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Bohjalian, Walrath lead Vermont State Capitol Commemoration Calling
for Genocide Justice
MONTPELIER, Vt.--The Vermont legislature strengthened the standing of
the Green Mountain State as a leader in the genocide prevention
movement by unanimously adopting a concurrent resolution (H.C.R. 86)
commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial and hosting a day-long
series of events honoring the victims of this crime against humanity,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America-Eastern Region
(ANCA-ER).
Author Chris Bohjalian, Harvey Bazarian, Rep. Joan Georges Lenes,
author Dana Walrath, Arsho Aghjayan, and ANC Vermont's Nareg Aghjayan
following the unanimous adoption of the Armenian Genocide Centennial
resolution by the Vermont legislature.
Author Chris Bohjalian, Harvey Bazarian, Rep. Joan Georges Lenes,
author Dana Walrath, Arsho Aghjayan, and ANC Vermont's Nareg Aghjayan
following the unanimous adoption of the Armenian Genocide Centennial
resolution by the Vermont legislature.
The legislation was spearheaded on the House side by Representative
Joan G. Lenes, who is a descendant of an Assyrian Genocide survivor,
and Representative Adam Greshin. Lead Senate supporters of the
resolution included Senators Dick Sears, Philip Baruth, and Diane
Snelling with 14 of 30 senators cosponsoring the measure.
"It was a wonderful day of people sharing a common past--not forgetting
that, yet still learning and looking forward so that we are a better
people," said Lenes following passage of the resolution.
An image of the Vermont State Legislature during consideration of the
Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution.
An image of the Vermont State Legislature during consideration of the
Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution.
Prior to its reading in the General Assembly, Vermont's own Lokum
Band--Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones--played several
Armenian musical pieces as part of the devotional exercises, garnering
a standing ovation from legislators. Later, Lenes introduced the
Armenian community members in attendance and invited one and all to a
noon presentation about the Armenian Genocide by authors Chris
Bohjalian and Dana Walrath.
"I was so proud to be a Vermonter today--and I was so proud of the
Vermont legislature," said Bohjalian, whose internationally acclaimed
novel on the Armenian Genocide ,The Sandcastle Girls, was a New York
Times bestseller. "By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, legislators
gave voice to those voices that were forever stilled in Der-el-Zor and
Ras-el-Ain and the Dudan Crevasse. Today, Vermont helped spread the
truth of what occurred a century ago on the Anatolian plains and the
Syrian desert, and helped quiet the voice of denial."
"Today, Vermont legislators chose social justice over political
exigency," said Walrath, who recently published Like Water on Stone, a
verse novel about the genocide that is based on her grandmother's
history. "Shame, pride, and oil are not good enough reasons to deny
the Armenian genocide. Their detailed resolution honors those who
suffered and those who have worked tirelessly to erase genocide from
this earth. This resolution can serve as a model for other states. I
am proud to be a citizen of Vermont, a small state with a big heart."
Following the presentation, ANC Vermont activist Nareg Aghjayan joined
with local community leaders in hosting a reception with Armenian
delicacies for the over 100 legislators and supporters in attendance
at the commemoration.
"The few yet mighty members of the Armenian American community in the
Green Mountain State, collectively thank the Vermont General Assembly
in unanimously passing Resolution H.C.R. 86 commemorating the Armenian
Genocide Centennial," said Aghjayan. "On behalf of ANC-Vermont and
its entire grassroots family, we warmly welcome the continued support
of Vermonters on this crucial human rights issue."
Lokum's Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones play Armenian
music during the Vermont State Legislature morning devotional,
beginning with Gomidas' Kele Kele.
Lokum's Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones play Armenian
music during the Vermont State Legislature morning devotional,
beginning with Gomidas' Kele Kele.
ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian concurred. "We applaud
the leadership of Representatives Lenes and Greshin and Senators Sears
Baruth and Snelling in ensuring the unanimous passage of this historic
resolution by the Vermont Legislature. We would particularly like to
thank Chris Bohjalian and Dana Walrath for educating generations about
the Armenian Genocide through their presentations today and their
literary works read across the U.S. and the world. The people of
Vermont have spoken on this important topic through their Legislative
body and we call on the United States government to follow suit in
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, particularly at this important
juncture of our nation's history," said Mesrobian.
The State of Vermont first recognized the Armenian Genocide when
Governor James Douglas proclaimed April 24, 2004, as "Armenian Martyrs
Day" in Vermont. Forty-three U.S. states have recognized the Armenian
Genocide, with additional states considering legislation in the
upcoming months.
The full text of H.C.R. 86 follows.
