April 13, 2022

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"A resolution to declare April 24, 2022 as a Day of Remembrance in the state of Michigan for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923."

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HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.267

Reps. Manoogian, Brabec, Breen, Haadsma, Hood, Hope, Koleszar, Kuppa, Morse, Pohutsky, Rogers, Sabo, Sneller, Stone, Thanedar, Weiss and Young offered the following resolution:

A resolution to declare April 24, 2022 as a Day of Remembrance in the state of Michigan for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.

Whereas, With the passage of Public Act 58 of 2002, the state of Michigan has legally recognized that the Armenian Genocide occurred from 1915 to 1923. Beginning on April 24, 1915, Armenians, – as well as Greeks, Assyrian-Chaldeans, Syriacs, Arameans, Maronites, and other Christians, were subject to torture, starvation, mass murder, lethal human medical experimentation, and exile from their historic homeland. Over 1.5 million lost their lives. The Armenian Genocide represented a deliberate attempt by the Ottoman Empire to eliminate all traces of an ancient, thriving, and noble civilization that had lived in these regions for millennia; and

Whereas, The majority of the Armenian population was displaced from their homes and forced to escape to neighboring and faraway communities and countries, many refugees fled to the United States. Today, Michigan is honored to be home to a vibrant Armenian-American population of more than 17,000 Michiganders. This thriving community is a proud reminder of survival and perseverance in the face of extreme injustice; and

Whereas, Michigan Armenian American churches and community organization have organized numerous charity and community drives across the state, including, but not limited to, providing college scholarships for deserving students and serving Armenian refugee communities across the state; and

Whereas, In 2015, on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the Armenian Church canonized the 1.5 million Armenians who were killed in the Armenian Genocide as saints–holy martyrs who died for their faith and homeland; and

Whereas, Both houses of the 116th Congress of the United States voted to commemorate and recognize the atrocities of the Armenian Genocide, rejected efforts to associate the United States government with those that deny the existence of the Armenian Genocide or any genocide, and encourage education and public understanding about the Armenian Genocide; and

Whereas, In 2021, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. became only the second president after President Ronald Reagan to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide by name and the first to do so in a Presidential Proclamation. This proclamation declared the Armenian Genocide as a fact of United States policy, and validated the experiences of the survivors, family members and descendants of survivors, and those whose lives were taken during the Armenian Genocide as fact; and

Whereas, As the world’s first modern genocide, the Armenian Genocide has served as a model for other mass atrocities across the past century, including, but not limited to, the Holocaust, the genocide of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge, the Rwandan Genocide, the Bosnian Genocide, the genocide of the Yazidis by the Islamic State, and the Rohingya Genocide; and

Whereas, Some governments, such as those of the Republic of Turkey and Republic of Azerbaijan, continue to deny the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide or the involvement of the Ottoman government in its planning or execution. These governments continue to engage in what is commonly referred to as the tenth stage of genocide, denial, further inflicting this heinous, cruel act on Armenians and Armenian-Americans. Moreover, by destroying Armenian cities, churches, and cultural sites within the Republic of Armenia, Republic of Artsakh, and Turkey, the Turkish and Azeri governments continue their campaigns to erase Armenian cultural heritage and existence within their own historic homeland in the Caucuses. Ongoing incursions into Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia by the Republic of Azerbaijan have resulted in the deaths of countless innocent Armenians and Artsakhtsis, reminding us of the cost of engaging in government denial of genocide; and

Whereas, By recognizing and consistently remembering the Armenian Genocide, the Holocaust, and all cases of past and ongoing genocide, we help to protect historic memory, ensure that similar atrocities do not occur again, and remain vigilant against hatred, persecution, and tyranny. The Armenian community of Michigan has used its deep understanding of historic pain and dispersal to stand constantly and consistently alongside other persecuted communities in Michigan and around the world; and

Whereas, Armenian, Assyrian-Chaldean, Greek, Syriac, Aramean, and Maronite communities around the world commemorate the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide on April 24, 2022. On this day, we honor the holy martyrs of the Armenian Church who were killed during the Genocide, the survivors of the Genocide and their descendants, and reaffirm our commitment to preventing future atrocities from being committed against any people; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare April 24, 2022 as a Day of Remembrance in the state of Michigan for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.

For more information, visit the website of the Michigan Legislature.