April 24, 2010

View PDF of document

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 10-038

BY SENATOR(S) Tochtrop, Bacon, Boyd, Brophy, Cadman, Carroll M., Foster, Harvey, Heath, Hodge, Hudak, Johnston, Keller, King K., Kopp, Lundberg, Morse, Newell, Penry, Renfroe, Romer, Sandoval, Scheffel, Schwartz, Shaffre B., Spence, Steadman, Tapia, White, Whitehead, Williams;

Also REPRESENTATIVE(S) Ryden, Acree, Apuan, Balmer, Baumgardner, Benefield, Bradford, Casso, Court, Curry, DelGrosso, Ferrandino, Fischer, Frangas, Gagliardi, Gardner B., Gardner C., Gerou, Hullinghorst, Kagan, Kefalas, Kerr A., Kerr J., King S., Lambert, Levy, Looper, Massey, May, McCann, McFadyen, McNulty, Merrifield, Middleton, Miklosi, Murry, Nikkel, Pace, Peniston, Pommer, Primavera, Priola, Rice, Riesberg, Roberts, Scanlan, Schafer S., Solano, Sonnenberg, Soper, Stephens, Summers, Swalm, Tipton, Todd, Tyler, Vigil, Waller, Weissmann, Carroll T.

CONCERNING REMEMBERANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE ON APRIL 24, 2010, AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, DESIGNATING EVERY APRIL 24 HEREAFTER AS "COLORODO DAY OF REMEMBERANCE OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE".

WHEREAS, This year marks the 95th anniversary of the first genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian Genocide, when 1.5 million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of a brutal genocide perpetrated by the Turkish Ottoman Government from 1915 to 1923 and, as a result, there are fewer than 75,000 indigenous Armenians living within the borders of modern Turkey; and

WHEREAS, The former 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 these devoted people."; and

WHEREAS, The killings of the Armenian people was followed by the systematic destruction of destruction of churches, schools, libraries, treasures of art, and

cultural monuments that continues to this day in an attempt to eliminate all traces of a noble civilization with a history of more than 3,000 years; and

WHEREAS, The New York Times recently reported a newly exposed official Ottoman document revealing that 972,000 Armenians disappeared from population records within one year; and

Whereas, Despite overwhelming evidence, modern Turkey continues to deny and distort the facts of the genocide, honor the perpetrators of that crime against humanity as national heroes, and persecute its citizens who acknowledge or even allude to the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, Each April, Armenians throughout the world honor their martyrs, and all the world's people should commemorate the Armenian Genocide and condemn any attempt to deny its historical truth or mischaracterize it as anything less than genocide a term coined by Raphael Lemkin in 1944 referencing the Armenian extermination as a seminal example of genocide; and

Whereas We must all fight against current injustices, such as the ongoing first genocide of the 21st century in Darfur that is being denied by the Turkish government, an ally of the Sudanese regime, which demonstrates how the cycle of genocide continues; and

WHEREAS, We commend Armenians of Colorado, Inc., for organizing the April 2010 genocide commemoration events, which include a keynote speech by attorney Mark Geragos entitled "Reparations: Beyond Recognition", held April 17th at Arapahoe Community College; and

WHEREAS, We commend the growing number of Turkish citizens, including academics, writers, and journalists, who challenge their government's official account of history amid threats of prosecution and imprisonment under article 301 of the Turkish penal code, which forbids denigration of the Turkish nation and the Turkish government; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty-seventh General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

(1)That this legislative body pause in its deliberations to commemorate the 95th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, to be recognized at a memorial service at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 24, 2010, at the Genocide memorial plaque in the Armenian Garden, located in the northeast quadrant on the State Capitol grounds; and

(2)That we, the members of the General Assembly, hereby acknowledge April 24, 2010, and April 24 of each year hereafter, as "Colorado Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide".

Be It Further Resolved, That copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States; the members of the Colorado Congressional Delegation; the members of the Congressional Caucus on Armenian Issues; the Honorable Bill Ritter, Jr., Governor of Colorado; the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington D.C.; the Armenian National Committee in Washington D.C.; and the Armenian and Turkish Embassies in Washington, D.C.

Brandon C. Shaffer
PRESIDENT OF
THE SENATE

Karen Goldman
SECRETARY OF
THE SENATE

Terrance D. Carroll
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES

Marilyn Eddins
CHIEF CLERK OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES