Hawaii Armenian Genocide Recognition

Hawaii legislators have recognized the Armenian Genocide on the state level. Gubernatorial proclamations as well as state and local legislation are provided below since 2009.  If you know of other documents to be added to this list – old or new – please send a note to elizabeth@anca.org. We look forward to showcasing them.

Hawaii citizens also played an active role in assisting Armenian Genocide survivors through the Congressionally mandated Near East Foundation, during the years 1915 – 1930.  Learn more about their efforts below, through research prepared by the ANCA Western Region’s “America We Thank You” program.

And finally, review our snapshot of news coverage of the Armenian Genocide in Hawaii press, as we spotlight three articles, prepared as part of the ANCA’s “Genocide Diary” project.  Check back to the Genocide Diary’s Hawaii page for new articles added on a monthly basis.

House Hawaii

HOUSE  CONCURRENT  RESOLUTION DECLARING APRIL 24 AS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IN RECOGNITION AND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.
HAWAII
March 18 2009

WHEREAS, during the chaos of World War I between the years 1915 and 1923, one and a half million Armenian men, women, and children living within the Ottoman Empire’s borders were killed in a brutal genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, their national identities, and their homeland; and

WHEREAS, documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian genocide remains unacknowledged by the Republic of Turkey to this day; and

WHEREAS, even though over ninety years have passed since these mass killings took place, present day atrocities continue to resonate throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, it is every person’s responsibility to recognize the brutal slayings of so many innocents, remember their suffering, and vow to help prevent future occurrences of genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenia’s ties to Hawaii started in the 1920s with the gifted painter Arman T. Manookian, a genocide survivor, who lived in Hawaii for almost six years before his tragic death in 1931, and who became known as Hawaii’ s Van Gogh; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has a growing Armenian-American community that is involved in all aspects of public life, including business, education, and government; and

WHEREAS, each year, Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished in the first genocide of the twentieth century, and all the people of the world should join in recognizing and commemorating the Armenian genocide to ensure that this ugly testament to man’ s inhumanity to man is never forgotten; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the Senate concurring, that the Legislature hereby declares April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature joins with Hawaii’ s Armenian-American community and all Armenians worldwide in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian genocide, and urging people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes•against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, who in turn is requested to transmit copies to the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America and Armenian State Committee of Hawaii.

(SIGNED)

Kal

House Resolution
Hawaii
April 22, 2015

WHEREAS, 2015, marks the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Armenian genocide; and

WHEREAS, we honor the memory of those who perished one century ago, and seek to remember all the victims and their descendants; and

WHEREAS, documentation and scholarly consensus regarding the genocide are recognized and accepted by people and governments around the world; and

WHEREAS, that campaign of arrests, torture, and killings launched on April 24, 1915 resulted in the annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians, and the deportation of almost the entire Armenian population from its ancestral lands in Asia Minor; and

WHEREAS, the terrors of ethnic cleansing visited on men, women, and children are unconscionable in every individual instance; and

WHEREAS, it is the duty of all citizens to acknowledge and remember the pain and suffering of victims of genocide and their descendants, to honor the value of all human life, and to work to prevent such acts; and

WHEREAS, many survivors of the Armenian genocide found safe haven in locations across the United States, including Alaska, where their descendants continue to play a vital, productive role in community life.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Bill Walker, Governor of the State of Alaska do hereby proclaim April 24, 2015 as: Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide in Alaska, and encourage all Alaskans to honor the memory of those who perished in the Armenian genocide and to value the contributions of Alaskans of Armenian heritage to our state.

State Senate Resolutions

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.
HAWAII
MAR 18 2009

WHEREAS, between the years 1915 and 1923, during the chaos of World War I, one and a half million Armenian men, women and children living within the Ottoman Empire’s borders were killed in a brutal genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, their national identities and their homeland; and

WHEREAS, documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian Genocide remains unacknowledged by Turkey to this day; and

WHEREAS, even though over ninety years have passed since these mass killings took place, present day atrocities continue to resonate throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, it is our responsibility to recognize the brutal slayings of so many innocents, remembering their suffering and vowing to help prevent future genocides; and

WHEREAS, each year Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished and the entire world’s people should commemorate the Armenian Genocide because it stands as an ugly testament to man’s inhumanity to man; and

WHEREAS, Armenia’s ties to Hawaii started in the 1920’s with painter Arman Manookian, a genocide survivor, who became known as Hawaii’s Van Gogh; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has a growing Armenian-American community that is involved in all aspects of public life, from business to education and government; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body hereby joins Hawaii’s Armenian-American community and all Armenians worldwide in honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian Genocide, and urge people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate recognizes April 24 as a day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Armenian National Committee of America and the Armenian State committee of Hawaii

