California Armenian Genocide Recognition

A Proclamation by the Governor
Sacramento, CA

WHEREAS, beginning in 1915, 1.5 million Armenians were massacred at the brutal hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and;

WHEREAS, for the sake of our ancestors, our children and all mankind we, as freedom loving people, must have the strength and resolve to speak out against this horrible genocide by informing the world’s tyrants that we will not stand by in silence any longer and will not allow these atrocities to go unanswered, and;

WHEREAS, earlier this year, the United States Senate took a strong stand to prevent the recurrence of crimes against all humanity, like those suffered by the Armenian people during World War I, the Jewish people during World War II and the Southeast Asians during the 1970’s, by passing the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide; and WHEREAS, the United Nations Commission on Human Rights recently adopted the report of its Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in which the 1915 Armenian massacres are defined as a genocide, and;

WHEREAS, formal affirmation of the Armenian Genocide by the world community would underscore our abhorrence and help deter further acts of violence, and;

WHEREAS, each April, people across our country and throughout the world gather in churches, meeting halls and homes to commemorate the tragic loss of our Armenian friends, parents, grandparents and brothers and sisters, and;

WHEREAS, this solemn observance is a time for decent people everywhere to join in a common effort to ensure that this horror never repeats itself, and;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 51 do hereby proclaim April 24, 1986 as a State Day of Remembrance and have ordered the flags over the State Capitol to be flown at half mast and urge civilized people throughout the world to join in this observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of April 1986.

(SIGNED)

George Deukmejian
Governor of California

ATTEST:

(SIGNED)

March Fong Eu
Secretary of State

A Proclamation by the Governor of the State of California
California
April 2, 1987

Executive Department State of California

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide of 1915 brutally claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenians and maimed the hearts of those who survived; and

WHEREAS, while the Ottoman Turks inhumanely massacred many Armenian men, women and children, they did not break the soul or dull the spirit of the Armenian people who are reminded each hopeful spring of the dark but vivid lessons of history; and

WHEREAS, people everywhere should formally acknowledge this tragedy and learn the important lesson that if bigotry and discrimination are to be replaced by fellowship and equality, and if mankind is to achieve the fullness of its greatest hopes and dreams, then each of us must contribute to the work of ensuring that such atrocities are not allowed to be repeated; and

WHEREAS, freedom loving people throughout the world should gather together and speak the truth on behalf of those whose voices have long been stilled so that our children may live in a world free from terror and indignation

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 51 (1981), do hereby proclaim April 24, 1987 as a State Day of Remembrance and have ordered the flags over the State Capitol to be flown at half mast and urge civilized people throughout the world to join in this observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 2nd day of April 1987.

(Signed)

George Deukmejian, Governor of California

Attest:

(Signed)

Secretary of State

A Proclamation by the Governor
State of California
April 18, 1990

WHEREAS, beginning in 1915, the Ottoman Empire initiated a reign of terror that ultimately resulted in the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians over the following eight years, and;

WHEREAS, this systematic program of genocide and forced deportation was undertaken with the clear intent of annihilating the entire Armenian race, and;

WHEREAS, the list of eyewitnesses verifying this genocide includes, not only officials from the United States and the Allied powers, but also ambassadors and officials of Imperial Germany which was an ally of the Ottoman Turkish Empire during this period, and;

WHEREAS, this year is the 75th anniversary of this tragic episode in history and it is most appropriate that all citizens learn of the atrocities which were committee against the Armenian people, so that future generations will learn from the lessons of the past, and;

WHEREAS, this irrefutable fact of history has just finally begun to be incorporated into Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies in schools throughout our nation, and;

WHEREAS, while for many the memories are sad and painful, in recalling the tragedy and inhumanity of the Armenian Genocide, we can help future generations better understand its impact and magnitude while ensuring that such an occurrence will never happen again, and;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 51 (1981), do hereby proclaim April 24, 1990 as a State Day of Remembrance in recognition of the 75th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. In remembrance of the innocent victims of this tragedy, I urge all people throughout the world to join in this important observance.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the States of California to be affixed this 18th day of April 1990.

(SIGNED)

George Deukmejian, Governor of California

ATTEST:

(SIGNED)

March Fong Eu, Secretary of State
George Deukmejian, Governor of California

A PROCLAMATION by the Governor of the State of California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 16, 1991

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

WHEREAS, in 1915, the Ottoman Turkish Empire initiated an eight-year reign of terror against the Armenian people ultimately resulting in the massacre of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children; and

WHEREAS, the Ottoman Empire was clear in its intent to annihilate the Armenian race with a campaign of forced deportation and massacre; and

WHEREAS, while this evil was witnessed and documented by international officials, only recently has it been recognized in the annals of history and learned by students through Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies in learning institutions throughout our nation; and

WHEREAS, 1991 marks the 76th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and all citizens should learn from this horror to understand the evil of racial prejudice and ensure that an act of similar hatred is never again perpetrated; and

WHEREAS, the innocent people murdered during this tragedy of history live forever in the hearts of not only their loved ones and relatives, but of all those of Armenian heritage, which is reflected by their love and respect for family, their passion for life and their unwavering religious convictions;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PETE WILSON, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 1991 as a State day of Remembrance of the 76th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and urge all people to join in this important and historic recognition.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 16th day of April 1991.

(Signed)

Pete Wilson, Governor of California

ATTEST:

(Signed)

March Fong Eu, Secretary of State

A PROCLAMATION by the Governor of the State of California
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 22, 1994

WHEREAS,the Ottoman Empire initiated an eight-year program of terror and mass execution beginning in 1915 that resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million men, women and children of Armenian heritage; and

WHEREAS, this campaign of dislocation and murder was undertaken with a clear and ultimate purpose—to annihilate the Armenian race through a practiced policy of coordinated deportation and massacre; and

WHEREAS, this human tragedy is touched by the most repugnant elements of hatred, intolerance and inhumanity, and we must be vigilant in our efforts to ensure that such atrocities are never again forced by one people upon another; and

WHEREAS, only in recent years has the truth surfaced and been recognized regarding the heinous acts perpetrated against the Armenian people and the great number of deaths that resulted from this policy of genocide; and

WHEREAS, through courses and symposiums offered at educational institutions nationwide, citizens are learning more about the causes and effects of the Armenian Genocide, as well as the ramifications of this sad episode in history on today’s society and generations of people and families of Armenian ancestry; and

WHEREAS, this year marks the 79th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and once again we have an opportunity to recall this tragedy and rededicate ourselves to ensure that no act of such horrible magnitude will ever occur again;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, PETE WILSON, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 1994, as a Day of Remembrance of the 79th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and I urge all Californians to join in activities being held statewide to commemorate this solemn observance.

In WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 22nd day of April 1994.

(Signed)

Pete Wilson

Attest:

(Signed)

Tony Miller

A PROCLAMATION By the Governor of the State of California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 2, 1997

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide of 1915 brutally claimed the lives of 1.5 million Armenians and maimed the hearts of those who survived; and

WHEREAS, while the Ottoman Turks inhumanely massacred many Armenian men, women and children, they did not break the soul or dull the spirit of the Armenian people who are reminded each hopeful spring of the dark but vivid lessons of history; and

WHEREAS, people everywhere should formally acknowledge this tragedy and learn the important lesson that if bigotry and discrimination are to be replaced by fellowship and equality, and if mankind is to achieve the fullness of its greatest hopes and dreams, then each of us must contribute to the work of ensuring that such atrocities are not allowed to be repeated; and

WHEREAS, freedom loving people throughout the world should gather together and speak the truth on behalf of those whose voices have long been stilled so that our children may live in a world free from terror and indignation;

NOW, THEREFORE, I GEORGE DEUKMEJIAN, Governor of the State of California, in accordance with Assembly Concurrent Resolution 51 (1981), do hereby proclaim April 24, 1987 as a State Day of Remembrance and have ordered the flags over the State Capitol to be flown at half mast and urge civilized people throughout the world to join in this observance.  IN WITNESS

WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 2nd day of April 1987.

(SIGNED)

George Deukmejian, Governor of California

ATTEST:

(SIGNED)

March Fong Eu, Secretary of State

PROCALAMATION By the Governor of the State of California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 20, 2000

EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

WHEREAS, the Ottoman Empire executed a prolonged program of terror and mass execution that resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian heritage; and

WHEREAS, a million and a half Armenians were killed during the Armenian Genocide because of the abhorrent ignorance, intolerance, and inhumanity that prevailed in Turkey during the year 1915; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide is a well documented fact and yet has been consistently denied by the Turkish Government; and

WHEREAS, to ensure that the terrible truth is never forgotten and that future generations of Armenian Americans and Californians can learn about this painful and important episode in history, schools and universities throughout California should promote awareness and teach students about the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, we must all do our best to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide not only because it is an undeniable chapter of world history, but also because learning more about this unconscionable tragedy will help people better understand the necessity of eliminating hatred from our own communities; and

WHEREAS, April 24th marks the 85th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a day we recall one of the most heinous tragedies of the 20th century, and a day hundreds of thousands of Armenians living in California mourn the unjustifiable loss of their forefathers;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GRAY DAVIS, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2000 as a “State Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 20th day of April 2000.

(SIGNED)

Gray Davis, Governor of California

ATTEST:

(SIGNED)

Bill Jones, Secretary of State

Proclamation by the Governor of the State of California
State of California
April 11, 2001

WHEREAS, the Ottoman Empire executed a prolonged program of terror and mass execution that resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian heritage; and

WHEREAS, a million and a half Armenians were killed during the Armenian Genocide because of the abhorrent ignorance, intolerance, and inhumanity that prevailed in Turkey during the year 1915; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide is a well documented fact and yet has been consistently denied by the Turkish government; and

WHEREAS, to ensure that the terrible truth is never forgotten and that future generations of Armenian Americans and Californians can learn about this painful and important episode in history, schools and universities throughout California should promote awareness and teach students about the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, we must all do our best to raise awareness about the Armenian Genocide not only because it is an undeniable chapter of world history, but also because learning more about this unconscionable tragedy will help people better understand the necessity of eliminating hatred from our own communities; and

WHEREAS, April 24th marks the 86th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a day we recall one of the most heinous tragedies of the 20th century, and a day hundreds of thousands of Armenians living in California mourn the unjustifiable loss of their forefathers;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GRAY DAVIS, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2001 as a “State Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 11th day of April 2001.

(SIGNED)

Grey Davis, Governor of California

Proclamation by the Governor of the State of California
State of California
April 3, 2003

Executive Department

WHEREAS, the Ottoman Empire executed a prolonged program of terror and mass execution that resulted in the deaths of more than 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenians heritage; and

WHEREAS, a million and a half Armenians were killed during the Armenian Genocide because of the abhorrent ignorance, intolerance, and inhumanity that prevailed in Turkey during the year 1915; and

WHEREAS, to ensure that the terrible truth is never forgotten and that future generation of Armenian Americans and Californians can learn about this painful and important episode in history, school and universities throughout California should promote awareness and teach students about the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, we must all do our best to raise awareness about the Armenians Genocide not only because it is an undeniable chapter of world history, but also because learning more about this unconscionable tragedy will help people better understand the necessity of eliminating hatred form our own communities; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 2003 marks the 88th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, a day we recall one of the most horrific tragedies of the 20th century, and a day hundreds of thousands of Armenians living in California mourn the unjustifiable loss of their forefathers;

NOW, THEREFORE, I GRAY DAVIS, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2003 as a “State Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS HERE OF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this the third day of April 2003.

(SIGNED)

Gray Davis, Governor of California

Proclamation
California
April 22, 2004

On April 24, 1915, in Constantinople, the Ottoman Turkish government arrested and murdered several hundred Armenian religious, political and intellectual leaders, beginning a campaign of terror known as the Armenian Genocide.

From 1915 to 1923, the Ottoman Empire executed a systematic destruction of Armenian culture through the forced exile, imprisonment and annihilation of men, women and children of Armenian descent.

More than 1.5 million Armenians perished, and 500,000 survivors were forced to leave their ancestral homeland in Turkey. Whole villages were massacred and many people died of exposure and starvation during forced death marches in the desert.

Despite this great tragedy, the Armenian people have persevered and today are striving to build a free and proud nation, based on the principles of democracy and a free-market economy.

California is home to 700,000 Armenians – the largest Armenian community outside the Republic of Armenia. Throughout the decades, the Armenian-American community has contributed to California agriculture, business, education, public service and the arts. They have retained their distinct heritage, language and religion, bringing rich cultural diversity to the Golden State.

On this 89th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, we join with Armenians around the world to mourn the loss of so many innocent lives. In remembering this great human tragedy, we rededicate ourselves to combat injustice, and we honor the triumphant spirit of the Armenian people.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim Saturday, April 24, 2004, as a “Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have here unto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this the twenty-second day of April 2004.

(SIGNED)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California

Proclamation
California
2005

GOVERNOR SCHWARZENEGGER PROCLAIMS APRIL 24 “DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

Ninety years ago today, the Ottoman Turkish government waged a war of terror on Armenian culture through the brutal deportation, imprisonment and decimation of men, women and children of Armenian descent.

By 1923, the Ottoman Empire had dissolved, but its monstrous attempt at ethnic cleansing left more than 1.5 million Armenians massacred and 500,000 survivors forcibly exiled from their ancestral homeland.

Today, the Republic of Armenia remains as the world’s reminder of the Armenian Genocide and of the indestructible spirit of a people.

It is a nation founded on the principles of freedom and democracy that we as Americans prize above all else.

Our state’s flourishing Armenian-American population – the largest outside of Armenia – has left its indelible stamp on our state’s history, industry and culture.

Each year, the Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide brings an opportunity for all people to scrutinize the cause and consequence of this grim massacre.

To carve out a secure future free from intolerance and persecution, we must examine the past and heed history’s lessons of forewarning – for the sake of future generations who inherit our civilization.

In 1969, then-Governor Ronald Reagan said, “Today, I humbly bow in memory of the Armenian martyrs, who died in the name of freedom.”

On the 90th anniversary of this great human tragedy, Californians continue to join with freedom-loving people around the world to honor the Armenian people as they continue to show the world the true meaning of hope, renewal and perseverance.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2005, as a “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have here unto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this the fourteenth day of April 2005.

(SIGNED)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California

PROCLAMATION
SACRAMENTO,  CALIFORNIA
2007

GOVERNOR ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Between the years 1915 and 1923, during the chaos of World War I, over one million Armenian men, women and children living within the Ottoman Empire’s borders were killed; forcing hundreds of thousands of Armenians to flee to foreign countries after being stripped of their possessions, their national identities and their homeland.

Scores fled to the United States, and California was fortunate to become home to one of the largest populations of Armenians outside the Republic of Armenia. Many of California’s Armenian-American families are the descendents of these courageous genocide survivors, whose hope for a life independent war and violence was realized on our soil.

Like their family members before them, the Armenian-American community bravely flourished and contributed much to our state and nation.

Documented as the first instance of genocide in the twentieth century, the Armenian Genocide remains unacknowledged to this day.

I strongly echo the sentiments that all nations must examine their own painful histories, as the denial of genocide further wounds a nation’s ability to heal.

Though over ninety years have passed since these mass killings took place, present day atrocities resonate throughout the world.

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

I join California’s Armenian-American communities and all Armenians worldwide in remembering those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian Genocide, and urge people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim the week of April 22nd – April 29th, 2007, as “Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have here unto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 6th day of April 2007.

(SIGNED)

Arnold Schwarzenegger, GOVERNOR OF CALIFORNIA

STATE  CAPITOL

95814.  (916) 445-2814

Proclamation
California
April 7th, 2008

APRIL 20-27, 2008, AS “DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”

Every April, we take time to commemorate the lives of those forever devastated by the Armenian Genocide.

Between 1915 and 1923, more than one million Armenians were killed in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, and countless more lost everything they owned.

Intellects and store owners, children and seniors, men and women, people from all walks of life were victims of these horrific acts.

Often listed as the first genocide of the twentieth century, these events had a life-altering impact on many, and stimulated an Armenian Diaspora.

California has ensured that those lost and affected by this tragedy will not be forgotten.

In 2006, I signed Assembly Bill 1210, authored by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, to allow construction of a memorial for California’s survivors in Capitol Park.

Additionally, in 2005, I signed Senate Bill 424, authored by Senator Chuck Poochigian, which designated in state law a specific time to observe the California Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

I ask all Californians to take time this week to reflect on this tragedy and its consequences. In joining our friends in the Armenian-American community in this observance, all of California helps remember the lives that were lost or changed by these fateful events.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 20-27, 2008, as “Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 7th day of April 2008.

Proclamation
California
April 13th, 2009

APRIL 19-26, 2009, AS “DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE.”

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.

Those who escaped death had to flee, and many of them settled right here in California.

They and their descendants have become leaders in all walks of life and have made extraordinary contributions to our state.

While their presence has been and continues to be a great blessing to California, it also reminds us of the incredible evils that brought them far from their ancestral homes.

Four years ago I signed a bill that permanently recognized the Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

This week, we honor that commitment as we stand with our Armenian friends and neighbors here and across the world in remembering and acknowledging the genocide, the families it destroyed and the history it changed.

We do not like to recall such sorrows, but we must, so that we can learn from history and renew our efforts to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 19-26, 2009, as “Days of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 13th day of April 2009

(SIGNED)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of California

ATTEST:

DEBRA BOWEN Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION
STATE  OF  CALIFORNIA
April 8th, 2010
EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENT

It is important to remember the horrors of the past in order to keep history from repeating itself.

The Armenian Genocide was a terrible breach of human Tights and an event that has outraged the world.

Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million innocent Armenians lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Empire, and 500,000 more were forced from their homeland.

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.

Today, California is honored to be home to a vibrant Armenian-American population, the largest outside the Republic of Armenia.

This thriving community is a proud reminder of survival and determination even in the face of extreme injustice.

