California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2

Introduced by Assembly Members Gatto and Achadjian

December 3, 2012

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 2—Relative to the Armenian Genocide.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 2, as introduced, Gatto. Armenian Genocide.

This measure would designate the week of April 18 to 24, 2013, as “California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923,” and would memorialize the Congress and the President of the United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 was the
first genocide of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million men,
women, and children lost their lives at the hands of the Turkish
Ottoman Empire in their attempt to systematically eliminate the
Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, In their 3,000 year historic homeland in Asia
Minor, Armenians were subjected to severe and unjust persecution
and brutality by the Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before
and after the turn of the 20th century, including widespread acts
of destruction and murder during the period from 1894 to 1896,
inclusive, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The massacre of the Armenians constituted one of
the most atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the
world; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders
that the merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other
people would bring no retribution, declared, “Who, after all, speaks
today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have
admitted and denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor
regimes, and despite the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent,
the Republic of Turkey has inexplicably and adamantly denied the
occurrence of the crimes against humanity committed by the
Ottoman and Young Turk rulers, and those denials compound the
grief of the few remaining survivors of the atrocities, desecrate
the memory of the victims, and cause continuing pain to the
descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and
cultural ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their
duty to encourage Turkish officials to cease efforts to distort facts
and deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide;
and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and
revisionism, coupled with the passage of time and the fact that
very few survivors remain who can serve as reminders of
indescribable brutality and tormented lives, compel a sense of
urgency in efforts to solidify recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully
condemning the atrocities committed against the Armenians, and
honoring the survivors as well as other victims of similar heinous
conduct, we guard against repetition of such acts of genocide and
provide the American public with a greater understanding of its
heritage; and

WHEREAS, This measure would provide that the Legislature
deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person in this
country or abroad to deny the historical fact of the Armenian
Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest
Armenian-American population in the United States, and
Armenians living in California have enriched our state through
their leadership in business, agriculture, academia, government,
and the arts; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront
of encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human
rights and genocide in order to empower future generations to
prevent recurrence of the crime of genocide; now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the State of California commends its
conscientious educators who teach about human rights and
genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby
designates the week of April 18 to 24, 2013, as “California Week
of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923”; and
be it further

Resolved, That California commemorates California Week of
Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide through the Armenian
Genocide Commemorative Project; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully calls upon
the Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise
and to formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the
historical truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian
people constituted genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the Republic of Turkey
to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work
toward a just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and
the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.