March 23, 1999

STATE OF ILLINOIS

Executive Department

Proclamation

WHEREAS, THE Armenian community is commemorating the 84th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, 84 YEARS AGO Armenians were forced to witness the genocide of their relatives and the loss of their ancestral homelands; and

WHEREAS, the extermination of 1.5 million Armenians and the forced deportation of countless others by the Ottoman Turks between the years of 1915 and 1923 is recognized every year; and

WHEREAS, the Armenians continue to be a people full of hope, working side-by-side for the future of Armenia. Through their faith and pride in their heritage, the Armenians remain a strong and courageous people working toward rebuilding a firm foundation for Armenia; and

WHEREAS, Armenian-Americans have been forthright in their efforts to preserve their culture, heritage and language;

THEREFORE, I, George H. Ryan, Governor of the State of Illinois, proclaim April 24, 1999, as ARMENIAN MARTYRS DAY in Illinois in remembrance of the 84th Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of Illinois to be affixed. Done at the Capitol, in the City of Springfield, this twenty-third day of March, in the Year of Our Lord one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine, and of the State of Illinois the one hundred and eighty-first.

Jesee Whitt (Signed) Secretary of State

George H. Ryan (Signed) Governor

[March 23, 1999]