As Americans and Californians; 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.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 19-26, 2010, as “Days of Remembrance of the 911 II Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 8th day of April 2010.

(SIGNED)

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Governor of California

ATTEST:

DEBRA BOWEN, Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION BY THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 22th, 2011

PROCLAMATION ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DAY OF REMEMBRANCE

Between 1915 and 1923, 1.5 million Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving noble civilization.

Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24. On this day, and the week leading up to it, we honor the Armenian victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people.

THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, hereby proclaim April 24, 2011, as “California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide”.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 18th day of April 2011.

(SIGNED)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of California

ATTEST:

DEBRA BOWEN, Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION
State of California
April 19th, 2012

Between 1915 and 1923, Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. 1.5 million lost their lives.

The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving noble civilization.

Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24. On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2012, as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 19th day of April 2012.

(SIGNED)

EDMUNDA G. BROWN JR, Governor of California

ATTEST:

DEBRA BROWN, Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION
State of California
April 18th, 2013

GOVERNOR  BROWN ISSUES PROCLAMATION DECLARING A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Between 1915 and 1923, Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. 1.5 million lost their lives.

The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization.

Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24. On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2013, as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 18th day of April 2013.

(SIGNED)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of California

ATTEST:

DEBRA BOWEN, Secretary of State

GOVERNOR BROWN ISSUES PROCLAMATION DECLARING DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
Sacramento, California
April 23, 2014

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring Thursday, April 24, 2014 as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” in the State of California. The text of the proclamation is below:

PROCLAMATION

Between 1915 and 1923, Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. 1.5 million lost their lives. The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization.

Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24. On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2014, as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 23rd day of April 2014.

(SIGNED)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of California

ATTEST:

DEBRA BOWEN, Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION
State of California
April 20th 2015

GOVERNOR BROWN ISSUES PROCLAMATION DECLARING DAY OF REMEMBRANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. today issued a proclamation declaring April 24, 2015 as “A Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” in the State of California. The text of the proclamation is below:

Between 1915 and 1923, Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. 1.5 million lost their lives. The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization.

Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24. On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2015, as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 17th day of April 2015.

(SIGNED)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of California

ATTEST:

ALEX PADILLA, Secretary of State

PROCLAMATION
State of California
April 20th, 2016

Between 1915 and 1923, Armenians were subjected to torture, starvation, mass murder and exile from their historic homeland. 1.5 million lost their lives. The Armenian Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of a thriving, noble civilization.

Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this tragedy on April 24. On this day, we honor the victims and survivors of the genocide, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people.

NOW THEREFORE I, EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 24, 2016, as “Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.”

IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 20th day of April 2016.

(SIGNED)

EDMUND G. BROWN JR., Governor of California

ATTEST:

ALEX PADILLA, Secretary of State

1991 Bill Text CA S.R. 19
THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 11, 1991

BILL TEXT

STATE NET

Copyright © 1991 by Information for Public Affairs, Inc.
1991 CA S.R. 19
CALIFORNIA 1991-92 REGULAR SESSION
SENATE RESOLUTION 19

INTRODUCED BY SENATORS ROBERTI, BEVERLY, CRAVEN, DAVIS, DEDDEH, DILLS, CECIL GREEN, LEONARD, MADDY, MELLO, PETRIS, ROSENTHAL, ROYCE, RUSSELL, THOMPSON, TORRES, VUICH, AND WATSO

RELATIVE TO HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE GENOCIDE OF ARMENIANS

1991 Bill Text CA S.R. 19

VERSION: Enrolled

VERSION-DATE: April 11, 1991

TEXT:

WHEREAS, On April 24, 1915, the Turkish government initiated the systematic extermination of the Armenian people, which continued into 1923; and

WHEREAS, The death marches and massacres left one and one-half million, more than 60 percent, of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire dead, and removed the Armenian people from a homeland where they had resided for 3,000 years; and

WHEREAS, Seventy-six years have passed since the perpetration of this heinous crime, yet the Turkish government of today not only refuses to acknowledge this genocide, but continues to ignore the human rights of the Armenian people; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in several countries continue to endure daily acts of oppression, including the denial of their basic human rights; and

WHEREAS, The most recent wave of massacres and torture of Armenians in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, and the region of Nagorno-Karabagh, in the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, has alarmed many Californians; and

WHEREAS, The brutal aggression against Armenians living in Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabagh should be condemned and the organizers of these latest acts of violence against Armenians should be brought to justice; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the members recognize April 24, 1991, as a day of remembrance for all victims of genocide, especially those of

Armenian ancestry who succumbed to the genocides perpetrated in Turkey from 1915 to 1923, and more recently in Azerbaijan; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit two suitably prepared copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution. April 22, 1991

Approved , 1988

Governor

SPONSOR: Roberti

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 62
State of California
May 11, 2000

CHAPTER 60

Relative to California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  May 11, 2000. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 62, Poochigian. Armenian genocide remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2000, as the California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–23.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, Armenians living in their 3,000 year historic homeland in Asia Minor were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread acts of destruction and murder during the period from 1894–1896 and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their Turkish oppressors culminated with what is known by historians as the First Genocide of the Twentieth Century, or the “Forgotten Genocide”; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and political, religious, and business leaders who were arrested and taken from their homes in Constantinople before dawn on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The Young Turk regime then in control of the empire planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenians from 1915 through 1923, that included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the Syrian desert, and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the slaughter being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the massacres of the Armenians constituted one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., stated: “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art and cultural monuments, in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than three thousand years”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times commonly carried headlines such as the following: “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of evidence, the Republic of Turkey has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities and desecrate the memory of the victims; and

WHEREAS, There are concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 through 1923 and by the funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of such revisionism and to counter, in the words of a Turkish official, “the Armenian view”; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial and cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to encourage Turkish officials to desist from efforts to distort facts and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and tormented lives, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians and honoring the survivors, as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide; and

WHEREAS, 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; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2000, as the “California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–23”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Governor and to Armenian churches and commemorative organizations.

Senate Bill No. 1915
State of California
September 20, 2000

CHAPTER 54

An act to add Section 354.4 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to insurance for Armenian Genocide victims, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

[ Filed with Secretary of State September 20, 2000. Approved by Governor  September 18, 2000. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1915, Poochigian. Insurance: Armenian Genocide victims.

Existing law authorizes any Holocaust victim, as defined, or an heir or beneficiary of a Holocaust victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or policies purchased or in effect in Europe before 1945 from a specified insurer to bring a legal action to recover on that claim in  any superior court of the state for the county in which the plaintiff or one of the plaintiffs resides, which shall be vested with jurisdiction over that action until its completion or resolution. Existing law also provides that any claim of this type shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation if the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010.

This bill would enact similar provisions applicable to any Armenian Genocide victim, as defined, or an heir or beneficiary of that victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or policies purchased or in effect in Europe or Asia between 1875 and 1923.

This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS

FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1.

The Legislature recognizes that during the period from 1915 to 1923, many persons of Armenian ancestry residing in the historic Armenian homeland then situated in the Ottoman Empire were victims of massacre, torture, starvation, death marches, and This period is known as the Armenian Genocide.

The Legislature further recognizes that thousands of Armenian Genocide survivors and the heirs of Armenian Genocide victims are residents or citizens of the State of The Legislature further recognizes and finds that these people have, too often, been deprived of their entitlement to benefits under insurance policies issued in Europe and Asia by insurance companies prior to, and during the period of time of, the Armenian Genocide. California has an overwhelming public policy interest in ensuring that its residents and citizens who are claiming entitlement to benefits under policies issued to Armenian Genocide victims are treated reasonably and fairly and that those legal obligations are honored.

It is the specific intent of the Legislature to ensure that Armenian Genocide victims and their heirs be permitted to have an expeditious, inexpensive, and fair forum in which to resolve their claims for benefits under these policies by allowing actions to be brought in California irrespective of any contrary forum selection provision contained in the policies themselves. It is the finding of the Legislature that enforcement of forum selection provisions in those policies would work an undue, unreasonable, and unjust hardship on Armenian Genocide victims and their heirs who are residents of California and that those provisions are against public policy and are hereby made unenforceable with respect to the policies as to which this act

To the extent that the statute of limitations regarding contractual or tort claims arising from the denial of benefits under the policies is extended by this act, that extension of the limitations period is intended to be applied retroactively, irrespective of whether the claims were otherwise barred by any applicable statute of limitations under any other provision of law prior to the enactment of this

SEC. 2.

Section 354.4 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to read:

354.4.

The following definitions govern the construction of this section:

“Armenian Genocide victim” means any person of Armenian or other ancestry living in the Ottoman Empire during the period of 1915 to 1923, inclusive, who died, was deported, or escaped to avoid persecution during that

“Insurer” means an insurance provider doing business in the state, or whose contacts in the state satisfy the constitutional requirements for jurisdiction, that sold life, property, liability, health, annuities, dowry, educational, casualty, or any other insurance covering persons or property to persons in Europe or Asia at any time between 1875 and

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Armenian Genocide victim, or heir or beneficiary of an Armenian Genocide victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or policies purchased or in effect in Europe or Asia between 1875 and 1923 from an insurer described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), may bring a legal action or may continue a pending legal action to recover on that claim in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, which court shall be deemed the proper forum for that action until its completion or

Any action, including any pending action brought by an Armenian Genocide victim or the heir or beneficiary of an Armenian Genocide victim, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, seeking benefits under the insurance policies issued or in effect between 1875 and 1923 shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, provided the action is filed on or before December 31,

The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or

SEC. 3.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order to provide just compensation to aging Armenian Genocide victims and their heirs, it is necessary that this act take effect immediately.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 5
State of California
April 30, 2001

CHAPTER 31

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  April 30, 2001. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 5, Poochigian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2001, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress of the United States to likewise act to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, Armenians living in their historic homeland in Asia Minor were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the twentieth century, including widespread acts of destruction, mayhem, and murder during the period from 1894 to 1896, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their Turkish oppressors culminated with what is known by historians as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” or the “Forgotten Genocide”; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and political, religious, and business leaders who were arrested and taken from their homes in Constantinople before dawn on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The Young Turk regime then in control of the empire planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenians from 1915 through 1923, including the torture, starvation, and murder of 1.5 million Armenians, death marches into the Syrian desert, and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the slaughter being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the massacres of the Armenians constituted one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., stated “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times carried headlines including, “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” and “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other groups of people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other groups and governments that have admitted the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of the evidence, the Republic of Turkey has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities and desecrate the memory of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Nations of the world have suffered reprisals and condemnations by Turkey because of efforts to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, There have been concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 through 1923 and by the funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of this revisionism and to counter, in the words of a Turkish official, “the Armenian view”; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to encourage Turkish officials to cease efforts to distort facts and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and tormented lives, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians and honoring the survivors, as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of those acts of genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, and those citizens have enriched our state through their leadership in the fields of business, agriculture, academia, medicine, government, and the arts and are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2001, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923;” and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to likewise act to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and Armenian churches and commemorative organizations in California.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 1
State of California
April 14, 2003

CHAPTER 18

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  April 14, 2003. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 1, Poochigian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2003, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their 3,000 year historic homeland in eastern Asia Minor and throughout the Ottoman Empire, were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the twentieth century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and acts of wanton destruction during the period from 1894 to 1896, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their oppressors culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” and as the prototype of modern-day mass killing; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and political, religious, and business leaders, starting on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The regime then in control of the empire, known as the “Young Turks,” planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 through 1923, which included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the Syrian desert, the forced exile of more than 500,000 innocent people, and the loss of the traditional Armenian homelands; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks and others who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the crimes being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the genocide of the Armenian people constituted one of the most egregious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., stated “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years”; and

WHEREAS, Winston Churchill wrote: “As for Turkish atrocities: … massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians, men, women, and children together, whole districts blotted out in one administrative holocaust—these were beyond human redress”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times commonly carried headlines such as “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” and “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders on the eve of World War II that the merciless persecution and killing of Poles, Jews, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of evidence, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing trauma and pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Nations that have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide have been subjected to retaliation and condemnation by Turkey; and

WHEREAS, There have been concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 through 1923 and by the funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of this revisionism; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to encourage Turkish officials to desist from efforts to distort facts and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and torment, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition and reaffirmation of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the survivors and consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, 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

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront in encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2003, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, and the Governor.

Senate Bill No. 1689
State of California
September 09, 2004

CHAPTER 402

An act to amend Section 32425 of the Education Code, to add Section 17131.2 to the Revenue and Taxation Code, and to amend Section 2629.5 of the Unemployment Insurance Code, relating to settlements, and making an appropriation therefor.

[ Filed with Secretary of State September 09, 2004. Approved by Governor  September 09, 2004. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1689, Poochigian. Settlements: Armenian genocide.

• Existing law establishes programs for education grants, priorities, and program enrollments, and state disability insurance

This bill would exclude settlement payments, as defined, received by an eligible individual, defined as a person persecuted by the regime that was in control of the Ottoman Turkish Empire from 1915 until 1923, or the individual’s heirs or estate, and any excludable interest, as defined, from the determination of the individual’s eligibility for state education grants, priorities, and program enrollments, and for state disability insurance benefits, to the extent permitted by federal law.

• The Personal Income Tax Law imposes a tax on individual taxpayers measured by the amount of the taxpayer’s taxable income for the taxable year, but excludes certain items of income from the computation of

This bill would, for taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2005, exclude from the determination  of state personal income taxes excludable settlement payments, as defined, of eligible individuals, as defined.

Under existing law, moneys in the Disability Fund, a special fund, are continuously appropriated to the Employment Development Department for purposes of paying disability

Because this bill would expand eligibility for disability benefits, it would constitute an appropriation.

DIGEST KEY

Appropriation: yes

BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1.

Section 32425 of the Education Code is amended to read:

32425.

To the extent permitted by federal law, excludable restitution payments, as defined in Section 17131.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and excludable settlement payments, as defined in Section 17131.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, are not included in the income or resources of an individual who is eligible for the exclusion under Section 17131.1 or 17131.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, for determining eligibility for any grant, enrollment, or priority for services in any program under this code.

SEC. 2.

Section 17131.2 is added to the Revenue and Taxation Code, to read:

17131.2.

Gross income does not include any excludable settlement payments received by an eligible individual (or the individual’s heirs or estate) and any excludable

For purposes of this section:

The basis of any property received by an eligible individual (or the individual’s heirs or estate) as part of an excludable settlement payment shall be the fair market value of that property as of the time of the receipt.

“Eligible individual” means a person who was persecuted on the basis of race or religion by the regime that was in control of the Ottoman Turkish Empire from 1915 through

“Excludable settlement payment” means any payment or distribution to an individual (or the individual’s heirs or estate) that is any of the following:

Is payable by reason of the individual’s status as an eligible individual, including any amount payable by any foreign or domestic entity or a fund established by any entity, any amount payable as a result of  a

final resolution of a legal action, and any amount payable under a law providing for payments or restitution of property.

Constitutes compensation to the individual from 1915 until 1923, by reason of the individual’s status as an eligible individual, including any proceeds of insurance under policies issued on eligible individuals immediately before 1915 and during the time period from 1915 until

Consists of interest that is payable as part of any payment or distribution described in subparagraph

(A) or (B).

“Excludable interest” means any interest earned by any of the following:

A fund to benefit eligible individuals or their heirs created by an international commission or an international

A fund subject to the administration of the United States courts created to provide excludable settlement payments to eligible individuals (or eligible individuals’ heirs or estates).

(1) This section applies to any amount received on or after January 1,

(2) This section may not be construed to create any inference with respect to the proper tax treatment of any amount received before January 1, 2005.

SEC. 3.

Section 2629.5 of the Unemployment Insurance Code is amended to read:

2629.5.

To the extent permitted by federal law, excludable restitution payments, as defined in Section 17131.1 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, and excludable settlement payments, as defined in Section 17131.2 of the Revenue and Taxation Code, may not be applied to reduce the amount of disability benefits to which an individual may otherwise be entitled under law.

Senate Bill No. 424
State of California
April 21, 2005

CHAPTER 9

An act to add Section 6720 to the Government Code, relating to Armenia.

[ Approved by Governor April 21, 2005. Filed with Secretary of State  April 21, 2005. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 424, Poochigian. Armenian Genocide.

Existing law requires the Governor to proclaim certain days every year for specified reasons.

This bill would establish April 24 of each year as the “California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” and the period beginning on the Sunday before that day through the following Sunday as the days of remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal Committee: no   Local Program: no

BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1.

• Upon the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Legislature recognizes that 1,500,000 Armenians living in their 3,000-year historic homeland were subjected to torture, starvation, and murder, including death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915–23. The Armenian

Genocide, also known as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” represented a deliberate attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving noble civilization.

• In recognition of the anniversary of this Genocide and an open condemnation of these crimes against humanity, it is crucial to publicly acknowledge the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide, as it is denied to this day by the Republic of Turkey, and to prevent the repetition of similar future atrocities committed against any

• Armenian communities all over the world commemorate this great tragedy on April 24, because it was on that day in 1915 when hundreds of Armenian intellectual, political, religious, and business leaders were arrested and taken from their homes in Constantinople before dawn and brutally murdered.

SEC. 2.

Section 6720 is added to the Government Code, to read:

6720.

April 24 of each year shall be the “California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide,” and the period beginning on the Sunday before that day through the following Sunday shall be the days of remembrance in this state, and shall annually be so proclaimed by the Governor, in memory of the 1,500,000 victims who were subjected to torture, starvation, and murder, including death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive, and in honor of the survivors of those crimes against humanity.

Senate Bill No. 1524
State of California
September 25, 2006

CHAPTER 443

An act to add Section 354.45 to the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to civil actions.

[ Approved by Governor September 25, 2006. Filed with Secretary of State  September 25, 2006. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1524, Speier. Limitation of actions: Armenian Genocide victims.

Existing law authorizes any Armenian Genocide victim, as defined, or an heir or beneficiary of  that victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or policies purchased or in effect in Europe or Asia between 1875 and 1923 from a specified insurer to bring a legal action to recover on that claim in a court of this state, as specified, and provides that any such action shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitations, if the action is filed on or before December 31, 2010.

Existing law also authorizes any owner, or heir or beneficiary of the owner, of Holocaust-era artwork, as defined, to bring an action in superior court to recover that artwork from any museum or gallery, and provides that any action brought under these provisions shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, if the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2010.

This bill would enact similar provisions applicable to any Armenian Genocide victim, as defined, or an heir or beneficiary of that victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of a failure of a  bank, as defined, to pay or turn over deposited assets, or to turn over looted assets, and would provide that any action brought under these provisions shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, if the action is commenced on or before December 31, 2016.
DIGEST KEY
Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal Committee: no   Local Program: no
BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

During the period from 1915 to 1923, many persons of Armenian ancestry residing in the historic Armenian homeland then situated in the Ottoman Empire were victims of massacre, torture, starvation, death marches, and exile. This period is known as the Armenian

Thousands of Armenian Genocide survivors and the heirs of Armenian Genocide victims are residents or citizens of the State of These people have, too often, been deprived of their entitlement to bank deposits and assets held by banks and financial institutions that did business in the Ottoman Empire. California has an overwhelming public policy interest in ensuring that its residents and citizens who are claiming entitlement to bank deposits and assets that remain unreturned to Armenian Genocide victims are treated reasonably and fairly, and that those legal obligations are honored.

It is the specific intent of the Legislature to ensure that Armenian Genocide victims and their heirs be permitted to have an expeditious, inexpensive, and fair forum in which to resolve their claims for bank deposits and assets by allowing actions to be brought in California irrespective of any contrary forum selection provision contained in the banking agreements. It is the finding of the Legislature that enforcement of forum selection provisions in those agreements would work an undue, unreasonable, and unjust hardship on Armenian Genocide victims and their heirs who are residents of California, and that those provisions are against public policy and are hereby made unenforceable with respect to the claims as to which this act

To the extent that the statute of limitations regarding contractual or tort claims arising from the failure to return bank deposits and assets is extended by this act, that extension of the limitations period is intended to be applied retroactively, irrespective of whether the claims were otherwise barred by any applicable statute of limitations under any other provision of law prior to the enactment of this

SEC. 2.
Section 354.45 is added to the Code of Civil Procedure, to read:

354.45.

For purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:

“Armenian Genocide victim” means any person of Armenian or other ancestry living in the Ottoman Empire during the period of 1890 to 1923, inclusive, who died, was injured in person or property, was deported, or escaped to avoid persecution during that

“Bank” means any banking or financial institution, including any institution that issued bonds, that conducted business in Ottoman Turkey at any time during the period of 1890 to 1923,

“Deposited assets” means any and all cash, securities, bonds, gold, jewels or jewelry, or any other tangible or intangible items of personal property, or any documents indicating ownership or possessory interests in real, personal, or intangible property, that were deposited with and held by a

“Looted assets” means any and all personal, commercial, real, and intangible property, including cash, securities, gold, jewelry, businesses, artwork, equipment, and intellectual property, that was taken from the ownership or control of an individual, organization, or entity, by theft, forced transfer, or exploitation, during the period of 1890 to 1923, inclusive, by any person, organization, or entity acting on behalf of, or in furtherance of the acts of, the Turkish Government, that were received by and deposited with a

Notwithstanding any other law, any Armenian Genocide victim, or heir or beneficiary of an Armenian Genocide victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of a failure of a bank to pay or turn over deposited assets, or to turn over looted assets, may bring an action or may continue a pending action, to recover on that claim in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, which court shall be deemed the proper forum for that action until its completion or

Any action, including any pending action brought by an Armenian Genocide victim, or the heir or beneficiary of an Armenian Genocide victim, who resides in this state, seeking payment for, or the return of, deposited assets, or the return of looted assets, shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, if the action is filed on or before December 31,

The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or

Senate Joint Resolution No. 24
State of California
April 23, 2008

CHAPTER 25

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  April 23, 2008. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 24, Simitian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2008, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.
DIGEST KEY
Fiscal Committee: no
BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, One and one-half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, inclusive; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide and massacre of the Armenian people have been recognized as an attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

WHEREAS, To this day, revisionists, including the Republic of Turkey, still deny the existence of these horrific events; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and openly condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, California residents demonstrate their sensitivity to a need for constant vigilance to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of the ninety-third anniversary of this genocide is crucial to preventing the repetition of future genocides and educating people about the atrocities connected to these tragic events; and

WHEREAS, On this ninety-third anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it is also appropriate to remember, honor, and thank those righteous ethnic Turks and Kurds who, often at risk to their own lives, lent aid, comfort, and assistance to ethnic Armenians seeking to escape the genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having embraced democracy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, and those citizens have enriched our state through leadership in business, agriculture, academia, medicine, government, and the arts, and they are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2008, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and Armenian churches and commemorative organizations in California.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 26
State of California
April 26, 2010

CHAPTER 8

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  April 26, 2010. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 26, Simitian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2010, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: no

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, One and one-half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, inclusive; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide and massacre of the Armenian people have been recognized as an attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

WHEREAS, To this day, revisionists, including the Republic of Turkey, still deny the existence of these horrific events; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and openly condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, California residents demonstrate their sensitivity to a need for constant vigilance to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of the 95th anniversary of this genocide is crucial to preventing the repetition of future genocides and educating people about the atrocities connected to these tragic events; and

WHEREAS, On this 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it is also appropriate to remember, honor, and thank those righteous ethnic Turks and Kurds who, often at risk to their own lives, lent aid, comfort, and assistance to ethnic Armenians seeking to escape the genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having embraced democracy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, and those citizens have enriched our state through leadership in business, agriculture, academia, medicine, government, and the arts, and they are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2010, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and Armenian churches and commemorative organizations in California.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 23
State of California
May 14, 2012

CHAPTER 21

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  May 14, 2012. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SJR 23, Simitian. Armenian Genocide: day of remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2012, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: no

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, One and one-half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, inclusive; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide and massacre of the Armenian people have been recognized as an attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

WHEREAS, To this day, revisionists, including the Republic of Turkey, still deny the existence of these horrific events; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and openly condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, California residents demonstrate their sensitivity to a need for constant vigilance to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of the 97th anniversary of this genocide is crucial to preventing the repetition of future genocides and educating people about the atrocities connected to these tragic events; and

WHEREAS, On this 97th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, it is also appropriate to remember, honor, and thank those righteous ethnic Turks and Kurds who, often at risk to their own lives, lent aid, comfort, and assistance to ethnic Armenians seeking to escape the genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having embraced democracy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, and those citizens have enriched our state through leadership in business, agriculture, academia, medicine, government, and the arts, and they are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2012, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923;” and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and Armenian churches and commemorative organizations in California.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 21
State of California
May 12, 2014

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 32

Senate Joint Resolution No. 21—Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State May 12, 2014.]

legislative counsel’s digest

SJR 21, De León. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would designate and encourage the people of California to commemorate the month of April 2014, as “California Month of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would call upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide. The measure would commend conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide. The measure would call upon the President to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity, and would call upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution.

WHEREAS, During the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire in its attempt to systematically eliminate the Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, Despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality including, but not limited to, widespread and wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s, most notably the Hamidian Massacres from 1894 to 1896 and the Adana Massacre of 1909; and

WHEREAS, The earlier massacres and subsequent genocide of the Armenians constitute one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against

Res. Ch. 32

humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers. Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Pontians, Syriacs, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who can serve as reminders of the indescribable brutality and the lives that were tormented, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by Congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 8, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 10, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Even prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States has a record of having sought to justly and constructively address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision entitled, The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, and honoring the survivors as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide and provide the American public with a greater understanding of history; and

WHEREAS, This measure would declare that the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, On April 24, 2013, the President of the United States stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Nations grow stronger by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past, thereby building a foundation for a more just and tolerant future”; and

WHEREAS, President Obama entered office having stated his “firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence” and affirmed his record of “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide”; and WHEREAS, The United States’ national interests in establishing equitable, constructive, stable, and durable relations between Armenians and Turks cannot be meaningfully advanced by circumventing or otherwise seeking to avoid the central political, legal, security, and moral issue between these two nations: Turkey’s denial of truth and justice for the Armenian Genocide;

now, therefore, be it Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the month of April 2014, as “California Month of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress

Res. Ch. 32                                       

of the United States, the Governor, and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Senate Joint Resolution No. 21
State of California
May 12, 2014

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 32

Senate Joint Resolution No. 21—Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State May 12, 2014.]

legislative counsel’s digest

SJR 21, De León. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would designate and encourage the people of California to commemorate the month of April 2014, as “California Month of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would call upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide. The measure would commend conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide. The measure would call upon the President to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity, and would call upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution.

WHEREAS, During the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire in its attempt to systematically eliminate the Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, Despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality including, but not limited to, widespread and wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s, most notably the Hamidian Massacres from 1894 to 1896 and the Adana Massacre of 1909; and

WHEREAS, The earlier massacres and subsequent genocide of the Armenians constitute one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against

Res. Ch. 32                             

humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers. Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, Pontians, Syriacs, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who can serve as reminders of the indescribable brutality and the lives that were tormented, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by Congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 8, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 10, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Even prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States has a record of having sought to justly and constructively address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision entitled, The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, and honoring the survivors as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide and provide the American public with a greater understanding of history; and

WHEREAS, This measure would declare that the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California   have

Res. Ch. 32

enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, On April 24, 2013, the President of the United States stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Nations grow stronger by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past, thereby building a foundation for a more just and tolerant future”; and

WHEREAS, President Obama entered office having stated his “firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence” and affirmed his record of “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide”; and WHEREAS, The United States’ national interests in establishing equitable, constructive, stable, and durable relations between Armenians and Turks cannot be meaningfully advanced by circumventing or otherwise seeking to avoid the central political, legal, security, and moral issue between these two nations: Turkey’s denial of truth and justice for the Armenian Genocide;

now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the month of April 2014, as “California Month of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress

Res. Ch. 32                                       

of the United States, the Governor, and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Senate Bill No. 1380
State of California
September 18, 2014

CHAPTER 441

An act to amend Section 51226.3 of, and to add Section 51226.4 to, the
Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.
[Approved by Governor September 18, 2014. Filed with
Secretary of State September 18, 2014.]
legislative counsel’s digest

SB 1380, Wyland. Pupil instruction: social science: genocide.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to incorporate materials relating to civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curricular resources for teacher use, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science and other requirements. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness testimony into the teaching of human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education.

This bill would require the commission to consider including the Armenian Genocide in the recommended history-social science curriculum framework when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law. The bill would specify that the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides. The bill would define oral testimony to mean firsthand accounts of significant historical events presented in a specified format. The bill would provide that the Legislature encourages certain actions relating to the instruction of genocide, including, among others, that content providers and teachers promote pupil analysis of genocides, including the ethnic, religious, and political causes.

This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 51226.3 of the Education Code, proposed by AB 1915, to be operative only if AB 1915 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 51226.3 of the Education Code is amended to read: 51226.3. (a) The department shall incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

(b) (1) The Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including, but not limited to, the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

(2) As used in this subdivision, “oral testimony” means the firsthand accounts of significant historical events presented in a format that includes, but is not limited to, in-person testimony, video, or a multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.

(c) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist in teaching about civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

(d) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist in teaching about the Great Irish Famine of 1845–50.

(e) The Great Irish Famine of 1845–50 shall be considered in the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum framework and its accompanying instructional materials are adopted.

(f) When the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law, the Instructional Quality Commission shall consider including the Armenian Genocide in the recommended history-social science curriculum framework.

(g) The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide adopted by the state board, pursuant to Section 51226, shall be made available to schools in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as soon as funding is available for this purpose. In addition, the department shall make the curriculum available on its Internet Web site.

SEC. 1.5.

Section 51226.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:

51226.3. (a) (1) The department shall incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

(2) The Legislature encourages the department to incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.Ch. 441

(b) (1) The Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including, but not limited to, the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

(2) As used in this subdivision, “oral testimony” means the firsthand accounts of significant historical events presented in a format that includes, but is not limited to, in-person testimony, video, or a multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.

(c) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist them in teaching about civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, the Armenian Genocide, and the Holocaust.

(d) The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist them in teaching about the Great Irish Famine of 1845–50.

(e) The Great Irish Famine of 1845–50 shall be considered in the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum framework and its accompanying instructional materials are adopted.

(f) When the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law, the Instructional Quality Commission shall consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides in the recommended history-social science curriculum framework.

(g) The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide adopted by the state board, pursuant to Section 51226, shall be made available to schools in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as soon as funding is available for this purpose. In addition, the department shall make the curriculum available on its Internet Web site.

(h) For purposes of this article, “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.

SEC. 2.

Section 51226.4 is added to the Education Code, to read: 51226.4. Pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 51226.3, the Legislature encourages all of the following:

(a) Instruction in the origins of genocide as a phenomenon throughout history that continues to the present day.

(b) Content providers and teachers to promote pupil analysis of genocides, including the ethnic, religious, and political causes.

(c) Content providers and teachers to incorporate instructional materials for pupils that examine the possible means of preventing and halting genocide policies or interventions by the United Nations, other groups of nations, or the United States.

(d) Examinations of interventions to prevent genocides should include arguments and evidence for and against intervention, the role of public support for the intervention, and the possible consequences of such interventions.Ch. 441

SEC. 3.

Section 1.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section 51226.3 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Assembly Bill 1915. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, (2) each bill amends Section 51226.3 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Assembly Bill 1915, in which case Section 1 of this bill shall not become operative.94 Ch. 441

Senate Resolution No. 29
State of California
April 17, 2017

Senate, California Legislature—2017–18 Regular Session
Introduced by Senators Portantino, De León, Mendoza, Newman, and Wilk
Relative to Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915–1923

WHEREAS, Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history in the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms, and despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality, including wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915, at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915–1919 and continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920–1923 whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern times, while thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924–1937; and

WHEREAS, During the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, which occurred during the first one-half of the 20th century, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks, and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, constituting one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, These crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand churches; and

WHEREAS, In response to the genocide and at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States State Department, the Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and rescue to the Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland all over the world and specifically in this state; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief succeeded, with the active participation of the citizens from this state, in delivering $117 million in assistance, and saving more than one million refugees, including 132,000 orphans, between 1915 and 1930, by delivering food, clothing, and materials for shelter, setting up refugee camps, clinics, hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation survived the genocide despite the attempt by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate it; and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, On November 4, 1918, immediately after the collapse of the Young Turk regime and before the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the Ottoman Parliament considered a motion on the crimes committed by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) stating: “A population of one million people guilty of nothing except belonging to the Armenian nation were massacred and exterminated, including even women and children.” The Minister of Interior at the time, Fethi Bey, responded by telling the Parliament: “It is the intention of the government to cure every single injustice done up until now, as far as the means allow, to make possible the return to their homes of those sent into exile, and to compensate for their material loss as far as possible”; and

WHEREAS, On August 1, 1926, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Examiner, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk admitted: “These left-overs from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made to account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly driven en masse, from their homes and massacred, have been restive under the Republican rule. They have hitherto lived on plunder, robbery and bribery and become inimical to any idea or suggestion to enlist in useful labor and earn their living by the honest sweat of their brow”; and

WHEREAS, The Parliamentary Investigative Committee proceeded to collect relevant documents describing the actions of those responsible for the Armenian mass killings and turned them over to the Turkish Military Tribunal. CUP’s leading figures were found guilty of massacring Armenians and hanged or given lengthy prison sentences. The Turkish Military Tribunal requested that Germany extradite to Turkey the masterminds of the massacres who had fled the country. After German refusal, they were tried in absentia and sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the Turkish government’s earlier admissions and the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first crimes constituting genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors and deprive the surviving Armenian nation of its individual and collective ancestral lands, property, cultural heritage, financial assets, and population growth; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia, and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, There is continued concern about the welfare of Christians in the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and practice freely, and the legal status and condition of thousands of ancient Armenian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other historical and cultural structures, sites, and antiquities in the Republic of Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 9, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 12, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States had a record of seeking just and constructive means to address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through United States Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, United States Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision titled, “The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey,” which was issued as a binding arbitral award, yet has not been enforced to this date despite its legally binding status; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama entered office “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide” and on April 24, 2013, and similarly on April 24, 2014, he further stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past”; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, many of whom have family members who experienced firsthand the horror and evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing denial; and

WHEREAS, Every person should be made aware and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is globally observed and recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the State of California and throughout the world have not been provided with justice for the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian nation despite the fact that over a century has passed since the crimes were first committed; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people in the State of California and throughout the world remain resolved and their spirit continues to thrive more than a century after their near annihilation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, That the Senate hereby designates the year of 2017 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923” and in doing so, intends, through the enactment of legislation, that the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to its citizens and visitors through statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate hereby designates the month of April 2017 as “State of California Month of Commemoration of the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide, and intends for them, through the enactment of legislation, to continue to enhance their efforts to educate students at all levels about the experience of the Armenians and other crimes against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate hereby commends the extraordinary service which was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at large to host statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate respectfully calls upon the President and the Congress of the United States to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate calls on the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations; and be it further

Resolved, That the Senate calls on the President and the Congress of the United States, in all official contacts with Turkish and other world leaders and officials, to emphasize that Turkey should:

(1) End all forms of religious discrimination and persecution.

(2) Allow the rightful historical church and lay owners of Christian and other church properties, without hindrance or restriction, to organize and administer prayer services, religious education, clerical training, appointments, and succession, religious community gatherings, social services, including ministry to the needs of the poor and infirm, and other religious activities.

