2014 -- S 2907

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2014

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S E N A T E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING APRIL 24, 2014, AS "ARMENIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY"

TO COMMEMORATE THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915 TO 1923 AND IN HONOR

OF ARMENIAN-AMERICANS

     Introduced By: Senators Gallo, Ruggerio, Goodwin, McCaffrey, and Jabour

     Date Introduced: April 29, 2014

     Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration

     WHEREAS, One and a half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were

victims of the genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire in 1915 and thereafter; and

     WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau,

Sr., stated, "Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and

whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive,

became the daily misfortunes of these devoted people."; and

     WHEREAS, The killing of the Armenian people was accomplished by the systematic

destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt

to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than three thousand years; and

     WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers, such as the New York Times, carried headlines

including "Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed" and "Million Armenians Killed or in Exile";

and

     WHEREAS, Around the globe the Armenian genocide has been acknowledged by

countries and international bodies such as Argentina, Belgium, Canada, the Council of Europe,

Cyprus, the European Parliament, France, Great Britain, Greece, Lebanon, Russia, the United

Nations, and Uruguay; and

     WHEREAS, Each year Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished from

1915 to 1923, but truly all the world's people should commemorate the Armenian genocide

because it stands as an ugly testament to man's inhumanity to man; and

     WHEREAS, We must all do our best to raise awareness about the Armenian genocide,

not only because it is an undeniable chapter of world history, but also because learning more

about this unconscionable tragedy will better help us understand the necessity of eliminating

hatred from our own communities; and

     WHEREAS, Residents of Rhode Island are highly sensitive to the need for consistently

remembering and openly condemning the crimes committed against any culture or people in

order to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

     WHEREAS, Armenian-Americans living in Rhode Island have greatly enriched our state

through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby recognizes April 24, 2014, as "Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day" in the State of

Rhode Island; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That this Senate respectfully urges the Congress of the United States to

likewise commemorate the Armenian genocide and acknowledge that genocide is relevant to and

affects all nations; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the

United States, the Rhode Island Congressional Delegation, the Honorable Lincoln D. Chafee,

Governor of the State of Rhode Island, the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington, and

the Armenian National Committee in Washington.

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