Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
Fax: 818.246.7353
E-mail: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
April 12, 2007
Contact: Haig Hovsepian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Nevada Governor James Gibbons Issues Proclamation for
"Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide"
Carson City, NV – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western
Region (ANCA-WR) applauds Nevada Governor James Gibbons (R-CA) for
issuing a proclamation concerning the Armenian Genocide. The document
specifically addresses the Armenian Genocide as the first genocide of
the twentieth century and notes the importance of remembering the
Armenian Genocide to guard against the recurrence of this crime against
humanity.
"We are honored to see Governor Gibbons join Governor Schwarzenegger in
exercising strong moral leadership on the Armenian Genocide," commented
ANCA-WR Executive Director Andrew Kzirian. "Nevada’s Armenian American
community has a rich tradition of civic participation and the Governor’s
proclamation is most welcome in this regard," he added.
Governor Gibbons’ proclamation was issued in the midst of a campaign by
the Turkish Government to defeat a resolution (H.Res.106) pending in the
U.S. Congress that would mark the slaughter of 1.5 million Christians as
the first genocide of the 20th century.
In Nevada, Congressman Porter (R-NV-03) and Congresswoman Berkley
(D-NV-01) have cosponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution. San
Francisco – Bay Area Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA-12), who serves as
Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is himself a
Holocaust survivor, has not indicated whether he is supporting the
legislation or if he will schedule a vote on the bill in his committee.
Currently, nearly 200 Members of Congress from over 35 states have
cosponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution.
This is the second proclamation issued by the Office of the Governor of
Nevada since 2000.
The full text of the proclamation is included below.
The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most
influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working
in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters
throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the
world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American
community on a broad range of issues.
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Photo Caption: Governor of the State of Nevada, James Gibbons (R-NV).
State of Nevada
Executive Department
A Proclamation by the Governor
WHEREAS, on April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turks rounded up, deported and
massacred 600 Armenian leaders, writers, thinkers and professionals in
Constantinople and other major cities along with 5,000 Armenians who
were killed in the streets and in their homes; and
WHEREAS, the extermination from 1915 to 1923, of more than 1,500,000
Christian Armenians and the forced deportation of others represents the
first case of genocide of the 20th Century; and
WHEREAS, during the Genocide, Armenians were forced to witness the
slaughter of their relatives and the loss of their ancestral homeland
and property; and
WHEREAS; it is crucial to remember this horrific instance in history in
guarding against recurrence of genocide of any kind;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM GIBBONS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA do
hereby proclaim April 22, 2007, as
A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 1915 TO 1923
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great
Seal of the State of Nevada to be affixed at the State Capitol in Carson
City, this 6th day of April 2007.
Jim Gibbons, Governor