(3) Return to their rightful owners all historical Christian and other churches and other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments, relics, holy sites, and other religious properties, including movable properties, such as artwork, manuscripts, vestments, vessels, and other artifacts.

(4) Allow the rightful Christian and other church and lay owners of church properties, without hindrance or restriction, to preserve, reconstruct, and repair, as they see fit, all churches and other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments, relics, holy sites, and other religious properties within Turkey; and be it further Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor of California, to every member of the California State Legislature, and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Senate Resolution No. 29 read and adopted by the Senate April 17, 2017.
Attest:
Secretary of the Senate

Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 25
CHAPTER 106

Relative to the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SCR 25, Portantino. State highways: Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial.

This measure would request that the Department of Transportation erect informational signs on the Fair Oaks Avenue exit of Interstate 210 in the City of Pasadena, directing motorists to the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system and upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost to erect those signs.

Digest Key

Fiscal Committee: YES

Bill Text

WHEREAS, For nearly 3,000 years, Armenians had inhabited the highland region between the Black, Caspian, and Mediterranean Seas; and

WHEREAS, The greatest atrocity that took place against civilians during World War I was the Armenian Genocide, in which an estimated 1,500,000 Armenians, more than half of the Armenian population living in its historic homeland, were executed, drowned, burned, forced to participate in death marches, or murdered by other means on the orders of the Turkish leaders of the Ottoman Empire; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide was well documented at the time by western diplomats, missionaries, and others, and the New York Times, in particular, covered the events extensively; and

WHEREAS, Average citizens in the United States came to the aid of Armenians as the first international aid mission of the American Red Cross was to help Armenian victims of the 1896 massacres and, in 1915, the American Committee for Armenian and Syrian Relief was established and raised millions of dollars to save the “starving Armenians,” a term in common use at the time; and

WHEREAS, In May 1915, the Allies characterized the extermination of the Armenians as a “crime against humanity” as the word “genocide” did not yet exist, it was not until 1944 when Raphael Lemkin, a Polish Jewish lawyer who had been moved by the massacres of Armenians and was then witnessing the extermination of European Jewry, coined the term in order to define the intentional attempt to destroy an entire people; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide is considered the first “modern” genocide in the way it was systematically planned and implemented, and, because the perpetrators were not punished and no restitution was made to the victims, Adolf Hitler saw it as a valid precedent for his plan to wipe out the Jewish population of Europe, proudly stating in a speech before invading Poland in 1939 his intent to kill “mercilessly” and remarking, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, More than 40 states, including California, have recognized the genocide, according to the Armenian National Institute; and

WHEREAS, Southern California is home to the largest Armenian community outside of Armenia, with the City of Los Angeles seen as a kind of Armenian cultural mecca and more than 200,000 people of Armenian descent living in the County of Los Angeles, according to United States census data; and

WHEREAS, The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial is a monument that was unveiled in April 2015 in the northeast corner of Memorial Park in the City of Pasadena to honor the martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, which was perpetrated by the Turkish government from 1915 through 1921, as well as to honor all victims of crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial is a site of religious and cultural commemorations by the Armenian community in southern California; and

WHEREAS, The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial serves as a beacon of awareness of all crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial consists of a metal tripod standing 16 feet tall, in remembrance of similar tripods from which Armenian leaders were hanged during the genocide, from the top of which a drop of water falls every 21 seconds into a basin adorned with the ancient Armenian symbol for eternity, and each year 1.5 million drops of water fall from the tripod, one for each of the victims of the genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the importance of the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial to the people of California and requests that the Department of Transportation erect informational signs on the Fair Oaks Avenue exit of Interstate 210 in the City of Pasadena, directing motorists to the Pasadena Armenian Genocide Memorial, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system and upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.

Senate Bill No. 1371
CHAPTER 370

SEC. 81. Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended to read:

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, genocide may include the Armenian Genocide. The “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.

SEC. 101. Section 79020 of the Education Code is amended to read:

(m) In addition to the holidays specified in subdivision (a), Glendale Community College may close on April 24, known as “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day,” if the governing board, pursuant to a memorandum of understanding reached pursuant to Chapter 10.7 (commencing with Section 3540) of Division 4 of Title 1 of the Government Code, agrees to close the community college for that purpose.

1993 Bill Text CA A.J.R. 84
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 25, 1994

THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA BILL TEXT STATENET

Copyright © 1994 by Information for Public Affairs, Inc.

1993 CA A.J.R. 84 CALIFORNIA 1993-94 REGULAR SESSION

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 84

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 84 CHAPTER 24

1993 Bill Text CA A.J.R. 84

VERSION: Enacted

VERSION-DATE: April 25, 1994

SYNOPSIS: Assembly Joint Resolution No. 84–Relative to a National Day of Remembrance.

This measure would memorialize the President and Congress of the United States to designate April 24 as “National Day of Remembrance” and would request the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day, as described.

TEXT: WHEREAS, The Armenians, among us, have contributed to the progress and betterment of life through agriculture, commerce, teaching, the professions, churches, and community and worldwide organizations; and

WHEREAS, The United States of America has repeatedly gone on record in support of human rights around the world; and

WHEREAS, It is well documented that approximately 1,500,000 Armenians were massacred in Turkey during the years 1915 to 1918, although this genocide has been consistently denied by the Turkish government; and

WHEREAS, By their own resolute Christian faith and will to survive and live again, and the generosity of many in the United States of America resulting in relief operations, a fraction of the survivors were rescued and subsequently immigrated to this country; and

WHEREAS, The Armenians in some other countries must continue to endure daily acts of oppression, such as denial of their basic human rights, confiscation of their churches and schools, and punishment for speaking their native language openly; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is the date historians have marked as the beginning of the

massacre and consequently this day should be a day of reflection by all Armenians and other Americans; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States to designate April 24 as “National Day of Remembrance” and requests the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day as a day of remembrance for all the victims of genocide, especially those of Armenian ancestry who succumbed to the genocide perpetrated in 1915, and in whose memory this date is commemorated by all Armenians and their friends throughout the world; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.

SPONSOR:

Costa

1993 Bill Text CA A.J.R. 84
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
April 25, 1994

THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA BILL TEXT STATEMENT

Copyright © 1994 by Information for Public Affairs, Inc.

1993 CA A.J.R. 84 CALIFORNIA 1993-94 REGULAR SESSION

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION 84

ASSEMBLY JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 84 CHAPTER 24

1993 Bill Text CA A.J.R. 84

VERSION: Enacted

VERSION-DATE: April 25, 1994

SYNOPSIS: Assembly Joint Resolution No. 84–Relative to a National Day of Remembrance.

This measure would memorialize the President and Congress of the United States to designate April 24 as “National Day of Remembrance” and would request the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day, as described.

TEXT: WHEREAS, The Armenians, among us, have contributed to the progress and betterment of life through agriculture, commerce, teaching, the professions, churches, and community and worldwide organizations; and

WHEREAS, The United States of America has repeatedly gone on record in support of human rights around the world; and

WHEREAS, It is well documented that approximately 1,500,000 Armenians were massacred in Turkey during the years 1915 to 1918, although this genocide has been consistently denied by the Turkish government; and

WHEREAS, By their own resolute Christian faith and will to survive and live again, and the generosity of many in the United States of America resulting in relief operations, a fraction of the survivors were rescued and subsequently immigrated to this country; and

WHEREAS, The Armenians in some other countries must continue to endure daily acts of oppression, such as denial of their basic human rights, confiscation of their churches and schools, and punishment for speaking their native language openly; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is the date historians have marked as the beginning of the massacre and consequently this day should be a day of reflection by all Armenians and other Americans; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California respectfully memorializes the President and the Congress of the United States to designate April 24 as “National Day of Remembrance” and requests the President of the United States to issue a proclamation calling upon the people of the United States to observe that day as a day of remembrance for all the victims of genocide, especially those of Armenian ancestry who succumbed to the genocide perpetrated in 1915, and in whose memory this date is commemorated by all Armenians and their friends throughout the world; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.

SPONSOR:

Costa

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 19
State of California
May 4, 1995

RESOLUTION CHAPTER  21

Assembly  Concurrent  Resolution   No.   19—Relative   to   the   Armenian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State May 4, 1995.] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 19, Horcher.   Armenian Genocide: 80th anniversary.

This measure would  commemorate  the  survival  of  the  Armenian  people on the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

WHEREAS, The Armenian  Genocide  of  1915  subjected  an  entire nation to the highest degree of  dehumanization,  and  led  1.5  million  people, one-third of the nation’s population, to their deaths, and;

WHEREAS, On April 24, 1915, intellectuals and physicians  were  rounded  up  and  executed,  and  adult  males  were  taken  from  their  homes and  slaughtered  en  masse,  leaving  the  elderly  and  the  women  and children without protection, to  face  the  death  marches  through southern Anatolian deserts  in  bitter  cold  and  blistering  heat  without  food, water, or shelter, and;

WHEREAS, As a result, the land  that  had  been  home  to  the  Armenians  for  nearly  3,000  years  was  swiftly  emptied  of  its  population; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly  of  the  State  of  California,  the  Senate  thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of  California  is  honored  to  commemorate  the  survival   of   the   Armenian   people   on  the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Assembly  transmit  copies  of  this resolution to the Governor and to the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 26
State of California
April 24, 1995

RESOLUTION CHAPTER  14

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 26—Relative to Armenian  Genocide Remembrance Day.

[Filed with Secretary of State April 24, 1995.] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 26, Kaloogian.    Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

This measure would designate April 24, 1995, as ‘‘California Day of Remembrance  of  the   Eightieth   Anniversary   of   the   Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923’’.

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 was the first  genocide of the twentieth century; and

WHEREAS,  The  atrocities  committed  by  the  Turkish  Ottoman  Empire resulted in  the  deaths  of  1,500,000  men,  women,  and  children  of Armenian descent; and

WHEREAS,  As  the  first  victims  of  genocide  in  the  twentieth  century, Armenians throughout the  world  are  keenly  aware  of,  and  highly sensitive to, the need for constant vigilance to prevent similar catastrophes in the future; and

WHEREAS,  Recognition  of  the  Eightieth  Anniversary  of  this genocide is crucial to ensuring against the repetition of genocide and  provides the American public with  an  understanding  of  America’s  heritage; and

WHEREAS, Numerous nations are signatories to the Genocide Convention,  acknowledging  the  Armenian   Massacres   committed   by   the Turkish Ottoman Empire of 1915–1923; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States; and

WHEREAS,  Armenian-Americans   living   in   California   have   enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture,  academia, government, and the arts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly  of  the  State  of  California,  the  Senate  thereof  concurring,  That  Members  of   the   Legislature   hereby   designate April 24, 1995, as ‘‘California Day of Remembrance of the Eightieth Anniversary  of  the  Armenian  Genocide  of  1915–1923’’;  and  be it further

Resolved, That the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Assembly  transmit  copies  of  this resolution to the Governor of the  State  of  California  and  to  the  author for appropriate distribution.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 82
State of California
April 24, 1996

RESOLUTION CHAPTER  16

Assembly  Concurrent  Resolution  No.   82—Relative   to   the   California Day of  Remembrance  of  the  Armenian  Genocide  of 1915–1923.

[Filed with Secretary of State April 24, 1996.] LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 82, Poochigian.  California  Day  of  Remembrance  of  the  Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.

This measure would designate April 24, 1996, as the ‘‘California Day      of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.’’

WHEREAS,  One  and  one-half  million   men,   women,   and   children of  Armenian   descent   were   victims   of   the   brutal   genocide  perpetrated by the Turkish  Ottoman  Empire  from  1915  to  1923,  inclusive; and

WHEREAS,  The  Armenian  genocide  and  massacres   of   the   Armenian  people  have  been   recognized   as   an   attempt   to   eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

WHEREAS, To this day revisionists  still  inexplicably  deny  the  existence of these horrific events; and

WHEREAS, Before the implementation of the  Jewish  holocaust,  in  order to encourage his followers, Hitler asked, ‘‘Who remembers the Armenians?’’; and

WHEREAS,   By   consistently   remembering   and    openly    condemning  the  atrocities  committed  against  the  Armenians,   Californians are highly sensitive to the need for constant  vigilance  to  prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of the  eighty-first  anniversary  of  this  genocide  is  crucial  to  ensuring  against  the  repetition   of   future genocides  and  educating  people  about  the  atrocities   connected   to   these horrific events; and

WHEREAS,  Armenia  is  now  a  free  and  independent   republic,   having embraced democracy following nearly 70 years  of  oppressive  Soviet domination; and

WHEREAS,  California  is  home  to  the  largest  population  of  people  of Armenian descent outside the Republic of Armenia; and

WHEREAS, Armenian-Americans living in California have greatly enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture,  academia, government, and the arts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly  of  the  State  of  California,  the  Senate  thereof   concurring,   That   the   Legislature   of   the   State   of    California

Res. Ch. 16

joins  the  Armenian-American   community   in   honoring   the   memory   of the victims of genocide throughout the world; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of  California  hereby  designates April 24, 1996, as  the  ‘‘California  Day  of  Remembrance  of  the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923’’; and be it further

Resolved, That the  Chief  Clerk  of  the  Assembly  transmit  copies  of  this resolution to the  Governor  and  the  author  for  appropriate  distribution.

1997 Bill Text CA A.C.R. 51
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
APRIL 17, 1997

THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA BILL TEXT STATEMENT

Copyright © 1997 by State Net(R), All Rights Reserved 1997 CA A.C.R. 51

CALIFORNIA 1997-98 REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 51

RESOLUTION CHAPTER  36

FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 7, 1997 ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY         MAY 5, 1997

ADOPTED IN SENATE  APRIL 24, 1997

AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 24, 1997

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  APRIL 21, 1997

ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

NO. 51

INTRODUCED BY ASSEMBLY MEMBERS KALOOGIAN, POOCHIGIAN, WILDMAN, PAPAN, ACKERMAN, AGUIAR, ALBY, ALQUIST, ARONER, ASHBURN, BACA, BALDWIN, BATTIN, BAUGH, BORDONARO, BOWEN, BOWLER, BROWN, BUSTAMANTE, CALDERA, CAMPBELL, CARDOZA, CUNNEEN, DAVIS, DUCHENY, ESCUTIA, FIGUEROA, FIRESTONE, FRUSETTA, GALLEGOS, GOLDSMITH, GRANLUND, HAVICE, HERTZBERG, HOUSE, KEELEY, KNOX, KUEHL, KUYKENDALL, LEACH, LEMPERT, LEONARD, MACHADO, MARGETT, MAZZONI, MCCLINTOCK, MILLER, MORRISSEY, MORROW, MURRAY, NAPOLITANO, OLBERG, OLLER, ORTIZ, PACHECO, PERATA, PRENTER, PRINGLE, RICHTER, RUNNER, SCOTT, SHELLEY, STROM-MARTIN, SWEENEY, TAKASUGI, THOMPSON, THOMSON, TORLAKSON, VILLARAIGOSA, VINCENT, WASHINGTON, WAYNE, WOODS, AND WRIGHT

(COAUTHORS: SENATORS ALPERT, AYALA, BRULTE, BURTON, CALDERON, COSTA, DILLS, GREENE, HAYDEN, HAYNES, HUGHES, HURTT, JOHANNESSEN, JOHNSON, JOHNSTON, KARNETTE, KELLEY, KNIGHT, KOPP, LEE, LESLIE, LEWIS, LOCKYER, MADDY, MCPHERSON, MONTEITH, MOUNTJOY, O’CONNELL, PEACE, POLANCO, RAINEY, ROSENTHAL, SCHIFF, SHER, SOLIS, THOMPSON, VASCONCELLOS, WATSON, AND WRIGHT)

APRIL 17, 1997

1997 Bill Text CA A.C.R. 51

VERSION: Adopted

VERSION-DATE: May 7, 1997

SYNOPSIS: Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 51–Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

ACR 51, Kaloogian. Armenian Genocide:  Day of Remembrance. This measure would designate April 24, 1997, as “California Day of

Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990.” It would call upon the people of California to use vigilance to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict while protecting the security of the Armenians in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh.

TEXT: WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 was the first genocide of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million men, women, and children lost their lives at the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire; and

WHEREAS, During the seven decades of the USSR’s existence, the government of Soviet Azerbaijan conducted a systematic policy of removal of Karabagh Armenians from their historic homeland; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in Azerbaijan fell victims to the Sumgait Pogroms in 1988 resulting in 72 deaths, the Baku anti-Armenian riots in 1990 resulting in 68 Armenian deaths, and the mass deportations of 350,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of these instances of man’s inhumanity to man is crucial to ensuring against the repetition of genocide and provides the American public with an greater understanding of its heritage; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh remain at risk of yet another genocide until the time a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict is reached that guarantees the freedom and security for these people while supporting their right to self-determination; and

WHEREAS, Despite the abundance of overwhelming and convincing evidence, the government of Turkey persists in denying the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 1997, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990”; and be it further

Resolved, That the people of California are called upon to use vigilance to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict while protecting the security of the Armenians in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Governor and to the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee.