SENATE  RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.
HAWAII
MAR 18 2009

WHEREAS, between the years 1915 and 1923, during the chaos of World War I, one and a half million Armenian men, women and children living within the Ottoman Empire’s borders were killed in a brutal genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, their national identities and their homeland; and

WHEREAS, documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian Genocide remains unacknowledged by Turkey to this day; and

WHEREAS, even though over ninety years have passed since these mass killings took place, present day atrocities continue to resonate throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, it is our responsibility to recognize the brutal slayings of so many innocents, remembering their suffering and vowing to help prevent future genocides; and

WHEREAS, each year Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished and the entire world’s people should commemorate the Armenian Genocide because it stands as an ugly testament to man’ s inhumanity to man; and

WHEREAS, Armenia’s ties to Hawaii started in the 1920’s with painter Arman Manookian, a genocide survivor, who became known as Hawaii’s Van Gogh; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has a growing Armenian-American community that is involved in all aspects of public life, from business to education and government; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, that this body hereby joins Hawaii’s Armenian-American community and all Armenians worldwide in honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian Genocide, and urge people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate recognizes April 24 as a day of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Armenian National Committee of America and the Armenian State Committee of Hawaii

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION DECLARING APRIL 24 AS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IN RECOGNITION AND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.
HAWAII
MAR 10 2015

WHEREAS, during the chaos of World War I between the years 1915 and 1923, approximately 1,500,000 Armenian men, women, and children living within the Ottoman Empire’ s borders were killed in a brutal genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, national identities, and homeland; and

WHEREAS, documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian genocide remains unacknowledged by the Republic of Turkey to this day; and

WHEREAS, even though over 90 years have passed since these mass killings took place, present-day atrocities continue to resonate throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, it is every person’ s responsibility to recognize the brutal slayings of so many innocent individuals, remember their suffering, and vow to help prevent future occurrences of genocide; and

WHEREAS, each year, Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished in the first genocide of the twentieth century, and the world community should join in recognizing and commemorating the Armenian genocide to ensure that this inhumanity is never forgotten; and

WHEREAS, with H.R. No. 192, H.D. 1, the Bouse of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii declared April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide during the Regular D Session of 2009; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body declares April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature ]Olns Hawaii’ s Armenian-American community and all Armenians worldwide in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian genocide, and urging people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

SENATE CONCURRENT DECLARING APRIL 24 AS A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE IN RECOGNITION AND COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE OF 1915.
Hawaii
March 10 2015

WHEREAS, during the chaos of World War I between the years 1915 and 1923, approximately 1,500,000 Armenian men, women, and children living within the Ottoman Empire’ s borders were killed in a brutal genocide; and

WHEREAS, hundreds of thousands of Armenians were forced to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, national identities, and homeland; and

WHEREAS, documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian genocide remains unacknowledged by the Republic of Turkey to this day; and

WHEREAS, even though over 90 years have passed since these mass killings took place, present-day atrocities continue to resonate throughout the world; and

WHEREAS, it is every person’ s responsibility to recognize the brutal slayings of so many innocent individuals, remember their suffering, and vow to help prevent future occurrences of genocide; and

WHEREAS, each year, Armenians throughout the world honor those who perished in the first genocide of the twentieth century, and the world community should join in recognizing and commemorating the Armenian genocide to ensure that this inhumanity is never forgotten; and

WHEREAS, with H.R. No. 192, H.D. 1, the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii declared April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide during the Regular Session of 2009; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that this body declares April 24 as a day of remembrance in recognition and commemoration of the Armenian genocide; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Senate joins the House of Representatives, Hawaii’ s Armenian-American community, and all Armenians worldwide in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian genocide, and urging people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region.

Hawaii’s Support for Survivors of the Armenian Genocide

Hawaii was an integral supporter of Near East Relief (NER), the American-led campaign that quickly sparked an international response with its unprecedented humanitarian endeavor, mobilizing all segments of American citizenry including elected officials, celebrities and laypersons alike, to help rescue victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Turkey from 1915-1930.

Hawaii established an  NER office to facilitate all relief efforts throughout the region, which was located at the Hawaiian Trust Co. in Honolulu.

Hawaii’s NER committee was established in large part due to the work of the Rev. Dr Lincoln L. Wirt, an American Congregational minister and the international commissioner of the NER.

Read the complete fact sheet prepared by America We Thank You.

The Armenian Genocide in Hawaii Press

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