Carson City, NV – The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) applauds Nevada Governor James Gibbons (R-NV) for issuing a proclamation concerning the Armenian Genocide. The document specifically addresses the Armenian Genocide as the first genocide of the twentieth century and notes the importance of remembering the Armenian Genocide to guard against the recurrence of this crime against humanity.

“We are honored to see Governor Gibbons join Governor Schwarzenegger in exercising strong moral leadership on the Armenian Genocide,” commented ANCA-WR Executive Director Andrew Kzirian. “Nevada’s Armenian American community has a rich tradition of civic participation and the Governor’s proclamation is most welcome in this regard,” he added.

Governor Gibbons’ proclamation was issued in the midst of a campaign by the Turkish Government to defeat a resolution (H.Res.106) pending in the U.S. Congress that would mark the slaughter of 1.5 million Christians as the first genocide of the 20th century.

In Nevada, Congressman Porter (R-NV-03) and Congresswoman Berkley (D-NV-01) have cosponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution. San Francisco – Bay Area Congressman Tom Lantos (D-CA-12), who serves as Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is himself a Holocaust survivor, has not indicated whether he is supporting the legislation or if he will schedule a vote on the bill in his committee. Currently, nearly 200 Members of Congress from over 35 states have cosponsored the Armenian Genocide resolution.

This is the second proclamation issued by the Office of the Governor of Nevada since 2000.

The full text of the proclamation is included below.

The Armenian National Committee of America is the largest and most influential Armenian American grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively advances the concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.

Photo Caption: Governor of the State of Nevada, James Gibbons (R-NV).

State of Nevada

Executive Department

A Proclamation by the Governor

WHEREAS, on April 24, 1915, the Ottoman Turks rounded up, deported and massacred 600 Armenian leaders, writers, thinkers and professionals in Constantinople and other major cities along with 5,000 Armenians who were killed in the streets and in their homes; and

WHEREAS, the extermination from 1915 to 1923, of more than 1,500,000 Christian Armenians and the forced deportation of others represents the first case of genocide of the 20th Century; and

WHEREAS, during the Genocide, Armenians were forced to witness the slaughter of their relatives and the loss of their ancestral homeland and property; and

WHEREAS; it is crucial to remember this horrific instance in history in guarding against recurrence of genocide of any kind;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JIM GIBBONS, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF NEVADA do hereby proclaim April 22, 2007, as

A DAY OF REMEMBRANCE FOR THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

1915 TO 1923

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Nevada to be affixed at the State Capitol in Carson City, this 6th day of April 2007.

Jim Gibbons, Governor