SPONSOR:

Kaloogian

BILL NUMBER: ACR 138 CHAPTERED BILL TEXT
State of California
APRIL 23, 1998

RESOLUTION CHAPTER  29

FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 23, 1998 ADOPTED IN SENATE   APRIL 23, 1998

ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 23, 1998

AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 23, 1998

AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 20, 1998

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Poochigian, Kaloogian, Papan, and Wildman

(Coauthors: Assembly Members Ackerman, Aguiar, Alby, Alquist, Aroner, Ashburn, Baca, Baldwin, Battin, Baugh, Bordonaro, Bowen, Bowler, Brewer, Brown, Bustamante, Campbell, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Cunneen, Davis, Ducheny, Escutia, Figueroa, Firestone,

Floyd, Frusetta, Gallegos, Goldsmith, Granlund, Havice, Hertzberg, Honda, House, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Kuykendall, Leach, Lempert, Leonard, Machado, Margett, Martinez, Mazzoni, McClintock, Migden, Miller, Morrissey, Morrow, Murray, Napolitano, Olberg, Oller, Ortiz, Pacheco, Perata, Prenter, Pringle, Richter, Runner, Scott, Shelley, Strom-Martin, Sweeney, Takasugi, Thompson, Thomson, Torlakson, Villaraigosa, Vincent, Washington, Wayne, Woods, and Wright)

(Coauthors: Senators Ayala, Brulte, Burton, Costa, Dills, Greene, Hayden, Haynes, Hughes, Johannessen, Johnson, Johnston, Karnette, Kelley, Knight, Kopp, Leslie, Lewis, Lockyer, Maddy, McPherson, Monteith, Mountjoy, O’Connell, Peace, Polanco, Rainey, Rosenthal, Schiff, Sher, Solis, Thompson, Vasconcellos, and Wright)

APRIL 13, 1998

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 138–Relative to Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 138, Poochigian.  Armenian genocide remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 1998, as the “California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23.”

WHEREAS, Armenians living in their 3,000 year historic homeland in Asia Minor were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread acts of destruction and murder during the period from 1894-1896 and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their Turkish oppressors culminated with what is known by historians as the First Genocide of the Twentieth Century, or the “Forgotten Genocide”; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and political, religious, and business leaders who were arrested and taken from their homes in Constantinople before dawn on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The Young Turk regime then in control of the empire planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenians from 1915 through 1923, that included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the

Syrian desert, and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the slaughter being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the massacres of the Armenians constituted one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry

Morgenthau, Sr., stated: “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art and cultural monuments, in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than three thousand years”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times commonly carried headlines such as the following: “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of evidence, the Republic of Turkey has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young   Turk rulers,

and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities and desecrate the memory of the victims; and

WHEREAS, There are concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 through 1923 and by funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of such revisionism and to counter, in the words of a Turkish official, “the Armenian view”; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and tormented lives, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians and honoring the survivors, as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is 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; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California

hereby designates April 24, 1998, as the “California Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-23”;  and be it further

Resolved,

That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Governor and to Armenian churches and commemorative organizations.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 20
State of California
May 03, 1999

ACR­20 Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance. (1999-­2000)

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 20

CHAPTER 21

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State May 03, 1999. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSELʹS DIGEST

ACR 20, Poochigian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 1999, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990.” It would call upon the people of California to use vigilance to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict while protecting the security of the Armenians in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh.

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 was the first genocide of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million men, women, and children lost their lives at the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire; and

WHEREAS, During the seven decades of the USSR’s existence, the government of Soviet Azerbaijan conducted a systematic policy of removal of Karabagh Armenians from their historic homeland; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in Azerbaijan fell victims to the Sumgait Pogroms in 1988 resulting in 72 deaths, the Baku anti­Armenian riots in 1990 resulting in 68 Armenian deaths, and the mass deportations of 350,000 Armenians from Azerbaijan; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of these instances of man’s inhumanity to man is crucial to ensuring against the repetition of genocide and provides the American public with a greater understanding of its heritage; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh remain at risk of yet another genocide until the time when a peaceful resolution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict is reached that guarantees the freedom and security for these people while supporting their right to self-­determination; and

WHEREAS, Despite the abundance of overwhelming and convincing evidence, the government of Turkey persists in denying the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenia ­American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 1999, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923, and for the Victims of the Sumgait Pogroms of 1988 and Baku Riots of 1990”; and be it further

Resolved, That the people of California are called upon to use vigilance to ensure the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict while protecting the security of the Armenians in the Republic of Nagorno Karabagh; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Governor and to the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Committee.

HOUSE RESOLUTION No. 33
State of California
August 17, 1999

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 1999–2000 REGULAR SESSION

Introduced  by  Assembly Member Nakano, Honda, Robert Pacheco

(Coauthor(s): Assembly Member

Aroner, Battin, Bock, Calderon, Cardenas, Cardoza, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Cox, Davis, Dut ra,Firebaugh, Gallegos, Havice, Hertzberg, Jackson, Keeley, Knox, Kuehl, Leach, Longville, Lo wenthal, Machado, Maldonado, Mazzoni,Migden, Olberg, Oller, Rod, Pacheco, Reyes, Romero, Runner, Scott, Shelley, Steinberg, Strom, Martin, Thomson, Torlakson, Vincent,Washington, Wayne, Wesson, Wiggins, Wildman, Wrig ht, Zettel)

August 17, 1999

Relative to genocide.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

HR 33, as introduced, Nakano.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, The United States, its major allies, and even its former enemies, have committed themselves to the principle that acts of genocide and other atrocities against civilians shall not go ignored as the world moves into the 21st century; and

WHEREAS, The 20th century was rife with genocidal activities of varying magnitude on virtually every segment of every continent, in nations developed and not yet developed, sometimes highly deliberate and efficiently systematized; and

WHEREAS, The turn of the century surprised us with yet another example of the dark side of human political leadership in the Balkans, and the unexpected willingness of ordinary people to follow unspeakable orders; and

WHEREAS, An effort to document carefully and comprehend thoroughly the tragedies that occurred is essential in order that the world not repeat its mistakes, a concern especially relevant to those young people without direct contact with the ravages of the evils described; and

WHEREAS, The greatest multiracial, multiethnic, and multicultural entity in the world is the State of California, and it is not surprising that California should assert its leadership in the matter; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Governor is requested to take the following actions: (a) provide funding for the California Institute for the Study of Genocide to study the causes, effects, and prevention of genocide; (b) involve the University of California and the California State University in this effort, utilizing eminent scholars in such fields as history, political science, psychology, and K-12 teaching; and (c) emphasize the development of courses and curriculum on genocide issues for K-12 public education; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 44
State of California
April 26, 2002

CHAPTER 39

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  April 26, 2002. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 44, Simitian. Armenian Genocide: Days of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2002, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress of the United States to likewise commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, One and one-half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide and massacre of the Armenian people have been recognized as an attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

WHEREAS, To this day revisionists still inexplicably deny the existence of these horrific events; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and openly condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, California residents demonstrate their sensitivity to the need for constant vigilance to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of the 87th anniversary of this genocide is crucial to preventing the repetition of future genocides and educating people about the atrocities connected to these tragic events; and

WHEREAS, Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having embraced democracy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, and those citizens have enriched our state through their leadership in the fields of business, agriculture, academia, medicine, government, and the arts and are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2002, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to likewise act to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and Armenian churches and commemorative organizations in California.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 73
State of California
August 26, 2004

CHAPTER 162

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  August 26, 2004. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 73, Simitian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2004, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress of the United States to likewise commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, One and one-half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide and massacre of the Armenian people have been recognized as an attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving and noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

WHEREAS, To this day revisionists still inexplicably deny the existence of these horrific events; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and openly condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, California residents demonstrate their sensitivity to the need for constant vigilance to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

WHEREAS, Recognition of the 89th anniversary of this genocide is crucial to preventing the repetition of future genocides and educating people about the atrocities connected to these tragic events; and

WHEREAS, Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having embraced democracy following the dissolution of the Soviet Union; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest population of Armenians in the United States, and those citizens have enriched our state through their leadership in the fields of business, agriculture, academia, medicine, government, and the arts and are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates April 24, 2004, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915– 1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to likewise act to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and Armenian churches and commemorative organizations in California.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 42
State of California
May 01, 2006

CHAPTER 47

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  May 01, 2006. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 42, Aghazarian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2006, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: no

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their 3,000 year historic homeland in eastern Asia Minor and throughout the Ottoman Empire, were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and acts of wanton destruction during the period from 1894 to 1896, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their oppressors culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” and as the prototype of modern-day mass killing; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and business, political, and religious leaders, starting on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The regime then in control of the empire, known as the “Young Turks,” planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 through 1923, which included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the Syrian desert, the forced exile of more than 500,000 innocent people, and the loss of the traditional Armenian homelands; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks and others who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the crimes being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the genocide of the Armenian people constituted one of the most egregious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., stated “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years”; and

WHEREAS, Winston Churchill wrote: “As for Turkish atrocities: … massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians, men, women, and children together, whole districts blotted out in one administrative holocaust—these were beyond human redress”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times commonly carried headlines such as “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” and “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders on the eve of World War II that the merciless persecution and killing of Poles, Jews, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of evidence, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing trauma and pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Nations that have officially recognized the Armenian Genocide have been subjected to retaliation and condemnation by Turkey; and

WHEREAS, There have been concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 through 1923 and by the funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of this revisionism; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to encourage Turkish officials to desist from efforts to distort facts and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and torment, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition and reaffirmation of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the survivors and consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, 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

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront in encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2006, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, and the Governor.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 15
State of California
April 25, 2007

CHAPTER 27

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  April 25, 2007. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 15, Krekorian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2007, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: no

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their 3,000-year historic homeland in eastern Asia Minor and throughout the Ottoman Empire, were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and acts of wanton destruction during the period from 1894 to 1896, inclusive, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their oppressors culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” and as the prototype of modern day mass killing; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and business, political, and religious leaders, starting on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The regime then in control of the empire, known as the “Young Turks,” planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 to 1923, inclusive, which included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the Syrian Desert, the forced exile of more than 500,000 innocent people, and the loss of the traditional Armenian homelands; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks and others who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the crimes being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the genocide of the Armenian people constituted one of the most egregious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., stated “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years”; and

WHEREAS, In discussing World War I, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote that “… the Armenian massacre was the greatest crime of the war, and the failure to act against Turkey is to condone it … the failure to deal radically with the Turkish horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievous nonsense”; and

WHEREAS, Winston Churchill wrote: “As for Turkish atrocities: … massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians, men, women, and children together, whole districts blotted out in one administrative holocaust—these were beyond human redress”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times commonly carried headlines such as “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” and “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders on the eve of World War II that the merciless persecution and killing of Poles, Jews, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the

atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing trauma and pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, The Turkish Government has engaged in concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda falsely suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive, and by the funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of this revisionism; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has been condemned by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations for making free speech a crime by enacting Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which makes “public denigration of Turkishness … the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security structures” punishable by imprisonment, and has used this device to harass, intimidate, prosecute, and imprison Turkish citizens who have written or spoken honestly about the Armenian Genocide, including Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk; and

WHEREAS, Among those charged with “denigration of Turkishness” by Turkish prosecutors for his forthright acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide was journalist Hrant Dink, and in this atmosphere of intolerance of dissent, Mr. Dink was assassinated for his views on January 19, 2007; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that few survivors remain who serve as personal eyewitnesses to the indescribable brutality and torment, compel a sense of urgency in achieving formal recognition and reaffirmation of the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the victims and survivors, and consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, California has become home to the largest population of Armenians in the world outside of Armenia, including Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants, and those citizens have enriched our state and our Nation through leadership in academia, medicine, business, law, agriculture, government, the arts, and many other worthy endeavors, and they are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2007, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California calls upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 14
State of California
September 21, 2009

CHAPTER 105

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  September 21, 2009. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 14, Krekorian. Armenian Genocide: Day of Remembrance.

This measure would designate April 24, 2009, as “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923.” It would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the Armenian Genocide.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: no

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their 3,000-year historic homeland in eastern Asia Minor and throughout the Ottoman Empire, were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and acts of wanton destruction during the period from 1894 to 1896, inclusive, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their oppressors culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the “First Genocide of the Twentieth Century,” and as the prototype of modern day mass killing; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, including business, political, and religious leaders, starting on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The regime then in control of the empire, known as the “Young Turks,” planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 to 1923, inclusive, which included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the Syrian Desert, the forced exile of more than 500,000 innocent people, and the loss of the traditional Armenian homelands; and

WHEREAS, While there were some Turks and others who jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the crimes being perpetrated by the Young Turk regime, the genocide of the Armenian people constituted one of the most egregious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry Morgenthau, Sr., stated “Whatever crimes the most perverted instincts of the human mind can devise, and whatever refinements of persecutions and injustice the most debased imagination can conceive, became the daily misfortunes of this devoted people. I am confident that the whole history of the human race contains no such horrible episode as this. The great massacres and persecutions of the past seem almost insignificant when compared to the sufferings of the Armenian race in 1915. The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years”; and

WHEREAS, In discussing World War I, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote that “… the Armenian massacre was the greatest crime of the war, and the failure to act against Turkey is to condone it … the failure to deal radically with the Turkish horror means that all talk of guaranteeing the future peace of the world is mischievous nonsense”; and

WHEREAS, Winston Churchill wrote: “As for Turkish atrocities: … massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians, men, women, and children together, whole districts blotted out in one administrative holocaust—these were beyond human redress”; and

WHEREAS, Contemporary newspapers like the New York Times commonly carried headlines such as “Tales of Armenian Horrors Confirmed,” “Million Armenians Killed or in Exile,” and “Wholesale Massacre of Armenians by Turks”; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders on the eve of World War II that the merciless persecution and killing of Poles, Jews, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the

atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing trauma and pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, The Turkish Government has engaged in concerted efforts to revise history through the dissemination of propaganda falsely suggesting that Armenians were responsible for their fate in the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive, and by the funding of programs at American educational institutions for the purpose of furthering the cause of this revisionism; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has been condemned by Amnesty International and other human rights organizations for making free speech a crime by enacting Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which makes “public denigration of Turkishness … the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the judicial institutions of the State, the military or security structures” punishable by imprisonment, and has used this device to harass, intimidate, prosecute, and imprison Turkish citizens who have written or spoken honestly about the Armenian Genocide, including Nobel Prize winning author Orhan Pamuk; and

WHEREAS, Among those charged with “denigration of Turkishness” by Turkish prosecutors for his forthright acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide was journalist Hrant Dink, and in this atmosphere of intolerance of dissent, Mr. Dink was assassinated for his views on January 19, 2007; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that few survivors remain who serve as personal eyewitnesses to the indescribable brutality and torment, compel a sense of urgency in achieving formal recognition and reaffirmation of the historical truth of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the victims and survivors, and consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, California has become home to the largest population of Armenians in the world outside of Armenia, including Armenian Genocide survivors and their descendants, and those citizens have enriched our state and our Nation through leadership in academia, medicine, business, law, agriculture, government, the arts, and many other worthy endeavors, and they are proud and patriotic practitioners of American citizenship; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates April 24, 2009, as the “California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California calls upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 148
State of California
April 27, 2010

CHAPTER 10

Relative to the Armenian Martyrs Memorial.

[ Approved by Governor April 27, 2010. Filed with Secretary of State  April 27, 2010. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 148, Charles Calderon. Armenian Genocide Martyrs Memorial.

This measure would request that the Department of Transportation erect informational signs on State Highway Route 60 in the County of Los Angeles directing motorists to the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system and upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost to erect those signs.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: yes

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument was erected in 1965 in Bicknell Park in the City of Montebello; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument is the site of religious and cultural commemorations by the Armenian community in southern California; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument serves as a beacon of awareness of all crimes against humanity; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the importance of the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument to the people of California and

requests that the Department of Transportation erect informational signs on the westbound portion of State Highway Route 60 leading to the Garfield Avenue exit and the eastbound portion of State Highway Route 60 leading to the Garfield Avenue exit, in the County of Los Angeles, directing motorists to the Armenian Genocide Martyrs Monument, consistent with the signing requirements for the state highway system and upon receiving donations from nonstate sources sufficient to cover the cost to erect those signs; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the Department of Transportation and to the author for appropriate distribution.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 144
State of California
May 05, 2010

CHAPTER 15

Relative to Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  May 05, 2010. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

ACR 144, Blumenfield. Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month.

This measure would proclaim the month of April of each year as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month.

DIGEST KEY

Fiscal Committee: no

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, During the Second World War, Raphael Lemkin, a Polish lawyer of Jewish descent, motivated by the attempted extermination of the Armenian and Assyrian communities during the First World War, coined the term “genocide” to describe a coordinated plan of actions aimed at the destruction of essential foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating a group itself, for example, by disintegrating a group’s political and social institutions, culture, language, national feelings, religion, and economic existence, and destroying the personal security, liberty, health, and dignity, and the lives of individuals belonging to the group; and

WHEREAS, Following the Holocaust, on December 9, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted Resolution 260 (III) A, the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, declaring genocide to be a crime under international law, and defining genocide to include the commission of certain acts, including killing members of the group, causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group, deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about a

group’s physical destruction in whole or in part, imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group, and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group, with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group; and

WHEREAS, In 2008, the Prevention of Genocide Task Force, convened by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the American Academy of Diplomacy, and the United States Institute of Peace, issued a report finding that in order to prevent future genocides and mass atrocities, effective prevention measures must be implemented before a crisis has erupted, and that educating the public can help to protect individual rights and promote a culture of lawfulness that will help prevent future genocides; and

WHEREAS, The State of California condemns, and desires to combat, all acts of genocide; and

WHEREAS, Educating the public about the evils of genocide and commemorating victims of genocide, including the adoption of a Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month, are effective tools that will further these goals; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, the Senate thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby proclaims the month of April of each year as Genocide Awareness and Prevention Month; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

Assembly Bill No. 173
State of California
July 07, 2011

CHAPTER 70

An act to amend Section 354.4 of the Code of Civil Procedure, relating to Armenian Genocide, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect immediately.

[ Approved by Governor July 07, 2011. Filed with Secretary of State  July 08, 2011. ]

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 173, Gatto. Armenian Genocide victims.