***
Complete Text of Vermont Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution
H.C.R.86
Montpelier, Vermont
Concurrent House Resolution
H.C.R. 86
House concurrent resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the
start of the Armenian Genocide
Offered by: Representatives Lenes of Shelburne and Greshin of Warren
Offered by: Senators Sears, Baruth, Balint, Benning, Campion,
Collamore, Cummings, Flory, McCormack, Mullin, Pollina, Snelling,
White, and Zuckerman
Whereas, from 1915 to 1923, the government of the Ottoman Empire
persecuted and executed systematically an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians, and
Whereas, this brutal mistreatment became known as the Armenian
Genocide and, by 1923, it had resulted in the elimination of the
Armenian population in Asia Minor and historic West Armenia, and
Whereas, the Armenian Genocide began on the night of April 24, 1915,
when the Turkish government arrested more than 200 Armenian community
leaders in Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire's capital city, and
Whereas, most of the prominent public figures of the Armenian
community were summarily executed, and
Whereas, large numbers of Armenian civilians were forcibly deported to
the Syrian desert, and many died either en route, at the hands of
government-aligned gangs, or from dehydration and starvation in the
desert, and
Whereas, in May 1915, the Allied Powers of France, Great Britain, and
Russia issued a joint statement charging the government in
Constantinople with committing crimes ''against humanity and
civilization," the first time a government-to-government charge of
this type was issued, and
Whereas, it is estimated that, by 1918, the Ottoman Empire's brutal
treatment of Armenians had resulted in the deaths of one million
persons and made hundreds of thousands of others homeless and
stateless refugees, and
Whereas, Raphael Lemkin, the initial drafter of the United Nations
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
and the originator of the term "genocide," recognized the Armenian
Genocide as the type of crime the United Nations should prevent
through the establishment of international standards, and
Whereas, historians cite the Armenian Genocide as a forerunner of
later human massacres, including the Holocaust, the Cambodian Killing
Fields, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, and
Whereas, on April 24, 2004, Governor James Douglas issued a
proclamation recognizing the Armenian Genocide on the 89th anniversary
of its initiation, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly commemorates the 100th anniversary of the
start of the Armenian Genocide, and
be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of
this resolution to the Armenian National Committee of Vermont.
http://armenianweekly.com/2015/04/01/vermont-resolution/
From: Baghdasarian
for Genocide Justice
MONTPELIER, Vt.--The Vermont legislature strengthened the standing of
the Green Mountain State as a leader in the genocide prevention
movement by unanimously adopting a concurrent resolution (H.C.R. 86)
commemorating the Armenian Genocide Centennial and hosting a day-long
series of events honoring the victims of this crime against humanity,
reported the Armenian National Committee of America-Eastern Region
(ANCA-ER).
Author Chris Bohjalian, Harvey Bazarian, Rep. Joan Georges Lenes,
author Dana Walrath, Arsho Aghjayan, and ANC Vermont's Nareg Aghjayan
following the unanimous adoption of the Armenian Genocide Centennial
resolution by the Vermont legislature.
Author Chris Bohjalian, Harvey Bazarian, Rep. Joan Georges Lenes,
author Dana Walrath, Arsho Aghjayan, and ANC Vermont's Nareg Aghjayan
following the unanimous adoption of the Armenian Genocide Centennial
resolution by the Vermont legislature.
The legislation was spearheaded on the House side by Representative
Joan G. Lenes, who is a descendant of an Assyrian Genocide survivor,
and Representative Adam Greshin. Lead Senate supporters of the
resolution included Senators Dick Sears, Philip Baruth, and Diane
Snelling with 14 of 30 senators cosponsoring the measure.
"It was a wonderful day of people sharing a common past--not forgetting
that, yet still learning and looking forward so that we are a better
people," said Lenes following passage of the resolution.
An image of the Vermont State Legislature during consideration of the
Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution.
An image of the Vermont State Legislature during consideration of the
Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution.
Prior to its reading in the General Assembly, Vermont's own Lokum
Band--Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones--played several
Armenian musical pieces as part of the devotional exercises, garnering
a standing ovation from legislators. Later, Lenes introduced the
Armenian community members in attendance and invited one and all to a
noon presentation about the Armenian Genocide by authors Chris
Bohjalian and Dana Walrath.
"I was so proud to be a Vermonter today--and I was so proud of the
Vermont legislature," said Bohjalian, whose internationally acclaimed
novel on the Armenian Genocide ,The Sandcastle Girls, was a New York
Times bestseller. "By recognizing the Armenian Genocide, legislators
gave voice to those voices that were forever stilled in Der-el-Zor and
Ras-el-Ain and the Dudan Crevasse. Today, Vermont helped spread the
truth of what occurred a century ago on the Anatolian plains and the
Syrian desert, and helped quiet the voice of denial."
