April 16, 1990

CITY OF GARDEN CITY

PROCLAMATION

COMMEMORATION OF THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE 1915-1990

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by the Ottoman Turkish governments from 1915 to 1923, prior to the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, resulting in the massacre of 1.5 million Armenian men, women and children, the deportation of 500,000 survivors; and

WHEREAS, the Armenian Genocide is amply documented in the archives of the United States and other nations; and

WHEREAS, an estimated 500,000 Armenian in Metro Detroit and millions throughout the world whose relatives and ancestors succumbed to the atrocities, along with their friends, annually commemorate April 24, as a day of Remembrance; and

WHEREAS, U.S. Senate Resolution 359 of May 13, 1920 stated, in part, that "hearings conducted by the subcommittee... have clearly established the truth of the reported massacres and other atrocities from which the Armenian people have suffered"; and

WHEREAS, President Reagan and President Bush both have publicly recognized the tragic events of the 1915-1923 period; and

WHEREAS, world morality dictates to people of conscience that such crimes against humanity not go unpunished, unrecognized and without reparation:

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that it is the sense of the City of Garden city, and I, Jim A. Plakas, as Mayor of the City of Garden City, that the city leaders on this day declare April 24 as a Day of Remembrance of Man's Inhumanity to Man and are mindful of the somber commemoration undertaken by their citizenry, and that the City of Garden City shares in the commemoration as a governing body mindful of human rights with the objective of doing its part in preventing any future genocide anywhere in the world.

(SIGNED)
Mayor, Jim A. Plakas

Dated: April 16, 1990