Indiana becomes the 48th U.S. state to recognize the Armenian Genocide (Graphic: ANCA)
ishtartv.com - armenianweekly.com
November
6, 2017
INDIANAPOLIS,
Ind.—Indiana Governor Eric J. Holcomb issued a powerful proclamation
memorializing the Ottoman Turkish Empire’s centrally planned and executed
annihilation of close to three million Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and
Syriacs, making the Hoosier State the 48th U.S. state to properly recognize and
condemn the Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America—Eastern Region (ANCA-ER).
Governor
Holcomb also declared Nov. 6-12, 2017, as “Armenia Awareness Week,” and invited
the citizens of Indiana to “duly note this occasion.”
“We
welcome this proclamation by Governor Holcomb, making Indiana the 48th state in
the union to officially reaffirm this international crime against humanity,”
said ANCA-ER Community Outreach and Communications Director Artur Martirosyan.
“This proclamation serves as a reminder not only for the citizens of Indiana
but also for the denialist government of Turkey, which—for over a century—has
been trying to hold truth hostage. Such a policy is doomed to failure as we
stand even stronger today with the people of good conscience in Turkey as well
as our coalition partners, who have made this and other similar resolutions and
proclamations a reality.”
“The
Armenian community in Indiana is small, but mighty,” said ANC of Indiana
Chairperson Seda Arzumanyan. “Armenians have called Indiana home for several
generations and have made noteworthy contributions to the development of our
great state. We are glad to see the Hoosier State join the rest of the nation
in properly memorializing and condemning this horrific atrocity and look
forward to celebrating our culture and heritage with our fellow Indianans
during the week of November 6-12 and beyond.”
Iraqi
Christian Relief Council Board Member Denise Bubeck said, “I am so very
thankful Indiana has joined in remembering the Armenian Genocide, the
Holocaust, past and present genocide;
Noting
that the Ottoman Turkish government’s crime “still requires justice,” Gov.
Holcomb’s proclamation cites Hoosier State’s active participation in the Near
East Relief, an example of outpouring of generosity by the American people from
the onset of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1923) and for 15 subsequent years in
rescuing and providing assistance to hundreds of thousands of men, women, and
children who were victims of the genocide. The document recounts the cycle of
subsequent genocides of the 20th and 21st centuries, specifically mentioning
the Islamic State’s genocide against Middle East Christians, Yezidis, and other
minorities. It concludes with the assertion that by “recognizing, 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.”
The
full text of the Indiana proclamation is below.
Alabama
and Mississippi are the only two U.S. states that have not yet officially
memorialized and condemned the Armenian Genocide.
***
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]
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