NEVADA GOVERNOR ISSUES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE PROCLAMATION
12:59, 12 Mar 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, issued a proclamation commemorating the
Armenian Genocide, declaring April 19-26 as the “Day of Remembrance of
The Armenian Genocide,” reported the Armenian Council of America (ACA).
Spearheaded by the ACA Nevada Chapter, the proclamation condemns the
systematic murder and deportations of 1.5 million Armenians in the
Ottoman Empire, highlighting the plight of the Armenian people and the
refuge they sought in the U.S. during that time, Massis Post reports.
The proclamation also honors the Armenian-American community in Nevada,
citing that the “thriving community is a proud reminder of survival
and determination even in the face of extreme injustice.”
Calling upon the House of Representatives and the President of the
U.S. to recognize the atrocities, the proclamation also reiterates
Turkey’s responsibility “to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian
Genocide.”
A full text of the proclamation can be found below.
WHEREAS, on the night of April 24, 1915, more than 200 leaders in
the Armenian community, in the city known today as Istanbul, were
arrested. Sent to prison, most were executed, beginning a horrible,
systemic killing and forced relocation of the Armenian people that
would last until 1923. During these years, the government of the
Ottoman Empire claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenians and forced
500,000 more from their homeland. The Armenian Genocide was a terrible
breach of human rights and an event that has outraged the world; and
WHEREAS, the atrocities carried out against the Armenian people
were grave and unimaginable, as they were subjected to deportation,
abduction, torture, starvation, and more. And as with any violent
conflict, Armenian women and children suffered the worst abuses. The
bulk of the Armenian population that was displaced from their homes
was forced to escape to neighboring as well as faraway countries. Many
fled to the United States; and
WHEREAS, today Nevada is honored to be home to a vibrant growing
Armenian-American population. This thriving community is a proud
reminder of survival and determination even in the face of extreme
injustice; and
WHEREAS, as Americans and Nevadans, it is our duty to raise awareness
of the Armenian Genocide and to participate in the remembrance and
mourning of the loss of innocent lives a century ago; and
WHEREAS, as Americans and Nevadans, we call upon Congress and the
President of the United States to recognize the atrocities committed
against the Armenian people, and call upon the Republic of Turkey
to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and work toward a
just resolution;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BRIAN SANDOVAL, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA,
do hereby proclaim April 19-26, 2015, as
DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE