewoman from California (Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) for introducing this
important resolution. The gentlewoman has shown enormous leadership on behalf of
Cambodian Americans and her work is greatly appreciated by all of us. The
resolution calls attention to one of the most horrendous chapters in
contemporary world history. The Cambodian genocide which unfolded from April
1975 to January 1979. Mr. Speaker, 3 million Cambodians living in cities were
forced into the countryside in a brutal and bloody effort to reshape Cambodian
society. The Khmer Rouge targeted these city dwellers for execution, along with
anyone else deemed by them to be educated, sophisticated or just different. By
the time the Khmer Rouge was forced from power in 1979, over 1.7 million
Cambodian citizens amounting to over 20 percent of Cambodia’s population had
perished. When a number of us visited Cambodia not long ago, the vestiges of
this brutal onslaught of innocent men, women and children was still profoundly
visible. Hundreds of thousands of Cambodians had been forced to flee their
native lands. Many were living in squalid refugee camps in Thailand and other
Southeast Asia nations. During the 1980s, some 150,000 Cambodians were received
by our own country as refugees, and they began the long process of rebuilding
their shattered lives. Cambodians who had lost most of their families and been
subject to forced labor and torture found new lives here in the United States,
and they began the difficult process of rebuilding their shattered dreams.
Cambodian Americans now number over 200,000, Mr. Speaker, and they are making an
enormous contribution to our Nation’s economy and to the development of our
diverse culture. These new Americans continue to face many challenges rebuilding
their lives in the United States even with financial, psychological and
educational assistance provided to them. With passage of this resolution, we
remember the victims of the Cambodian genocide, not only those who perished in
Cambodia’s Killing Fields, but those who were left to live with the physical
and psychological scars inflicted by the hands of the brutal Khmer Rouge. b 1100 The courage and resiliency of these survivors is
an inspiration to all of us. We cannot undo the massive devastation of the
horrendous 4 years of Cambodia’s history. By remembering the victims of the
Cambodian genocide, however, we do our best to prevent such atrocities from ever
happening again. Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this important resolution. Mr.
Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the
distinguished gentleman from California (Mr. ROHRABACHER). Mr. ROHRABACHER. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong
support of this resolution and again thank the gentlewoman from California (Ms.
MILLENDER-MCDONALD) for proposing it. We share Long Beach, which is the home of
a large Cambodian exiled community. Let me note the people who are exiled in
Long Beach and elsewhere in the United States from Cambodia are there because
they fled terror almost beyond imagination. Cambodia was pushed into a regional
conflict in the 1960s. They did not really choose to do so. Sihanouk, their
king, tried to keep that country out of that conflict; and eventually, as I say,
they were pushed into it. And who pushed them? Well, the Vietnamese certainly
pushed the Cambodians into it, but so did the United States of America. While we
were looking towards protecting our interests in Southeast Asia, we made the
Cambodians vulnerable to the type of atrocities that cost the lives of millions
of Cambodians and left so many people exiled in the United States and elsewhere
throughout the world. That conflict was something that we should not forget, and
we should not forget that during this massacre that followed America’s
withdrawal from Vietnam in Cambodia, where millions of people were imprisoned
and perhaps up to a million and a half murdered, that those people were
suffering and going through this situation and America ignored all of the pleas.
