April 23, 1981

STATE OF COLORADO

EXECUTIVE CHAMBERS

DENVER

EXECTUTIVE ORDER

PROCLAMATION
ARMENIAN MARTYRS' DAY
April 24, 1981

WHEREAS, sixty-six years ago, one and a half million Armenians were massacred and millions more fled in terror from their ancient homeland; and

WHEREAS, the world was shocked, for the murder and exile of the Armenians was seen as a deliberate attempt to exterminate an entire nation; and

WHEREAS, on April 24, Armenian throughout the world commemorate "Martyrs' Day" as a reminder of the day in 1915 when the Ottoman Turks arrested and killed 250 Armenian community leaders and intellectuals--an act which signaled the terrible events that followed; and

WHEREAS, all Coloradans should join our fellow citizens of Armenian heritage in honoring the memory of those martyrs in the hope that the conscience of the world can bring a halt to senseless slaughter, an end to all human suffering and a reawakening of the sense of justice and human rights; and

WHEREAS, let us also pay tribute to the survivors of the Armenian tragedy, especially to the hundreds of thousands who have made this Nation their home and have become hard-working, loyal citizens; and

WHERAS, in observing April 24, as a reminder of man's inhumanity to man, Armenians also regard it as a time for renewal and rededication, and for subdued celebrations of their survival;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Richard D. Lamm, Governor of the State of Colorado, do hereby proclaim April 24, 1981, as

ARMENIAN MARTYRS' DAY

in the State of Colorado.

GIVEN under my hand and the Executive Seal of the State of Colorado, this twenty-third day of April, A.D., 1981.

(SIGNED)
Richard D. Lamm
Governor