April 24, 2001

Proclamation

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, resulting in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000 Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, 500,000 survivors were expelled from their homes and which succeeded in the elimination of the over 2,500-year presence of Armenians in their historic homeland; and

WHEREAS, the failure of the domestic and international authorities to punish those responsible for the Armenian Genocide is a reason why similar genocides have recurred and may recur in the future, and that a proper judicial and firm response would have spared humanity needless suffering; and

WHEREAS, recognizing the significant contributions of the Armenian-American community of our city and state, I proclaimed 1999 to be Armenian Centennial Year in the City of Saint Paul; and

WHEREAS, on the anniversary of the onset of the Armenian Genocide, which is traditionally observed on April 24, it is fitting that all people of goodwill join the Armenian-American community in commemoration of this crime against humanity;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Norm Coleman, Mayor of the City of Saint Paul, do hereby proclaim Tuesday, April 24, 2001 to be Armenian Remembrance Day in the city of Saint Paul.

In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the City of Saint Paul to be affixed this Twenty-Fourth Day of April in the Year Two Thousand One.

[signed]
Norm Coleman, Mayor