April 24, 1996

CERTIFICATE of RECOGNITION

By virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution
in the Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia,
there is hereby officially recognized:

ARMENIAN MARTYRS DAY

WHEREAS, the viscous killing of more than one and 1.5 million Armenians by the Ottoman Turks and the forced deportation of countless others has been remembered every year since 1959 on April 24 as Armenian Martyrs Day; and

WHEREAS, in horror, 81 years ago Armenians were forced to witness the slaughter of their relatives and the loss of their ancestral homeland; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian people have not received reparation for their losses;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, George Allen, Governor, hereby recognize April 24, 1996, the 81st Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, as ARMENIAN MARTYRS DAY, in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all our citizens.

[SIGNED]
George Allen
Governor

[SIGNED]
Betsy Davis Beamer
Secretary of the Commonwealth