"Today, Vermont legislators chose social justice over political
exigency," said Walrath, who recently published Like Water on Stone, a
verse novel about the genocide that is based on her grandmother's
history. "Shame, pride, and oil are not good enough reasons to deny
the Armenian genocide. Their detailed resolution honors those who
suffered and those who have worked tirelessly to erase genocide from
this earth. This resolution can serve as a model for other states. I
am proud to be a citizen of Vermont, a small state with a big heart."
Following the presentation, ANC Vermont activist Nareg Aghjayan joined
with local community leaders in hosting a reception with Armenian
delicacies for the over 100 legislators and supporters in attendance
at the commemoration.
"The few yet mighty members of the Armenian American community in the
Green Mountain State, collectively thank the Vermont General Assembly
in unanimously passing Resolution H.C.R. 86 commemorating the Armenian
Genocide Centennial," said Aghjayan. "On behalf of ANC-Vermont and
its entire grassroots family, we warmly welcome the continued support
of Vermonters on this crucial human rights issue."
Lokum's Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones play Armenian
music during the Vermont State Legislature morning devotional,
beginning with Gomidas' Kele Kele.
Lokum's Jeff Davis, Peter Bingham, and Charlie Jones play Armenian
music during the Vermont State Legislature morning devotional,
beginning with Gomidas' Kele Kele.
ANCA Eastern Region Chairman Steve Mesrobian concurred. "We applaud
the leadership of Representatives Lenes and Greshin and Senators Sears
Baruth and Snelling in ensuring the unanimous passage of this historic
resolution by the Vermont Legislature. We would particularly like to
thank Chris Bohjalian and Dana Walrath for educating generations about
the Armenian Genocide through their presentations today and their
literary works read across the U.S. and the world. The people of
Vermont have spoken on this important topic through their Legislative
body and we call on the United States government to follow suit in
recognizing the Armenian Genocide, particularly at this important
juncture of our nation's history," said Mesrobian.
The State of Vermont first recognized the Armenian Genocide when
Governor James Douglas proclaimed April 24, 2004, as "Armenian Martyrs
Day" in Vermont. Forty-three U.S. states have recognized the Armenian
Genocide, with additional states considering legislation in the
upcoming months.
The full text of H.C.R. 86 follows.
***
Complete Text of Vermont Armenian Genocide Centennial Resolution
H.C.R.86
Montpelier, Vermont
Concurrent House Resolution
H.C.R. 86
House concurrent resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the
start of the Armenian Genocide
Offered by: Representatives Lenes of Shelburne and Greshin of Warren
Offered by: Senators Sears, Baruth, Balint, Benning, Campion,
Collamore, Cummings, Flory, McCormack, Mullin, Pollina, Snelling,
White, and Zuckerman
Whereas, from 1915 to 1923, the government of the Ottoman Empire
persecuted and executed systematically an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians, and
Whereas, this brutal mistreatment became known as the Armenian
Genocide and, by 1923, it had resulted in the elimination of the
Armenian population in Asia Minor and historic West Armenia, and
Whereas, the Armenian Genocide began on the night of April 24, 1915,
when the Turkish government arrested more than 200 Armenian community
leaders in Constantinople, the Ottoman Empire's capital city, and
Whereas, most of the prominent public figures of the Armenian
community were summarily executed, and
Whereas, large numbers of Armenian civilians were forcibly deported to
the Syrian desert, and many died either en route, at the hands of
government-aligned gangs, or from dehydration and starvation in the
desert, and
Whereas, in May 1915, the Allied Powers of France, Great Britain, and
Russia issued a joint statement charging the government in
Constantinople with committing crimes ''against humanity and
civilization," the first time a government-to-government charge of
this type was issued, and
Whereas, it is estimated that, by 1918, the Ottoman Empire's brutal
treatment of Armenians had resulted in the deaths of one million
persons and made hundreds of thousands of others homeless and
stateless refugees, and
Whereas, Raphael Lemkin, the initial drafter of the United Nations
Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
and the originator of the term "genocide," recognized the Armenian
Genocide as the type of crime the United Nations should prevent
through the establishment of international standards, and
Whereas, historians cite the Armenian Genocide as a forerunner of
later human massacres, including the Holocaust, the Cambodian Killing
Fields, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Darfur, and
Whereas, on April 24, 2004, Governor James Douglas issued a
proclamation recognizing the Armenian Genocide on the 89th anniversary
of its initiation, now therefore be it
Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives:
That the General Assembly commemorates the 100th anniversary of the
start of the Armenian Genocide, and
be it further
Resolved: That the Secretary of State be directed to send a copy of
this resolution to the Armenian National Committee of Vermont.
http://armenianweekly.com/2015/04/01/vermont-resolution/
From: Baghdasarian