Existing law authorizes any Armenian Genocide victim, as defined, or the heir or beneficiary of that victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or policies purchased or in effect in Europe or Asia between 1875 and 1923 from a defined insurer, to bring a legal action to recover on that claim in a court in this state. Existing law also provides that any action, including any pending action brought by an Armenian Genocide victim, or the heir or beneficiary of that  victim, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, seeking benefits under the insurance policies issued or in effect between 1875 and 1923, shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, provided the action is filed on or before December 31, 2010.

This bill would extend the deadline for filing that action to December 31, 2016. This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as an urgency statute.

DIGEST KEY

Vote: 2/3   Appropriation: no   Fiscal Committee: no   Local Program: no

BILL TEXT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS

FOLLOWS:

SECTION 1.

Section 354.4 of the Code of Civil Procedure is amended to read:

354.4.

The following definitions govern the construction of this section:

“Armenian Genocide victim” means any person of Armenian or other ancestry living in the Ottoman Empire during the period of 1915 to 1923, inclusive, who died, was deported, or escaped to avoid persecution during that

“Insurer” means an insurance provider doing business in the state, or whose contacts in the state satisfy the constitutional requirements for jurisdiction, that sold life, property, liability, health, annuities, dowry, educational, casualty, or any other insurance covering persons or property to persons in Europe or Asia at any time between 1875 and

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any Armenian Genocide victim, or heir or beneficiary of an Armenian Genocide victim, who resides in this state and has a claim arising out of an insurance policy or policies purchased or in effect in Europe or Asia between 1875 and 1923 from an insurer described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), may bring a legal action or may continue a pending legal action to recover on that claim in any court of competent jurisdiction in this state, which court shall be deemed the proper forum for that action until its completion or

Any action, including any pending action brought by an Armenian Genocide victim or the heir or beneficiary of an Armenian Genocide victim, whether a resident or nonresident of this state, seeking benefits under the insurance policies issued or in effect between 1875 and 1923 shall not be dismissed for failure to comply with the applicable statute of limitation, provided the action is filed on or before December 31,

The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or

SEC. 2.

This act is an urgency statute necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:

In order that the insurance policy claims of Armenian Genocide victims will not be dismissed for failure to comply with the statute of limitations, it is necessary that this bill take effect immediately.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2
State of California
April 23, 2013

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 21

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2—Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State April 23, 2013.]

legislative counsel’s digest

AJR 2, Gatto. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would designate the week of April 18 to 24, 2013, as “California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project.

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 was the first genocide of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million men, women, and children lost their lives at the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in their attempt to systematically eliminate the Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, In their 3,000 year historic homeland in Asia Minor, Armenians were subjected to severe and unjust persecution and brutality by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread acts of destruction and murder during the period from 1894 to 1896, inclusive, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The massacre of the Armenians constituted one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to encourage Turkish officials to cease efforts to distort facts and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

Res. Ch. 21                            

WHEREAS, The determination of those who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide is tested to this day with some of these speakers of truth being silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who can serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and tormented lives, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, and honoring the survivors as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide and provide the American public with a greater understanding of its heritage; and

WHEREAS, This measure would provide that the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person in this country or abroad to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the State of California commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates the week of April 18 to 24, 2013, as “California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That California commemorates California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide through the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully calls upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 35
State of California
May 5, 2014

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 29

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 35—Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State May 5, 2014.]

legislative counsel’s digest

AJR 35, John A. Pérez. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would designate the week of April 20 to 26, 2014, as “California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project.

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923 was the first genocide of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million men, women, and children lost their lives at the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in their attempt to systematically eliminate the Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, In their 3,000 year historic homeland in Asia Minor, Armenians were subjected to severe and unjust persecution and brutality by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread acts of destruction and murder during the period from 1894 to 1896, inclusive, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The massacre of the Armenians constituted one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to encourage Turkish officials to cease efforts to distort facts and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

Res. Ch. 29                                       

WHEREAS, The determination of those who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide is tested to this day with some of these speakers of truth being silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors remain who can serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and tormented lives, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, and honoring the survivors as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide and provide the American public with a greater understanding of its heritage; and

WHEREAS, This measure would provide that the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person in this country or abroad to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the State of California commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby designates the week of April 20 to 26, 2014, as “California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That California commemorates California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide through the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully calls upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 41
State of California
June 10, 2014

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 61

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 41—Relative to the Armenian and Assyrian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State June 10, 2014.]

legislative counsel’s digest

AJR 41, Ian Calderon. Armenian and Assyrian Genocide.

This measure would commend the extraordinary service delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide.

WHEREAS, During the Armenian Genocide of 1915 through 1923, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent lost their lives at the hands of the Young Turks regime then ruling the Ottoman Empire in its attempt to systematically eliminate the Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, In response to the Genocide and at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States State Department, the Near East Relief organization was founded and was provided unprecedented complete access to all United States Government documents and files concerning the plight of Christian minorities; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief was the first congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to rescue the Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation after United States Ambassador to Constantinople, Henry A. Morgenthau, Jr., pled for assistance after personally witnessing the systematic massacre of Armenians; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief’s efforts resulted in delivering $117 million in assistance between 1915 and 1930, including the delivery of food, clothing, and materials for shelter, and setting up refugee camps, clinics, hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The generous philanthropy of the American people, including many Californians, directly resulted in the salvation of the Armenian and Assyrian refugees and prevented them from being completely annihilated by the Genocide by saving more than one million refugees, including more than 130,000 orphans, through their humanitarian assistance; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief evolved into the Near East Foundation in 1930, and continues to provide humanitarian aid to people throughout the Middle East and Africa; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby commends the extraordinary service delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of

Res. Ch. 61

direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and Assyrians; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, the Minority Leader of the United States Senate, and to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.

Assembly Bill No. 1915
State of California
September 18, 2014

CHAPTER 414

An act to amend Sections 51220 and 51226.3 of the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

[Approved by Governor September 18, 2014. Filed with Secretary of State September 18, 2014.]

legislative counsel’s digest

AB 1915, Nazarian. Pupil instruction: social sciences: Armenian Genocide.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including social sciences. Existing law requires the instruction in social studies to provide instruction in, among other things, human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

This bill would enact the Armenian Genocide Education Act, and would provide that the instruction in human rights issues may also include particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of the Armenian Genocide.

Existing law requires the State Department of Education to incorporate materials relating to civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science and other requirements. Under existing law, the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness testimony into the teaching of human rights, genocide, and the Holocaust. Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education.

This bill would encourage the department to incorporate materials relating to the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources, consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science. The bill would require the commission to consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides in the recommended history-social science curriculum framework when the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law. The bill would also specify that the Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony, as defined, into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

This bill would incorporate additional changes in Section 51226.3 of the Education Code, proposed by SB 1380, to be operative only if SB 1380 and this bill are chaptered and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, and this bill is chaptered last.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the Armenian Genocide Education Act.

SEC. 2. Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended to read: 51220.   The adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, shall

offer courses in the following areas of study:

English, including knowledge of and appreciation for literature, language, and composition, and the skills of reading, listening, and

(1) Social sciences, drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, and sociology, designed to fit the maturity of the pupils. Instruction shall provide a foundation for understanding the history, resources, development, and government of California and the United States of America; instruction in our American legal system, the operation of the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems, and the rights and duties of citizens under the criminal and civil law and the State and Federal Constitutions; the development of the American economic system, including the role of the entrepreneur and labor; the relations of persons to their human and natural environment; eastern and western cultures and civilizations; human rights issues, with particular attention to the study of the inhumanity of genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust, and contemporary issues.

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, genocide may include the Armenian Genocide. The “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.

Foreign language or languages, beginning not later than grade 7, designed to develop a facility for understanding, speaking, reading, and writing the particular language.

Physical education, with emphasis given to physical activities that are conducive to health and to vigor of body and mind, as required by Section 51222.

Science, including the physical and biological aspects, with emphasis on basic concepts, theories, and processes of scientific investigation and on the place of humans in ecological systems, and with appropriate applications of the interrelation and interdependence of the sciences.

Mathematics, including instruction designed to develop mathematical understandings, operational skills, and insight into problem-solving procedures.

Visual and performing arts, including dance, music, theater, and visual arts, with emphasis upon development of aesthetic appreciation and the skills of creative

Applied arts, including instruction in the areas of consumer and homemaking education, industrial arts, general business education, or general

Career technical education designed and conducted for the purpose of preparing youth for gainful employment in the occupations and in the numbers that are appropriate to the personnel needs of the state and the community served and relevant to the career desires and needs of the

Automobile driver education, designed to develop a knowledge of the provisions of the Vehicle Code and other laws of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the causes, seriousness, and consequences of traffic accidents, and to develop the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles. A course in automobile driver education shall include education in the safe operation of

Other studies as may be prescribed by the governing board. SEC. 3. Section 51226.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:

51226.3. (a) (1) The department shall incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

(2) The Legislature encourages the department to incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

(1) The Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including, but not limited to, the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan

(2) As used in this subdivision, “oral testimony” means the firsthand accounts of significant historical events presented in a format that includes, but is not limited to, in-person testimony, video, or a multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.

The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist them in teaching about civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, the Armenian Genocide, and the

The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist them in teaching about the Great Irish Famine of 1845–50.

The Great Irish Famine of 1845–50 shall be considered in the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum framework and its accompanying instructional materials are

When the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law, the Instructional Quality Commission shall consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides in the recommended history-social science curriculum

The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide adopted by the state board, pursuant to Section 51226, shall be made available to schools in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as soon as funding is available for this In addition, the department shall make the curriculum available on its Internet Web site.

For purposes of this article, “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923,

SEC. 3.5.   Section 51226.3 of the Education Code is amended to read:

51226.3. (a) (1) The department shall incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, and the Holocaust.

(2) The Legislature encourages the department to incorporate into publications that provide examples of curriculum resources for teacher use those materials developed by publishers of nonfiction, trade books, and primary sources, or other public or private organizations, that are age-appropriate and consistent with the subject frameworks on history and social science that deal with the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.

(1) The Legislature encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator, and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including, but not limited to, the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan

(2) As used in this subdivision, “oral testimony” means the firsthand accounts of significant historical events presented in a format that includes, but is not limited to, in-person testimony, video, or a multimedia option, such as a DVD or an online video.

The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist them in teaching about civil rights, human rights violations, genocide, slavery, the Armenian Genocide, and the

The Legislature encourages all state and local professional development activities to provide teachers with content background and resources to assist them in teaching about the Great Irish Famine of 1845–50.

The Great Irish Famine of 1845–50 shall be considered in the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum framework and its accompanying instructional materials are

When the history-social science curriculum framework is revised as required by law, the Instructional Quality Commission shall consider including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides in the recommended history-social science curriculum

The Model Curriculum for Human Rights and Genocide adopted by the state board, pursuant to Section 51226, shall be made available to schools in grades 7 to 12, inclusive, as soon as funding is available for this In addition, the department shall make the curriculum available on its Internet Web site.

For purposes of this article, “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923,

SEC. 4.       Section 3.5 of this bill incorporates amendments to Section

51226.3 of the Education Code proposed by both this bill and Senate Bill 1380. It shall only become operative if (1) both bills are enacted and become effective on or before January 1, 2015, (2) each bill amends Section 51226.3 of the Education Code, and (3) this bill is enacted after Senate Bill 1380, in which case Section 3 of this bill shall not become operative.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2
State of California
April 27, 2015

RESOLUTION CHAPTER 30

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2—Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[Filed with Secretary of State April 27, 2015.]

legislative counsel’s digest

AJR 2, Nazarian. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year of 2015 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” designate April 24, 2015, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.

WHEREAS, Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history in the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms, and despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality, including wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915, at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915–1919 and continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920–1923 whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern times, while thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924–1937; and

WHEREAS, During the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, which occurred during the first one-half of the 20th century, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks, and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, constituting one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, These crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand churches; and WHEREAS, In response to the genocide and at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States State Department, the Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and rescue to the Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland all over the world and specifically in this state; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief succeeded, with the active participation of the citizens from this state, in delivering $117 million in assistance, and saving more than one million refugees, including 132,000 orphans, between 1915 and 1930, by delivering food, clothing, and materials for shelter, setting up refugee camps, clinics, hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation survived the genocide despite the attempt by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate it; and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, On November 4, 1918, immediately after the collapse of the Young Turk regime and before the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the Ottoman Parliament considered a motion on the crimes committed by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP): “A population of one million people guilty of nothing except belonging to the Armenian nation were massacred and exterminated, including even women and children.” The Minister of Interior at the time, Fethi Bey, responded by telling the Parliament: “It is the intention of the government to cure every single injustice done up until now, as far as the means allow, to make possible the return to their homes of those sent into exile, and to compensate for their material loss as far as possible”; and

WHEREAS, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk made a historic admission in an interview published in the Los Angeles Examiner on August 1, 1926: “These leftovers from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made accountable for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly driven, en masse, from their homes and massacred”; and

WHEREAS, The Parliamentary Investigative Committee proceeded to collect relevant documents describing the actions of those responsible for the Armenian mass killings and turned them over to the Turkish Military Tribunal. CUP’s leading figures were found guilty of massacring Armenians and hanged or given lengthy prison sentences. The Turkish Military Tribunal requested that Germany extradite to Turkey the masterminds of the massacres who had fled the country. After German refusal, they were tried in absentia and sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the Turkish government’s earlier admissions and the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first crimes constituting genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, cause continuing pain to the descendants of the victims, and deprive the surviving Armenian nation, both on individual and collective levels, of their ancestral land, property, culture, heritage, financial assets, and population growth; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia, and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, There is continued concern about the welfare of Christians in the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and practice freely, and the legal status and condition of thousands of ancient Armenian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other historical and cultural structures, sites, and antiquities in the Republic of Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 9, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 12, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Even prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States has a record of having sought to justly and constructively address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through United States Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, United States Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision entitled, “The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey,” which was issued as a binding arbitral award, yet has not been enforced to this date despite its legally binding status; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama entered office “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide” and on April 24, 2013, and similarly on April 24, 2014, he further stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past”; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, many of whom have family members who experienced firsthand the horror and evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing denial; and

WHEREAS, Every person should be made aware and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity, and this state has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is globally observed and recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide and April 24, 2015, will mark the centennial anniversary since the commencement of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in this state and throughout the world, have not been provided with justice for the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian nation despite the fact that a century has passed since the crimes were first committed; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, in this state and elsewhere, remain resolved and their spirit continues to thrive a century after their near annihilation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the year of 2015 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923” and in doing so, intends, through the enactment of legislation, that the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to its citizens and visitors through statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates April 24, 2015, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide, and intends for them, through the enactment of legislation, to continue to enhance their efforts to educate students at all levels about the experience of the Armenians and other crimes against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby commends the extraordinary service which was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian

Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at large to host statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor of California, to every member of the California State Legislature, and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

AJR 34
State of California
MARCH 16, 2016

INTRODUCED BY Assembly Members Achadjian, Bonta, Brown, Calderon,
Chu, Dababneh, Dahle, Beth Gaines, Cristina Garcia, Gatto, Grove,
Jones, Levine, Lopez, Nazarian, Olsen, Patterson, Steinorth, Wagner,
and Wilk
(Principal coauthors: Senators Anderson, De León, Gaines, Hall,
Lara, Leno, Liu, Nielsen, and Pan)

MARCH 16, 2016

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 34, Achadjian. Armenian Genocide.
This measure would, among other things, designate the year of 2016
as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923,” would designate April 24, 2016,
as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 101st Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923,” and would call upon the
President of the United States and the United States Congress to
formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the
atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted
genocide.

