PRESIDENT OBAMA’S HOME STATE BECOMES 42ND TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

ArmInfo
2009-04-07 12:23:00

ArmInfo. Hawaii, home to President Barack Obama, became the 42nd
U.S. state to recognize the Armenian Genocide, with the State House
of Representatives earlier today adopting a formal measure (HR192)
that both condemned this crime and noted Turkey’s ongoing denial of
this atrocity.

The measure, which was adopted unanimously on the day of the
President’s trip to Turkey, declares April 24th as a "Day of
Remembrance in Recognition of and Commemoration of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915." The "Aloha State" proclamation makes Hawaii the
42nd state to recognize the Armenian Genocide, Armenian National
Committee of America (ANCA) reported.

"Hawaii’s recognition today of the Armenian Genocide reflects the
broad-based and growing tide of civil society support throughout
the United States for a strong, moral American stand against
all genocides," said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. "In
this spirit, and keeping faith with the citizens of Hawaii and the
forty-one other states that have officially marked this crime, we look
forward, in the coming days, to the President honoring his pledge to
recognize the Armenian Genocide." The legislation, HR192, states that,
"approximately 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children living
within the Ottoman Empire’s borders were killed in a brutal genocide,"
and that, "the Armenian Genocide remains unacknowledged by the Republic
of Turkey to this day." The measure also notes that, "this body joins
with Hawaii’s Armenian-American community and all Armenians worldwide
in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted
during the Armenian Genocide, and urging people throughout the world
to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity."

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress