April 5, 2007

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Sponsor: Rep. Kowalko

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

144th GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 14

A RESOLUTION PROCLAIMING APRIL 24 AS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

WHEREAS, 1,500,000 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 refinement 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 3,000 years; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian genocide has been acknowledged by other countries and international bodies; and

WHEREAS, each year Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished from 1915 to 1923, and 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, it is essential to raise awareness about this undeniable chapter of world history, as this will further our understanding of the need to eliminate hatred from our own communities; and

WHEREAS, Armenian Americans living in Delaware have greatly enriched this State in business, communications and the arts;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

That April 24 is proclaimed as a day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of State shall forward copies of this resolution to the President of the United States and the members of the Delaware Congressional delegation.