April 1, 2004

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Reps. Shulman, Accavitti, Adamini, Anderson, Bieda, Brandenburg, Brown, Casperson, Caswell, Daniels, DeRoche, DeRossett, Elkins, Emmons, Farhat, Farrah, Garfield, Gieleghem, Gillard, Gleason, Hager, Huizenga, Jamnick, Koetje, Kolb, Kooiman, Lipsey, Meisner, Meyer, Middaugh, Milosch, Minore, Phillips, Plakas, Richardville, Rivet, Robertson, Rocca, Sak, Shaffer, Spade, Stahl, Stallworth, Tabor, Taub, Tobocman, Vander Veen, Woronchak, Byrum, Dennis, Pappageorge and Voorhees offered the following resolution:

House Resolution No. 230.

A resolution recognizing April 24, 2004, as “Michigan’s Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923.”

Whereas, One and one-half million men, women, and children of Armenian descent were victims of the brutal genocide perpetrated by the Turkish Ottoman Empire from 1915-1923, and

Whereas, The Armenian Genocide and massacres of the Armenian people represented a deliberate attempt to eliminate all traces of a thriving noble civilization over 3,000 years old; and

Whereas, The Armenian people have not received reparations for their losses; and

Whereas, To this day revisionists still inexplicably deny the existence of these horrific events; and

Whereas, Modern Turkey continues to deny and distort the facts of the Armenian Genocide and honors the perpetrators of that crime against humanity as national heroes; and

Whereas, Prior to the invasion of Poland in 1939, Adolf Hitler, the German Nazi dictator, seeking to dispel fears among his military command regarding the world’s response to his genocidal plans, asked “Who, after all, today speaks of the Armenians?”; and

Whereas, Residents of Michigan are highly sensitive to the need for consistently remembering and openly condemning the crimes committed against any culture of people to prevent similar atrocities in the future; and

Whereas, Recognition of the 89th anniversary of this genocide is crucial to ensuring against the repetition of future genocides and educating people about the atrocities connected to this horrific event; and

Whereas, Armenia is now a free and independent republic, having embraced democracy following nearly 70 years of oppressive Soviet domination; and

Whereas, Armenian-Americans living in Michigan have greatly enriched our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts; and

Whereas, We join Armenian-Americans and the Armenian community abroad to mourn the loss of so many innocent lives so that the lessons learned contribute to the development of international intervention principles and human rights awareness; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body recognize April 24, 2004, as “Michigan Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923”; and be it further

Resolved, That the Governor in her message commemorating the Armenian Genocide commend this observation to all Michigan residents; and be it further

Resolved, That we encourage Michigan public schools to develop programs similar to those already established in California, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York, that focus on human rights, with specific attention given to the Armenian Genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That copies of this resolution be forwarded to the Department of Legislative Services, the Honorable Governor, Jennifer Granholm, the Honorable Lieutenant Governor, John Cherry, the Honorable Senate Majority Leader, Ken Sikkema, and the Honorable Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rick Johnson.