April 24, 2001

By his Excellency John G. Rowland, Governor: an Official Statement

WHEREAS, from 1915 to 1923, perhaps as many as 1.5 million Armenians-well over half of the population-were exterminated in a systematic campaign engineered by the Young Turk regime. In addition, up to 500,000 more Armenians were driven into permanent exile; and

WHEREAS, the Armenians were rounded up and imprisoned, forced into death marches and massacred. They were carried to remote areas, where they were left ot die of starvation. Armenian women and children were raped and mutilated; and

WHEREAS, it is critical that we recognize and condemn this genocide-a methodical extermination of a people; and

WHEREAS, this forgotten Armenian genocide deserves greater investigation and attention by academia and the public, and clear condemnation by all freedom-loving governments and peoples; and

WHEREAS, each year, Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished from 1915 to 1923. All the world's people should commemorate the Armenian genocide because it stands as an ugly testament to man's inhumanity to man. The Armenian genocide is an historic event that people must remember and continue to learn from; now

THEREFORE, I, John G. Rowland, Governor of the State of Connecticut, in order to commemorate the 86th anniverary of the Armneian genocide of 1915-1923 and to increase awareness of this holocaust, do hereby officially designate April 24, 2001 as

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
in the State of Connecticut