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NEWSOM ISSUES PROCLAMATION ON GENOCIDE ANNIVERSARY
http://asbarez.com/109626/newsom-issues-proclamation-on-genocide-anniversary/
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
SACRAMENTO-California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom issued a
proclamation last week commemorating the 98th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America-Western Region.
In his proclamation, Newsom called for a "fair, just, and comprehensive
resolution of this crime against humanity."
Newsom has had a long track record regarding affirmation of the
Armenian Genocide. As Mayor of San Francisco, he was a leading public
advocate calling on Congress and the President numerous times to
appropriately remember the Armenian Genocide as genocide. In his
proclamation this year, he referred to the International Association
of Genocide Scholars, the world's leading academic association in
the field, which has repeatedly reaffirmed the historical truth of
the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.
Complete text of Newsom's proclamation: WHEREAS, April 24, 1915,
marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide which resulted in the
death of over two million Armenians as well as Greeks and Assyrians
between 1915 and 1923; and
WHEREAS, nearly half million Armenians who survived the horrors of
extermination were expelled from their homes and forced to settle in
various countries throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide is one of the first modern genocides
which resulted in the near annihilation of a people and the
dispossession of the survivors from their cultural homeland and
heritage; and
WHEREAS, the Republic of Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman
Empire under which the Genocide was committed, unjustifiably and
adamantly denies the occurrence of this crime against humanity,
and attempts to stifle the voices of truth within Turkish civil
society through the laws, such as Article 301, which have led to
the prosecution of countless writers and human rights advocates for
acknowledging the historical facts of the genocide; and
WHEREAS, the International Association of Genocide Scholars has
repeatedly affirmed that the massacres of Armenians initiated in 1915
constitutes genocide; and
WHEREAS, throughout the 20th Century the Armenian Genocide was followed
by several other genocides and this pattern continues to this day
as seen in the Darfur region of Sudan. If we fail to remember the
lessons of the past and remain silent in deference to a campaign of
denial we embolden current and future perpetrators of genocide; and
WHEREAS, many survivors of the Genocide settled in states around
the country, including California. California has become home to
the largest population of Armenians in the United States and those
citizens have enriched our state through leadership in the fields of
academia, medicine, business, agriculture, government, and the arts
and are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; and
NOW, THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Lieutenant Governor of the State of
California, do hereby join Californians in a day of remembrance of
the Armenian Genocide, as we continue to strive for a fair, just,
and comprehensive resolution of this crime against humanity.
http://asbarez.com/109626/newsom-issues-proclamation-on-genocide-anniversary/
Wednesday, April 24th, 2013
California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom
SACRAMENTO-California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom issued a
proclamation last week commemorating the 98th anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide, reported the Armenian National Committee of
America-Western Region.
In his proclamation, Newsom called for a "fair, just, and comprehensive
resolution of this crime against humanity."
Newsom has had a long track record regarding affirmation of the
Armenian Genocide. As Mayor of San Francisco, he was a leading public
advocate calling on Congress and the President numerous times to
appropriately remember the Armenian Genocide as genocide. In his
proclamation this year, he referred to the International Association
of Genocide Scholars, the world's leading academic association in
the field, which has repeatedly reaffirmed the historical truth of
the Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the
largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy
organization in the Western United States. Working in coordination
with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the
Western United States and affiliated organizations around the country,
the ANCA-WR advances the concerns of the Armenian American community
on a broad range of issues.
Complete text of Newsom's proclamation: WHEREAS, April 24, 1915,
marked the beginning of the Armenian Genocide which resulted in the
death of over two million Armenians as well as Greeks and Assyrians
between 1915 and 1923; and
WHEREAS, nearly half million Armenians who survived the horrors of
extermination were expelled from their homes and forced to settle in
various countries throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide is one of the first modern genocides
which resulted in the near annihilation of a people and the
dispossession of the survivors from their cultural homeland and
heritage; and
WHEREAS, the Republic of Turkey, the successor state to the Ottoman
Empire under which the Genocide was committed, unjustifiably and
adamantly denies the occurrence of this crime against humanity,
and attempts to stifle the voices of truth within Turkish civil
society through the laws, such as Article 301, which have led to
the prosecution of countless writers and human rights advocates for
acknowledging the historical facts of the genocide; and
WHEREAS, the International Association of Genocide Scholars has
repeatedly affirmed that the massacres of Armenians initiated in 1915
constitutes genocide; and
WHEREAS, throughout the 20th Century the Armenian Genocide was followed
by several other genocides and this pattern continues to this day
as seen in the Darfur region of Sudan. If we fail to remember the
lessons of the past and remain silent in deference to a campaign of
denial we embolden current and future perpetrators of genocide; and
WHEREAS, many survivors of the Genocide settled in states around
the country, including California. California has become home to
the largest population of Armenians in the United States and those
citizens have enriched our state through leadership in the fields of
academia, medicine, business, agriculture, government, and the arts
and are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; and
NOW, THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Lieutenant Governor of the State of
California, do hereby join Californians in a day of remembrance of
the Armenian Genocide, as we continue to strive for a fair, just,
and comprehensive resolution of this crime against humanity.