During that time period, we turned our back on something that we had pushed them
into; and we held our fingers to our ears and refused to hear the cries of agony
that was coming from the slaughter that was taking place there in Cambodia. Pol
Pot and his Khmer Rouge, who, I might add, were the perfect communists, they
were not working people who just rose up, they were well-educated people and
well educated in Marxism, Leninism and their plans from their Marxist professors
in Paris who gave them the ideas of what a perfect society would be like. And,
of course, to create a perfect society they had to slaughter everyone in their
society that was imperfect by their plan. Well, we did not do what was right
back in those days. The Cambodians suffered. Today we recognize that with this
resolution. But we must do more than pass a resolution. We must make sure that
we are committed to democracy in Cambodia. Let us not turn our backs again or
put our hands over our ears when we hear that things are going wrong in
Cambodia. Hun Sen, who currently controls the government in Cambodia, was
himself a member of the Khmer Rouge, was a brigade commander; and if there were
people slaughtered, there is no doubt he was engaged in it. Today, when they
attempt to have free elections and organize an opposition party to Hun Sen’s
rule, people get killed. People disappear. Let us not turn our backs and with
this resolution declare that we are committed to democracy and to helping the
people of Cambodia. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may
consume to the gentleman from California (Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD), my good
friend and distinguished colleague who is the author of this resolution. Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD. Mr. Speaker, first of
all, I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. HYDE) and the ranking
member, the gentleman from California (Mr. LANTOS), for their great leadership
and their sensitivity in marshaling this piece of legislation to the floor. I
would like to also thank the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LEACH) for managing this
piece of legislation; and I would like to thank my colleague and friend from the
area that we both represent, Long Beach, for joining in this morning in
presenting this resolution. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak on my resolution,
House Concurrent Resolution 83, a bill honoring the victims of the Cambodian
genocide. Between April, 1975, and January, 1979, up to 3 million Cambodians
were deliberately and systematically killed in what later became known as the
Killing Fields. Many more were tortured, starved, and brainwashed but survived
this horrific period in history. In 1975, Pol Pot led the communist guerilla
group, the Khmer Rouge, in a large-scale insurgency that resulted in the removal
of millions of Cambodians from their homes and forced them into brutal labor
camps. Traditional Khmer culture and society were systematically destroyed.
Temples, schools, hospitals, and other buildings were shattered. Families were
separated in an attempt by the Khmer Rouge to prevent family formation. Many
were punished or killed for education, wealth or sophistication. Doctors,
nurses, clergy, teachers, business owners, artisans, city dwellers and even
those who wore glasses were singled out for execution since they were seen as
bourgeois or contaminated with western influence. The Khmer Rouge maintained
control by mass public torture, executions, and dismantling the social order.
Men, women and children were sent to labor camps and forced to do strenuous farm
work. They were starved, with little food and contaminated drinking water.
Famine and disease became epidemic, while medicine and medical care were
nonexistent. When the Khmer Rouge regime was overthrown in 1979, thousands of
Cambodians fled on foot to refugee camps on the Thai border. While war continued
to rage in their homeland, they waited for up to 12 years to be resettled in a
third country such as the United States. From the refugee camps in Thailand,
Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia, approximately 145,000 Cambodians made
their way to the United States between 1975 and 1999. The majority of Cambodians
arrived in the early 1980s. With the assistance of the Federal Government,
State, local and voluntary agencies, Cambodians were resettled in communities
across the country. Mutual assistance associations organized by previously
resettled southeast Asian refugees helped these newcomers by providing essential
social, physiological, cultural, educational and economic services. I am
grateful for the work that these organizations have done to help assimilate the
many Cambodians that reside in my district and around this country. The United
Cambodian Community, the Khmer Parent Association, the Family and Good Health
Association, and the Cambodian Chamber of Congress all have played an important
role in trying to help these refugees find their way and to help them overcome
the horrendous experiences that they had in their homeland. The Cambodian
culture and contributions have enriched the American landscape. According to
U.S. census figures, there are 176,148 Cambodians currently living in the United
States, including almost 100,000 in the City of Long Beach. I am proud that the
largest Cambodian population in the United States resides in my district.
Despite the tremendous loss of family members, homes, and even parts of their
heritage, Cambodians have shown enormous resiliency. They continue in their
struggle to fully assimilate themselves into the fabric of our society.
Unfortunately, some Cambodian refugees still suffer severe emotional trauma from
the cruelties experienced under the Khmer Rouge. An article in The New York
Times this past Sunday noted the difficulty and the adjustment that Cambodian
refugees have had to make from forced labor to a free society. We must continue
to help Cambodian refugees share in the American Dream. Passage of this measure
is a start in the pursuit of justice for the victims of the Cambodian genocide.
Mr. Speaker, I urge swift passage of this resolution paying tribute to the
victims of the Cambodian genocide; and I thank the chairman, the ranking member,
and all who will partake in this resolution. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to
yield 21/2 minutes to the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. MEEHAN). Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I thank the ranking
member for yielding me this time, and I thank the chairman of the committee as
well as the gentlewoman from California, the author of this resolution. Mr.