WHEREAS, Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for
approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history in
the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms, and despite
Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the
region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of
Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and
brutality, including wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915, at the
hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from
1915-1919 and continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of
Turkey from 1920-1923 whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women,
and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort
to annihilate the Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern
times, while thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were
forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands more were
subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern
Republic of Turkey from 1924-1937; and

WHEREAS, During the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, which occurred during the
first one-half of the 20th century, 1.5 million men, women, and
children of Armenian descent, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians,
Greeks, and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the
Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, constituting one
of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of
the world; and

WHEREAS, These crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the
victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand
churches; and

WHEREAS, In response to the genocide and at the behest of
President Woodrow Wilson and the United States State Department, the
Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first
congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created
exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and rescue to the
Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who
went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland
all over the world and specifically in this state; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief succeeded, with the active participation of the citizens from this state, in delivering $117 million in
assistance, and saving more than one million refugees, including
132,000 orphans, between 1915 and 1930, by delivering food, clothing,
and materials for shelter, setting up refugee camps, clinics,
hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation survived the genocide despite the attempt by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate it; and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people
would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, On November 4, 1918, immediately after the collapse of the Young Turk regime and before the founding of the Republic of
Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the Ottoman Parliament
considered a motion on the crimes committed by the Committee of Union
and Progress (CUP) stating: “A population of one million people
guilty of nothing except belonging to the Armenian nation were
massacred and exterminated, including even women and children.” The
Minister of Interior at the time, Fethi Bey, responded by telling the
Parliament: “It is the intention of the government to cure every
single injustice done up until now, as far as the means allow, to
make possible the return to their homes of those sent into exile, and
to compensate for their material loss as far as possible”; and

WHEREAS, On August 1, 1926, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Examiner, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk admitted: “These left-overs
from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made to
account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were
ruthlessly driven en masse, from their homes and massacred, have been
restive under the Republican rule. They have hitherto lived on
plunder, robbery and bribery and become inimical to any idea or
suggestion to enlist in useful labor and earn their living by the
honest sweat of their brow”; and

WHEREAS, The Parliamentary Investigative Committee proceeded to collect relevant documents describing the actions of those
responsible for the Armenian mass killings and turned them over to
the Turkish Military Tribunal. CUP’s leading figures were found
guilty of massacring Armenians and hanged or given lengthy prison
sentences. The Turkish Military Tribunal requested that Germany
extradite to Turkey the masterminds of the massacres who had fled the
country. After German refusal, they were tried in absentia and
sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and
despite the Turkish government’s earlier admissions and the
overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey
inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes
against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for
many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first
crimes constituting genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors and deprive the surviving Armenian nation of its individual and collective ancestral lands, property, cultural heritage,
financial assets, and population growth; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia, and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement
in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice
for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians,
Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians upon their biblical-era
homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be
silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, There is continued concern about the welfare of
Christians in the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and
practice freely, and the legal status and condition of thousands of
ancient Armenian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other
historical and cultural structures, sites, and antiquities in the
Republic of Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and
Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’
s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by congressional
legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 9,
1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 12, 1984;
and

WHEREAS, Prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States had a record of seeking just and constructive means to address the consequences of the
Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people,
including through United States Senate Concurrent Resolution 12
adopted on February 9, 1916, United States Senate Resolution 359
adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22,
1920, decision titled, “The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey,”
which was issued as a binding arbitral award, yet has not been
enforced to this date despite its legally binding status; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama entered office “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide” and on April 24, 2013, and
similarly on April 24, 2014, he further stated, “A full, frank, and
just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Peoples
and nations grow stronger, and build a more just and tolerant future,
by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past”;
and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California
have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in
business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, many of
whom have family members who experienced firsthand the horror and
evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing denial; and

WHEREAS, Every person should be made aware and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and
genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the
recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is globally observed and recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the State of California and throughout the world have not been provided with justice for the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian nation despite the fact that over a century has passed since the crimes were first committed; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people in the State of California and
throughout the world remain resolved and their spirit continues to
thrive more than a century after their near annihilation;

now,therefore, be it Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the year of 2016 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923” and in doing so,
intends, through the enactment of legislation, that the Armenian
Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to its citizens and
visitors through statewide educational and cultural events; and be it
further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates April 24, 2016,
as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 101st Anniversary
of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923”; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious
educators who teach about human rights and genocide, and intends for
them, through the enactment of legislation, to continue to enhance
their efforts to educate students at all levels about the experience
of the Armenians and other crimes against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby commends the extraordinary
service which was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of
the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands
of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents,
grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians
and Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of
legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit
organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at large
to host statewide educational and cultural events; and

be it further Resolved, That the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the
historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the
President of the United States and the United States Congress to
formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the
atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted
genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President of the
United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and
durable Armenian-Turkish relations; and be it further
Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative
from California in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor
of California, to every member of the California State Legislature,
and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 3
State of California
May 19, 2017

CHAPTER 56

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

[ Filed with Secretary of State  May 19, 2017. ]<

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 3, Nazarian. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year of 2017 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” would designate April 24, 2017, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.

Fiscal Committee

BILL TEXT

WHEREAS, Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history in the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms, and despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality, including wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915, at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915–1919 and continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920–1923 whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern times, while thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924–1937; and

WHEREAS, During the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, which occurred during the first one-half of the 20th century, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks, and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, constituting one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, These crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand churches; and

WHEREAS, In response to the genocide and at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States State Department, the Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and rescue to the Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland all over the world and specifically in this state; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief succeeded, with the active participation of the citizens from this state, in delivering $117 million in assistance, and saving more than one million refugees, including 132,000 orphans, between 1915 and 1930, by delivering food, clothing, and materials for shelter, setting up refugee camps, clinics, hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation survived the genocide despite the attempt by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate it; and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, On November 4, 1918, immediately after the collapse of the Young Turk regime and before the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the Ottoman Parliament considered a motion on the crimes committed by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) stating: “A population of one million people guilty of nothing except belonging to the Armenian nation were massacred and exterminated, including even women and children.” The Minister of Interior at the time, Fethi Bey, responded by telling the Parliament: “It is the intention of the government to cure every single injustice done up until now, as far as the means allow, to make possible the return to their homes of those sent into exile, and to compensate for their material loss as far as possible”; and

WHEREAS, On August 1, 1926, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Examiner, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk admitted: “These left-overs from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made to account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly driven en masse, from their homes and massacred, have been restive under the Republican rule. They have hitherto lived on plunder, robbery and bribery and become inimical to any idea or suggestion to enlist in useful labor and earn their living by the honest sweat of their brow”; and

WHEREAS, The Parliamentary Investigative Committee proceeded to collect relevant documents describing the actions of those responsible for the Armenian mass killings and turned them over to the Turkish Military Tribunal. CUP’s leading figures were found guilty of massacring Armenians and hanged or given lengthy prison sentences. The Turkish Military Tribunal requested that Germany extradite to Turkey the masterminds of the massacres who had fled the country. After German refusal, they were tried in absentia and sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the Turkish government’s earlier admissions and the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first crimes constituting genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors and deprive the surviving Armenian nation of its individual and collective ancestral lands, property, cultural heritage, financial assets, and population growth; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia, and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, There is continued concern about the welfare of Christians in the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and practice freely, and the legal status and condition of thousands of ancient Armenian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other historical and cultural structures, sites, and antiquities in the Republic of Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 9, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 12, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States had a record of seeking just and constructive means to address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through United States Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, United States Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision titled, “The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey,” which was issued as a binding arbitral award, yet has not been enforced to this date despite its legally binding status; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama entered office “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide” and on April 24, 2013, and similarly on April 24, 2014, he further stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past”; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, many of whom have family members who experienced firsthand the horror and evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing denial; and

WHEREAS, Every person should be made aware and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is globally observed and recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the State of California and throughout the world have not been provided with justice for the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian nation despite the fact that over a century has passed since the crimes were first committed; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people in the State of California and throughout the world remain resolved and their spirit continues to thrive more than a century after their near annihilation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the year of 2017 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923” and in doing so, intends, through the enactment of legislation, that the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to its citizens and visitors through statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates April 24, 2017, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 102nd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide, and intends for them, through the enactment of legislation, to continue to enhance their efforts to educate students at all levels about the experience of the Armenians and other crimes against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby commends the extraordinary service which was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at large to host statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls on the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor of California, to every member of the California State Legislature, and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 37
CHAPTER 75

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 37, Friedman. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2018 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” would designate April 24, 2018, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.

Digest Key
Fiscal Committee: NO
Bill Text

WHEREAS, Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history in the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms, and despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality, including wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915, at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1919, inclusive, and continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920 to 1923, inclusive, whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern times, while thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924 to 1937, inclusive; and

WHEREAS, During the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, which occurred during the first one-half of the 20th century, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks, and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, constituting one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, These crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand churches; and

WHEREAS, In response to the genocide and at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States Department of State, the Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and rescue to the Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland all over the world and specifically in this state; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief succeeded, with the active participation of the citizens from this state, in delivering $117 million in assistance, and saving more than one million refugees, including 132,000 orphans, between 1915 and 1930, by delivering food, clothing, and materials for shelter, setting up refugee camps, clinics, hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation survived the genocide despite the attempt by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate it; and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, On November 4, 1918, immediately after the collapse of the Young Turk regime and before the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the Ottoman Parliament considered a motion on the crimes committed by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) stating: “A population of one million people guilty of nothing except belonging to the Armenian nation were massacred and exterminated, including even women and children.” The Minister of Interior at the time, Fethi Bey, responded by telling the Parliament: “It is the intention of the government to cure every single injustice done up until now, as far as the means allow, to make possible the return to their homes of those sent into exile, and to compensate for their material loss as far as possible”; and

WHEREAS, On August 1, 1926, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Examiner, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk admitted: “These left-overs from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made to account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly driven en masse, from their homes and massacred, have been restive under the Republican rule. They have hitherto lived on plunder, robbery and bribery and become inimical to any idea or suggestion to enlist in useful labor and earn their living by the honest sweat of their brow”; and

WHEREAS, The Parliamentary Investigative Committee proceeded to collect relevant documents describing the actions of those responsible for the Armenian mass killings and turned them over to the Turkish Military Tribunal. CUP’s leading figures were found guilty of massacring Armenians and hanged or given lengthy prison sentences. The Turkish Military Tribunal requested that Germany extradite to Turkey the masterminds of the massacres who had fled the country. After German refusal, they were tried in absentia and sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the Turkish government’s earlier admissions and the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first crimes constituting genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors and deprive the surviving Armenian nation of its individual and collective ancestral lands, property, cultural heritage, financial assets, and population growth; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia, and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, There is continued concern about the welfare of Christians in the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and practice freely, and the legal status and condition of thousands of ancient Armenian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other historical and cultural structures, sites, and antiquities in the Republic of Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 9, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 12, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States had a record of seeking just and constructive means to address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through United States Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, United States Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision titled, “The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey,” which was issued as a binding arbitral award, yet has not been enforced to this date despite its legally binding status; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama entered office “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide” and on April 24, 2013, and similarly on April 24, 2014, he further stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past”; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, many of whom have family members who experienced firsthand the horror and evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing denial; and

WHEREAS, Every person should be made aware and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is globally observed and recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the State of California and throughout the world have not been provided with justice for the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian nation despite the fact that over a century has passed since the crimes were first committed; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people in the State of California and throughout the world remain resolved and their spirit continues to thrive more than a century after their near annihilation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the year 2018 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923” and in doing so, intends, through the enactment of legislation, that the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to its citizens and visitors through statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates April 24, 2018, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 103rd Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide, and intends for them, through the enactment of legislation, to continue to enhance their efforts to educate students at all levels about the experience of the Armenians and other crimes against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby commends the extraordinary service that was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at large to host statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor of California, to every member of the California State Legislature, and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Assembly Bill No. 1595
CHAPTER 543

SEC. 7. Section 51220 of the Education Code is amended to read:

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, genocide may include the Armenian Genocide. The “Armenian Genocide” means the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, which included death marches into the Syrian desert, by the rulers of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the exile of more than 500,000 innocent people during the period from 1915 to 1923, inclusive.

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 16
CHAPTER 150

Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 16, Luz Rivas. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would, among other things, designate the year 2019 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” would designate April 24, 2019, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 104th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923,” and would call upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide.

WHEREAS, Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history in the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms, and despite Armenians’ historic presence, stewardship, and autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and unjust persecution and brutality, including wholesale massacres beginning in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915, at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1919, inclusive, and continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920 to 1923, inclusive, whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern times, while thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924 to 1937, inclusive; and

WHEREAS, During the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions, which occurred during the first half of the 20th century, 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent, and hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks, and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, constituting one of the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, These crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand churches; and

WHEREAS, In response to the genocide and at the behest of President Woodrow Wilson and the United States Department of State, the Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first congressionally sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and rescue to the Armenian nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland all over the world and specifically in this state; and

WHEREAS, Near East Relief succeeded, with the active participation of the citizens from this state, in delivering $117 million in assistance, and saving more than one million refugees, including 132,000 orphans, between 1915 and 1930, by delivering food, clothing, and materials for shelter, setting up refugee camps, clinics, hospitals, and orphanages; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian nation survived the genocide despite the attempt by the Ottoman Empire to exterminate it; and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, On November 4, 1918, immediately after the collapse of the Young Turk regime and before the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923, the Ottoman Parliament considered a motion on the crimes committed by the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) stating: “A population of one million people guilty of nothing except belonging to the Armenian nation were massacred and exterminated, including even women and children.” The Minister of Interior at the time, Fethi Bey, responded by telling the Parliament: “It is the intention of the government to cure every single injustice done up until now, as far as the means allow, to make possible the return to their homes of those sent into exile, and to compensate for their material loss as far as possible”; and

WHEREAS, On August 1, 1926, in an interview published in the Los Angeles Examiner, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk admitted: “These left-overs from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made to account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects who were ruthlessly driven en masse, from their homes and massacred, have been restive under the Republican rule. They have hitherto lived on plunder, robbery and bribery and become inimical to any idea or suggestion to enlist in useful labor and earn their living by the honest sweat of their brow”; and

WHEREAS, The Parliamentary Investigative Committee proceeded to collect relevant documents describing the actions of those responsible for the Armenian mass killings and turned them over to the Turkish Military Tribunal. CUP’s leading figures were found guilty of massacring Armenians and hanged or given lengthy prison sentences. The Turkish Military Tribunal requested that Germany extradite to Turkey the masterminds of the massacres who had fled the country. After German refusal, they were tried in absentia and sentenced to death; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the Turkish government’s earlier admissions and the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first crimes constituting genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors and deprive the surviving Armenian nation of its individual and collective ancestral lands, property, cultural heritage, financial assets, and population growth; and

WHEREAS, The Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Armenian Genocide denial, maintained its blockade of Armenia, and increased its pressure on the small but growing movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for this systematic campaign of destruction of millions of Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians, and other Christians upon their biblical-era homelands; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey, both Armenian and non-Armenian, who continue to speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide, such as human rights activist and journalist Hrant Dink, continue to be silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, There is continued concern about the welfare of Christians in the Republic of Turkey, their right to worship and practice freely, and the legal status and condition of thousands of ancient Armenian churches, monasteries, cemeteries, and other historical and cultural structures, sites, and antiquities in the Republic of Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The United States is on record as having officially recognized the Armenian Genocide in the United States government’s May 28, 1951, written statement to the International Court of Justice regarding the Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, through President Ronald Reagan’s April 22, 1981, Proclamation No. 4838, and by congressional legislation including House Joint Resolution 148 adopted on April 9, 1975, and House Joint Resolution 247 adopted on September 12, 1984; and

WHEREAS, Prior to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the United States had a record of seeking just and constructive means to address the consequences of the Ottoman Empire’s intentional destruction of the Armenian people, including through United States Senate Concurrent Resolution 12 adopted on February 9, 1916, United States Senate Resolution 359 adopted on May 11, 1920, and President Woodrow Wilson’s November 22, 1920, decision titled, “The Frontier between Armenia and Turkey,” which was issued as a binding arbitral award, yet has not been enforced to this date despite its legally binding status; and

WHEREAS, President Barack Obama entered office “calling for Turkey’s acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide” and on April 24, 2013, and similarly on April 24, 2014, he further stated, “A full, frank, and just acknowledgment of the facts is in all of our interests. Peoples and nations grow stronger, and build a more just and tolerant future, by acknowledging and reckoning with painful elements of the past”; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian American population in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched our state through their leadership and contribution in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts, many of whom have family members who experienced firsthand the horror and evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing denial; and

WHEREAS, Every person should be made aware and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent the recurrence of genocide; and

WHEREAS, April 24, 1915, is globally observed and recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Armenians in the State of California and throughout the world have not been provided with justice for the crimes perpetrated against the Armenian nation despite the fact that over a century has passed since the crimes were first committed; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people in the State of California and throughout the world remain resolved and their spirit continues to thrive more than a century after their near annihilation; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of California, jointly, That the Legislature hereby designates the year 2019 as “State of California Year of Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923” and in doing so, intends, through the enactment of legislation, that the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to its citizens and visitors through statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates April 24, 2019, as “State of California Day of Commemoration of the 104th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915–1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature commends its conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide, and intends for them, through the enactment of legislation, to continue to enhance their efforts to educate students at all levels about the experience of the Armenians and other crimes against humanity; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature hereby commends the extraordinary service that was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at large to host statewide educational and cultural events; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature respectfully calls upon the President of the United States and the United States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the Senate, to each Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the United States, to the Governor of California, to every member of the California State Legislature, and to the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

Relative to Assyrian Remembrance Day.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

HR 62, as amended, Flora.

WHEREAS, Assyrians are a people who have lived in the Middle East since ancient times, including in what is today Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria; and

WHEREAS, Assyrians, also known as Chaldeans and “Syriacs,” live all over the world, and there are more than 500,000 in the United States, including many in California; and

WHEREAS, In August 1933, Raphael Lemkin learned the news of the massacre in Simele, in which 63 Assyrian villages in the Dohuk and Mosul districts of modern day Iraq were attacked by the nascent Iraqi Army and irregular Kurdish and Arab forces. Approximately 6,000 Assyrians were brutally murdered. Lemkin cited the Simele massacre that was organized by the Iraqi Army alongside the systematic genocide of Armenians organized by the Ottoman Turks and the Holocaust when Lemkin and other jurists developed the legal concept of “genocide”; and

WHEREAS, From 1914 to 1918, hundreds of thousands of Assyrian men, women, and children were massacred and their properties confiscated during the Assyrian Genocide, also known as the Seyfo Genocide, as well as hundreds of thousands of Greeks and 1,500,000 Armenians as part of the planned complete eradication of those indigenous communities by the Ottoman Turkish Empire during the first modern genocide that still requires justice; and

WHEREAS, California is a global leader in human rights, particularly by recognizing and providing legal remedies for crimes against humanity during the period from 1915 to 1923, when many persons of Armenian ancestry residing in what was then the Ottoman Empire were victims of massacre, torture, starvation, death marches, and exile, an episode known to historians as the “Armenian Genocide”; and

WHEREAS, Near East relief efforts, with the active participation of the United States, resulted in delivering an unprecedented $117,000,000 of assistance from the American people between 1915 and 1930 that directly resulted in the salvation of Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian Christians from being annihilated by genocide; and

WHEREAS, Other cases of genocide include the ethnic cleansing and genocide against Yezidis, Assyrians, and other Christians in Iraq and Syria by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Middle East; and

WHEREAS, The United States House of Representatives adopted H. Con. Res. No. 75 in March 14, 2016, declaring the atrocities perpetrated and war crimes committed by ISIL against Christians, Yezidis, and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria as crimes against humanity and genocide; and

WHEREAS, This year marks the 104th anniversary of the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocide of 1915, which was committed by Ottoman Turks, yet Turkey, still, to this day, has not recognized this genocide that took the lives of more than 2,000,000 people. Iraq has also not recognized the Simele massacre, which was carried out by the Iraqi Army in August 1933; and

WHEREAS, In 2006, the European Parliament urged Turkey to recognize the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocide and to facilitate scholars’ access to the historical archives and “all relevant documents”; and

WHEREAS, In 2007, the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) formally recognized the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocides; and

WHEREAS, The number of survivors of the genocide period between 1915 and 1923 is dwindling, and it is appropriate for California to recognize the tragedy that befell these survivors a century ago; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly of the State of California, That the Assyrian Genocide of 1915, also known as the Seyfo Genocide, as well as the Simele massacre, are recognized by the Assembly of the State of California as crimes against humanity, and that the Assembly of the State of California hereby recognizes August 7, 2019, as Assyrian Remembrance Day; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.

