CALIFORNIA STATE SENATE APPROVES GENOCIDE AWARENESS ACT

armradio.am
04.06.2009 14:43

Earlier today, the California State Senate passed Senate Bill 234, the
"Genocide Awareness Act," reported the Armenian Assembly of America
(Assembly). The Assembly, an early proponent of the measure introduced
by State Senator Mark Wyland (R), activated its ARAMAC grassroots
network in California to encourage support and passage of the bill.

On April 29, the Senate Education Committee voted unanimously in favor
of SB 234. During the public witness hearing, Armenian Genocide denier
Bruce Fein and the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA)
testified against treating the Armenian example and parallel cases
in Cambodia and Darfur as genocide. In response to the opposition’s
testimony, State Senator Joe Simitian (D), a member of the Education
Committee, expressed his disappointment, especially given the
incontestable historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and asked,
"Why is it that genocide happens over and over and over again?…It
happens because we are unwilling to step back and confront man’s
inhumanity to man." The truth of the Armenian Genocide, Simitian
stated, "has long been settled."

State Senator Christine Kehoe (D), Chair of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, moved the bill directly to the Senate floor for a vote,
stating, "The continuing events in Darfur remind me of the words of
philosopher George Santayana who wrote: ‘Those who do not learn from
history are doomed to repeat it.’ Those horrific events only serve to
raise the importance of acknowledging and learning from past events
like the Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust. Making sure that Senate
Bill 234 becomes law will help make sure that the Armenian Genocide
is not forgotten for this and future generations."

"The Armenian Assembly applauds Senator Kehoe for promptly bringing
this legislation to the floor for a vote," stated Yeghig Keshishian,
the Assembly’s Western Region Director. "The Assembly would also like
to commend Senator Wyland for introducing this legislation and thereby
once again placing California in the forefront of national politics
as it pertains to human rights education and genocide prevention."

Upon successful passage in the California State Assembly, State Senator
Wyland’s "Genocide Awareness Act" would then be signed into law by
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The bill requires the California
Curriculum Commission to vote on the inclusion of an oral history
component related to genocides as part of its high school curriculum,
including the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. California pioneered
new education standards by adopting the Model Curriculum for Human
Rights and Genocide, which includes the Armenian Genocide.