Speaker, I rise to express my strong support for House Concurrent Resolution 83,
a resolution honoring those who were deliberately and systematically killed by
the Khmer Rouge regime. I want to pay my solemn respects to those who lost their
lives and to the survivors and their loved ones, so many of whom reside in my
district and in Massachusetts and who carry the scars to this day. The Cambodian
genocide was one of the darkest chapters in human history. In April of 1975, Pol
Pot led the Khmer Rouge in a brutal insurgency against the Cambodian government
in an effort to wipe out traditional Khmer culture and society. Over the next 4
years, the Khmer Rouge orchestrated the calculated destruction of the Cambodian
people through forced labor, public torture, and death marches. Following the
overthrow of Khmer Rouge in 1979, hundreds of thousands of Cambodians fled the
country on foot to refugee camps. I met and hired one of those who worked in my
Lowell district office. Sarah Kuon would tell me of her earliest memories as a
child walking along a railroad track with rocks and bare feet for miles and
miles, trying to get to a refugee camp. Many of these refugees eventually
resettled in the United States; and I am proud to represent a large and active
Cambodian community in and around the city of Lowell, Massachusetts, my
hometown. Cambodian Americans have made invaluable contributions to our
communities through their spirit, leadership, and strength. I am proud that the
City of Lowell elected the first Cambodian- American anywhere in the United
States to public elective office. Rity Uong was elected to the Lowell City
Council in 1979 in an at-large election. Just 2 weeks ago, he was reelected to
his third term on the city council. This resolution represents a small but
important step in honoring the victims, their survivors, and their descendants
by making public and vivid the hidden details of the Cambodian genocide. This
resolution should remind the world not only of the horrors perpetrated by the
Khmer Rouge but of the horrors of genocide in Europe, Africa, and around the
world. I am honored to add my voice to those of my colleagues today in
remembering the victims of the Cambodian genocide, and I will continue to pursue
justice for its victims. We will never forget what happened or turn our backs on
the truth. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I have no further
requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. Mr. LEACH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time
as I may consume to conclude with great thanks to the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD) for her gentility and her civil leadership
of this very important international human rights issue. Mr. Speaker, I have no
further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. SHAW). The question
is on the motion offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LEACH) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 83. The
question was taken. The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the
Chair, two-thirds of those present have voted in the affirmative. Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the
yeas and nays. The yeas and nays were ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of
rule XX and the Chair’s prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion
will be postponed. H11573-74 HONORING VICTIMS OF CAMBODIAN GENOCIDE THAT TOOK
PLACE FROM APRIL 1975 TO JANUARY 1979 The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. SWEENEY). The
pending business is the question of suspending the rules and agreeing to the
concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 83. The Clerk read the title of the concurrent
resolution. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the
motion offered by the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. LEACH) that the House suspend the
rules and agree to the concurrent resolution, H.R. 83, on which the yeas and
nays are ordered. This will be a 5-minute vote. The vote was taken by electronic device, and
there were—yeas 420, nays 1, not voting 13, as follows: [Roll No. 640] YEAS—420 Abercrombie Ackerman Aderholt Akin Alexander
Allen Baca Bachus Baird Baker Baldwin Ballance Ballenger Barrett (SC) Bartlett
(MD) Barton (TX) Bass Beauprez Becerra Bell Bereuter Berkley Berman Berry
Biggert Bilirakis Bishop (GA) Bishop (UT) Blackburn Blumenauer Blunt Boehlert
Boehner Bonilla Bonner Bono Boozman Boswell Boucher Boyd Bradley (NH) Brady (PA)
Brady (TX) Brown (OH) Brown (SC) Brown, Corrine Brown-Waite, Ginny Burgess Burns
Burr Burton (IN) Buyer Calvert Camp Cannon Cantor Capito Capps Capuano Cardin
Cardoza Carson (IN) Carson (OK) Carter Case Castle Chabot Chocola Clay Clyburn
Coble Cole Conyers Cooper Costello Cox Cramer Crane Crenshaw Crowley Culberson
Cummings Cunningham Davis (AL) Davis (CA) Davis (FL) Davis (IL) Davis (TN)
Davis, Jo Ann Davis, Tom Deal (GA) DeFazio DeGette Delahunt DeLauro DeLay
Deutsch Diaz-Balart, L. Diaz-Balart, M. Dicks Dingell Doggett Dooley (CA)
Doolittle Doyle Dreier Duncan Dunn Edwards Ehlers Emanuel Emerson Engel English
Eshoo Etheridge Evans Everett Farr Fattah Feeney Ferguson Filner Flake Foley
Forbes Ford Fossella Frank (MA) Franks (AZ) Frelinghuysen Frost Gallegly Garrett
(NJ) Gerlach Gibbons Gilchrest Gillmor Gingrey Gonzalez Goode Goodlatte Gordon
Goss Granger Graves Green (TX) Green (WI) Greenwood Grijalva Gutierrez Gutknecht
Hall Harman Harris Hart Hastings (FL) Hastings (WA) Hayes Hayworth Hefley
Hensarling Herger Hill Hinchey Hinojosa Hobson Hoeffel Hoekstra Holden Holt
Honda Hooley (OR) Hostettler Houghton Hoyer Hulshof Hyde Inslee Israel Issa
Istook Jackson (IL) Jackson-Lee (TX) Janklow Jefferson Jenkins John Johnson (CT)
Johnson (IL) Johnson, E. B. Johnson, Sam Jones (NC) Jones (OH) Kanjorski Kaptur
Keller Kelly Kennedy (MN) Kennedy (RI) Kildee Kilpatrick Kind King (IA) King
(NY) Kingston Kirk Kleczka Kline Knollenberg Kolbe Kucinich LaHood Lampson
Langevin Lantos Larsen (WA) Larson (CT) Latham LaTourette Leach Lee Levin Lewis
(CA) Lewis (GA) Lewis (KY) Linder Lipinski LoBiondo Lofgren Lowey Lucas (KY)
Lucas (OK) Lynch Majette Maloney Manzullo Markey Marshall Matheson Matsui
McCarthy (MO) McCarthy (NY) McCollum McCotter McCrery McDermott McGovern McHugh
McInnis McIntyre McKeon McNulty Meehan Meek (FL) Meeks (NY) Menendez Mica
Michaud Millender- McDonald Miller (FL) Miller (MI) Miller (NC) Miller, Gary
Miller, George Mollohan Moore Moran (KS) Moran (VA) Murphy Murtha Musgrave
Myrick Nadler Napolitano Neal (MA) Nethercutt Neugebauer Ney Northup Norwood
Nunes Nussle Oberstar Obey Olver Ortiz Osborne Ose Otter Owens Oxley Pallone
Pascrell Pastor Payne Pearce Pelosi Pence Peterson (MN) Peterson (PA) Petri
Pickering Pitts Platts Pombo Pomeroy Porter Portman Price (NC) Putnam Quinn
Radanovich Rahall Ramstad Rangel Regula Rehberg Renzi Reyes Reynolds Rodriguez
Rogers (AL) Rogers (KY) Rogers (MI) Rohrabacher Ros-Lehtinen Ross Rothman Roybal-Allard
Royce Ruppersberger Rush Ryan (OH) Ryan (WI) Ryun (KS) Sabo Sanchez, Linda T.
Sanchez, Loretta Sanders Sandlin Saxton Schakowsky Schiff Schrock Scott (GA)
Scott (VA) Sensenbrenner Serrano Sessions Shadegg Shaw Shays Sherman Sherwood
Shimkus Shuster Simmons Simpson Skelton Slaughter Smith (MI) Smith (NJ) Smith
(TX) Snyder Solis Souder Spratt Stark Stearns Stenholm Strickland Stupak Sweeney
Tancredo Tanner Tauscher Tauzin Taylor (MS) Taylor (NC) Terry Thomas Thompson
(CA) Thompson (MS) Thornberry Tiahrt Tiberi Tierney Towns Turner (OH) Turner
(TX) Udall (CO) Udall (NM) Upton Van Hollen Velazquez Visclosky Vitter Walden
(OR) Walsh Wamp Waters Watson Watt Waxman Weiner Weldon (FL) Weldon (PA) Weller
Wexler Whitfield Wicker Wilson (NM) Wilson (SC) Wolf Woolsey Wu Wynn Young (AK)
Young (FL) NAYS—1 Paul NOT VOTING—13 Andrews Bishop (NY) Collins Cubin DeMint Fletcher
Gephardt Hunter Isakson Pryce (OH) Smith (WA) Sullivan Toomey b 1639 So (two-thirds having voted in favor thereof) the
rules were suspended and the concurrent resolution was agreed to. The result of
the vote was announced as above recorded. A motion to reconsider was laid on the
table. /ends/ |
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