FILE NO. 010607. RESOLUTION NO.
State of California
April 20th, 2001

[Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day]

Resolution declaring April 24th, 2001 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San 4 Francisco,

WHEREAS, In 1915 the Ottoman Turkish government initiated a prolonged and brutal campaign of terror and mass execution that caused the deaths of more than 2.5 million men,women, and children of Armenian heritage from 1915 to 1922, and the forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of survivors, many of whom settled in San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, Despite the overwhelming proof that this attemptd annihilation of the Armenian people was the result of governmental policy and genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has persisted to this day in denying that the Armenian Genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, Despite the overwhelming proof that this attempted annihilation of the Armenian people was the result of governmental policy and genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has persisted to this day in denying that the Armenian Genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, San Francisco is proud to join its Armenian-American community in its commemoration of the 86th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the 20th Century; and

WHEREAS, By joining our voices in one refrain we can help ensure that the Armenian Genocide is included in all historical accounts to guard against the occurrence of genocide in the future; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the San Board of Supervisors does hereby declare April 24th 2001 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will send a letter urging President George W. Bush to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Resolution declaring April 24th, 2001 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco.

April 9, 2001 Board of Supervisors – SEVERED FROM FOR ADOPTION WlTHOUT COMMITTEE REFERENCE AGENDA
April 9, 2001 Board of Supervisors – ADOPTED Ayes: 10 – Ammiano, Daly, Gonzalez, Hall, Lena, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Newsom, Peskin, Sandoval Absent: 1 – Yee

File No. 010607

I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was ADOPTED on April 9, 2001 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco.

(SIGNED)

Jean Lum (acting Clerk of the board )

Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.

APR 20 2001

Date Approved.

FILE NO :020559. RESOLUTION NO. 240-02
State of California
April 15, 2002

[Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day]

Resolution declaring April 24th, 2002 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco.

WHEREAS , In 1915 the Ottoman Turkish government initiated a prolonged and brutal campaign of terror and mass execution that caused the deaths of more than 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian heritage from 1915 to 1923, and the forced deportation of hundreds of thousands of survivors, many of whom settled in San Francisco;and

WHEREAS, Despite the overwhelming proof that this attempted annihilation of the Armenian people was the result of governmental policy and genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey has persisted to this day in denying that the Armenian Genocide occurred; and

WHEREAS, San Francisco is proud to join its Armenian-American community in its commemoration of the ar” anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the first genocide of the zo” Century; and

WHEREAS, By joining our voices in one refrain we can help ensure that the Armenian Genocide is included in all historical accounts to guard against the occurrence of genocide in the future; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the San Board of Supervisors does hereby declare April 20th 2002 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco; and, be it

FURTHER RESOLVED, That the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will send a letter urging President George W. Bush to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

Resolution declaring April 24th, 2002 Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco.

April 15, 2002 Board of Supervisors – ADOPTED Ayes: 11 – Ammiano, Daly, Gonzalez, Hall, Leno, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Newsom, Peskin, Sandoval, Yee

File No. 020559

I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was ADOPTED on April 15, 2002 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco.

(SIGNED)

Gloria L. Young (Clerk of the Board )
Mayor Willie L. Brown Jr.

FILE NO : 050613. RESOLUTION NO. 270-05
State of California
April 15, 2005

[Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day]

Resolution declaring April 24, 2005 As Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco.

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their 3,000 year historic homeland in eastern Asia Minor and throughout the Ottoman Empire, were subjected to severe persecution and brutal injustice by the rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the twentieth century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and acts of wanton destruction during the period from 1894 to 1896, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of their oppressors culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the First Genocide of the Twentieth Century; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, and political, religious, and business leaders, starting on April 24, 1915; and

WHEREAS, The regime then in control of the empire planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 through 1923, which included the torture, starvation, and murder of 1,500,000 Armenians, death marches into the Syrian desert, the forced exile of more than 500,000 innocent people, and the loss of the traditional Armenian homelands; and

WHEREAS, Some Turks and others jeopardized their safety in order to protect Armenians from the crimes being perpetrated by the regime, but the genocide of the Armenian people constituted one of the most egregious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The United States Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, Henry I Morgenthau, Sr. stated “When the Turkish authorities gave the order for these deportations,they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race, The killing of the Armenian people was accompanied by the systematic destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and cultural monuments in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years;” and

WHEREAS, Winston Churchill wrote: “As for Turkish atrocities: … massacring uncounted thousands of helpless Armenians, men women, and children together, whole districts blotted out in one administrative holocaust; these were beyond human redress;” and

WHEREAS, Adolf Hitler, in persuading his army commanders on the eve of World War II that the merciless persecution and killing of Poles, Jews, and other peoples would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians;” and

WHEREAS, Unlike other peoples and governments that have admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite the overwhelming weight of evidence, the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity, and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause continuing trauma and pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, The passage of nine decades and the fact that few survivors remain who serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and torment, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify recognition and reaffirmation of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the survivors and consistently remembering and condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, 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

WHEREAS, San Francisco IS proud to join the Armenian-American community in its commemoration of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in an effort to educate others about the tragic loss of life, land, and human rights of the Armenian people and the crime of genocide committed against them;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors does hereby declare April 24, 2005 as Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors wiil send a letter urging President George W. Bush to give just recognition ofthe Armenian Genocide.

Resolution declaring April 24, 2005 as Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in San Francisco,

April 12, 2005 Board of Supervisors – ADOPTED Ayes: 11 – Alioto-Pier, Ammiano, Daly, Dufty, Elsbernd, Ma, Maxwell, McGoldrick, Mirkarirni, Peskin, Sandoval

File No. 050613

I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was ADOPTED on April 12, 2005 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco.

(SIGNED)

Gloria L. Young (Clerk of the Board )
Mayor Gavin Newsom

04/15/2005  Date Approved

FILE NO. 140346. RESOLUTION NO. 121-14
San Francisco, California
April 24, 2014

[Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day -April 24, 2014]

Resolution declaring April 24, 2014, as Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their historic homeland of 3,000 years, were subjected to severe persecution by the Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the twentieth century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and destruction of cultural institutions and monuments during the period from 1894 to 1896, again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the first systematic genocide of the twentieth century; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide began with the arrest, exile, and murder of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and political, religious, and business leaders, starting on April24, 1915;and

WHEREAS, The Ottoman Turkish authorities planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 through 1923; and

WHEREAS, Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term ‘genocide’ in 1944, and who was the earliest proponent of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide, invoked the Armenian case as a definitive example of genocide in the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the survivors and consistently remembering and condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, California has become home to the largest and most active 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

WHEREAS, San Francisco Armenian- Americans are predominantly descendants of the few remaining Armenian Genocide victims; and

WHEREAS, Those Armenian Genocide survivors who arrived in San Francisco and reestablished themselves, built a thriving community that has created churches, civic and charitable organizations, and a school, and have become an integral part of the dynamic culture of San Francisco; and

WHEREAS, The San Francisco Bay Area lost its last remaining Armenian Genocide survivor, 99 year old Takouhie Keshishian, who passed away on March 4t 2014; and

WHEREAS, San Francisco is proud to join the Armenian-American community in its commemoration of the 99th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in an effort to educate others about the tragic loss of life, land and human rights of the Armenian people and the crime of genocide committed against them; and now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco does hereby declare April 24, 2014, as Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

Resolution declaring April 24, 2014, as Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

April 15, 2014 Board of Supervisors -ADOPTED Ayes: 11 -Avalos, Breed, Campos, Chiu, Cohen, Farrell, Kim, Mar, Tang, Wiener and Yee

File No. 140346
I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was ADOPTED on 4/15/2014 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco.

Signed By :

Angele Calvillo (Clerk of the Board )

Unsigned (Mayor )

4/ 25/ 14 Date Approved

Resolution of Support for the recognition of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
CITY OF GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA
March 10th, 2015

REPORT TO THE:

Joint

City Council

Housing Authority

Successor  Agency

Oversight  Board

03/10/2015

AGENDA ITEM

Report: Resolution of Support for the recognition of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

1) Resolution of Support for the recognition of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

COUNCIL  ACTION

Public Hearing

Ordinance

Consent Calendar

Action Item

Report Only

Approved for 03/10/15 calender

ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION
Submitted by: Dan Bell, Community Relations Coordinator
Prepared by: Dan Bell, Community Relations Coordinator
Approved by: Scott Ochoa, City Manager
Reviewed by: Yasmin K. Beers, Assistant City Manager

Michael J. Garcia, City Attorney

RECOMMENDATION

Mayor Sinanyan requested staff to bring foiward a resolution to recognize the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Staff is recommending approval.

BACKGROUND/ANALYSIS

The City of Glendale believes that cultural diversity is achieved when our entire community acknowledges that its wholeness is based on the unique strengths of each of its community members. The Armenian community has participated in and greatly enriched our city through contributions in business, arts, culture, education and government. Sadly, many in our community, who are of Armenian descent, lost a significant number of family members and friends, belongings and heritage in the Genocide. For the past 13 years, the City of Glendale  has dedicated itself to the recognition of the Armenian Genocide– to honor of the 1.5 million men, women and children who lost their lives. Despite the passage of 100 years, the wound remains deep and we look forward to a time when the tragedy will be universally acknowledged. It ls for these reasons that this resolution is being brought forward for approval.

FISCAL IMPACT

There would be no expenditure associated with this action. This is merely a resolution of support.

ALTERNATIVES

Alternative 1: City Council can pass the resolution in support for the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide

Alternative 2: The City Council can deny the resolution of support.

Alternative 3: The C!ty Council may consider any other alternative not proposed by staff.

CAMPAIGN  DISCLOSURE

NIA

EXHIBITS

Exhibit 1: Resolution of support for the recognition of the centennial anniversary of the Armenian genocide,

RESOLUTION NO.

RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE DESIGNATING APRIL 2015 AS THE “MONTH OF COMMEMORATION OF THE

CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”; AND TAKING ACTIONS NECESSARY TO ENSURE THE CITY AND ITS INSTITUTIONS INCLUDING SCHOOLS, LIBRARIES AND PUBLICLY OWNED MUSEUMS PROPERLY COMMEMORATE,

INFORM AND PROVIDE EDUCATION ABOUT THE GENOCIDE

WHEREAS, the Armenian people were subjects of a systematic and premeditated Genocidal campaign which began on April 24, 1915, at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman Empire from 1915-1919, and which continued at the hands of the Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920-1923 whereby over 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children were slaughtered or marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the Am,enian Nation in the First modem Genocide of the 2oth century, while thousands of surviving Am,enian women and children were forcibly converted and lslamized, and hundreds of thousands more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924-1937; and

WHEREAS, during the genocides of the Christians living in the Ottoman Empire and surrounding regions which occurred during the first half of the 2oth Century, hundreds of thousands of Assyrians, Greeks and other Christians, lost their lives at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and the Republic of Turkey, and

WHEREAS, these crimes against humanity also had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of the Armenians and other targeted people from their historic homelands of more than four millennia, and enriching the perpetrators with the lands and other property of the victims of these crimes, including the usurpation of several thousand churches; and

WHEREAS, in response to the Genocide and at the behest of the President Woodrow Wilson and the U.S. State Department, the Near East Relief organization was founded, and became the first Congressionally-sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to provide humanitarian assistance and to rescue the Armenian Nation and other Christian minorities from annihilation, who went on to survive and thrive outside of their ancestral homeland all over the world and specifically in the State of California; and

WHEREAS, the planning and implementation of Genocide is indisputably recognized in international law as a Crime Against Human[ty and is punishable as such, yet has remained unpunished for nearly one hundred years, as the government of Turkey is allowed with impunity to distort history and to deny the Genocide and its consequences perpetrated both by its Ottoman predecessor and its subsequent regimes despite international recognition of the Armenian Genocide by 23 countries, including the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the Republic of Turkey inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full century since the first crimes constituting genocide·

occurred despite the Turkish governments’ earlier admissions and the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent; and

WHEREAS, the Republic of Turkey has escalated its international campaign of Genocide denial; it maintains its illegal blockade of humanitarian aid to the Republic of Armenia, and steadily increases its pressure on any movement in Turkey acknowledging the Armenian Genocide and seeking justice for its victims and other persecuted indigenous minorities; and

WHEREAS, this resolution declares that the Glendale City Council deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide and its related atrocities; and

WHEREAS, every person should be made aware of and educated about the Armenian Genocide and other crimes against humanity, and know that April 24, 1915 is globally recognized as the commencement of the Armenian Genocide and that 2015 marks the centennial anniversary since its commencement.

NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE  AS FOLLOWS:

That April 2015 is hereby designated as the “City of Glendale Month of Commemoration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923”, in order to ensure that the Armenian Genocide is properly commemorated and taught to the community at large, to the schools, their faculty and student body, and to visitors to Glendale through educational and cultural

That the Glendale City Council hereby commends the extraordinary service which was delivered by Near East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents of many Californian residents, and the City Council reaffirms its commitment to working with community groups, nonprofit organizations, City personnel, and the Glendale Unified School District to host campus­ wide educational events dedicated specifically to these efforts as an important part of American

That the Glendale City Council calls upon the President of the United States to work toward equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish relations based upon the Republic of Turkey’s full acknowledgment of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and toward a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime against humanity, including reparations to the Armenian

That the Glendale City Council transmit copies of this Resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, to each United States Senator and Member of Congress from California, to the Governor of California,

and every member of the California State Legislature, to the California State Superintendent of Instruction, and to the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.

Approved and adopted this ____________ day of ________ ,2015.

_______________
Mayor

ATTEST:

______________
City Clerk

STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
) SS
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )

I, ARDASHES KASSAKH IAN, City Clerk of the City of Glendale, certify that the foregoing Resolution No.____________,was adopted by the Council of the City of Glendale, California, at a regular meeting held on the ____________        day of _____________ , 2015, and that same was

adopted by the following vote: Ayes:

Noes:

Absent:

Abstain:

____________
City Clerk

FILE NO. 150380. RESOLUTION NO. 157-15
San Francisco, California
April 15th, 2015

[Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day -April 24, 2015]

Resolution declaring April 24, 2015, as Armenian Genocide Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

WHEREAS, The Armenian people, living in their historic homeland of 4,000 years, were subjected to severe persecution by the Turkish government of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of the twentieth century, including widespread massacres, usurpation of land and property, and destruction of cultural institutions and monuments during the period from 1894 to 1896, again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The horrible experience of the Armenians at the hands of the Ottoman Turkish government culminated in 1915 in what is known by historians as the first systematic genocide of the twentieth century; and

WHEREAS, The Ottoman Turkish authorities planned and executed the unspeakable atrocities committed against the Armenian people from 1915 through 1923, resulting in the deaths of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children; and

WHEREAS, In response to the Genocide and at the behest of the President Woodrow Wilson and the U.S. State Department, the Near East Relief organization, the first Congressionally-sanctioned American philanthropic effort created exclusively to rescue the Armenian Nation and other Christian minorities, was founded and provided unprecedented relief, delivering more than $117,000,000 of humanitarian assistance between 1915 and 1930, and saving approximately one million refugees, including 130,000 orphans of the Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Raphael Lemkin, who coined the term ‘genocide’ in 1944, and who was the earliest proponent of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Genocide, invoked the Armenian case as a definitive example of genocide in the 20th century; and

WHEREAS, Those citizens of Turkey who speak the truth about the Armenian Genocide – such as assassinated human rights activist and journalist Hrant Din – continue to be silenced by violent means and/or imprisonment, in part due to Turkish law which criminalizes any expression which is considered to be insulting to the Turkish identity; and

WHEREAS, By honoring the survivors and consistently remembering and condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenian people as well as the persecution of the Assyrian and Greek populations of the Ottoman Empire, we guard against the repetition of the crime of genocide; and

WHEREAS, California has become home to the largest and most active 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

WHEREAS, San Francisco Armenian-Americans are predominantly descendants of the few remaining Armenian Genocide victims; and

WHEREAS, San Francisco is proud to join the Armenian-American Community in its Commemoration of the centennial anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in an effort to educate others about the tragic loss of life, land and human rights of the Armenian people and the crime of genocide committed against them; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco does hereby declare April 24, 2015, as Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

Resolution declaring April 24, 2015, as Armenian Genocide Centennial Commemoration Day in the City and County of San Francisco.

April 21, 2015 Board of Supervisors – ADOPTED Ayes: 11 -Avalos, Breed, Campos, Christensen, Co.hen, Farrell, Kim, Mar, Tang, Wiener and Yee

File No. 150380
I hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution was ADOPTED on 4/21/2015 by the Board of Supervisors of the City and County of San Francisco.

(SIGNED)

Angele Calvillo (Clerk of the Board )

Unsigned (Mayor )

5/15/ 15   Date Approved

I hereby certify that the foregoing resolution, not being signed by the Mayor within the.time limit as set forth in Section 3.103 of the Charter, or time waived pursuant to Board Rule 2.14.2, became effective without his approval in accordance with the provision of said Section 3.103 of the Charter or Board Rule 2.14.2.

Angele Calvillo (Clerk of the Board )
Date: 5/1/15