November 1, 2017

View image of document

State of Indiana Executive Department Indianapolis Executive Order

PROCLAMATION

To All To Whom There Presents May Come, Greetings:

WHEREAS, from 1915-1923 during the Armenian Genocide, one and one-half million ethnic Armenian men, women and children as well as over one million Greeks, Assyrians, Syriacs and others were massacred as part of the planned complete eradication of those indigenous communities by the Ottoman Turkish Empire during the first modern genocide that still requires justice; and

WHEREAS, the Hoosier State was a staunch supporter of Near East Relief (NER), the American-led campaign to help rescue victims of the Armenian Genocide from 1915 to 1930 ; and

WHEREAS, other cases of genocide include the Holocaust, killings in Cambodia in 1975, the massacres in Bosnia in 1992, the slaughter in Rwanda in 1994 and now in the 21st century, the displacements and deaths in Darfur as well as targeting of religious minorities by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, by recognizing and consistently remembering, and educating about the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and all cases of past and ongoing genocide, we help protect historic memory, ensure that similar atrocities do not occur again and remain vigilant against hatred, persecution, and tyranny:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Eric J. Holcomb, Governor of the State of Indiana, do hereby proclaim November 6th-12th, 2017 as

ARMENIA AWARENESS WEEK

in the State of Indiana, and invite all citizens to duly note this occasion.

In Testimony Whereof, Thereto set my hand and cause to be affixed the Great Seal of State. Done at the City of Indianapolis, this 1st day of November the year of our Lord 2017 and of the Independence of the United States 242.

BY THE GOVERNOR: [SIGNED]