Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
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PRESS RELEASE
January 8, 2007
CONTACT: Karoon Panosyan
Email: kpanosyan@aaainc.org

RE: ND Lawmakers Introduce Bill Recognizing April 24 as Genocide
Remembrance Day

Washington, DC — The Armenian Assembly today, commended North Dakota
State Representatives Lyle Hanson (D-Jamestown) and Joe Kroeber
(D-Jamestown) and State Senator David Nething (R-Jamestown) for
introducing House Concurrent Resolution No. 3003, which proclaims April
24 as a day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

The bill, introduced in Legislative Assembly of North Dakota, notes that
"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 noble
civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years."

With the passage of this bill, North Dakota will join some 40 other
states who have already affirmed the Armenian Genocide.

The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.

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NR#2007-005

Editor’s Note: Attached is the full text of House Concurrent Resolution
No. 3003:

Sixtieth Legislative Assembly of North Dakota

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 3003

Introduced by Representatives Hanson, Kroeber and Senator Nething

A concurrent 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 several
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 the Armenian genocide
not only because it is an undeniable chapter of world history, but also
because learning more about this unconscionable tragedy will help better
understand the necessity of eliminating hatred from our own communities;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NORTH
DAKOTA, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN: That April 24 is proclaimed as a
day of remembrance of the Armenian genocide.