BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 34|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: AJR 34
Author: Achadjian (R), et al.
Amended: 4/12/16 in Assembly
Vote: 21
ASSEMBLY FLOOR: Not available
SUBJECT: Armenian Genocide
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution designates the year of 2016 as "State of
California Year of Commemoration of the 101st Anniversary of the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923," designates April 24, 2016, as
"State of California Day of Commemoration of the 101st
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923," and calls
upon the President of the United States and the United States
Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the historical
truth that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people
constituted genocide.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)Armenians have resided in Asia Minor and the Caucasus for
approximately four millennia, and have a long and rich history
in the region, including the establishment of many kingdoms,
and despite Armenians' historic presence, stewardship, and
autonomy in the region, Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire
and the Republic of Turkey subjected Armenians to severe and
unjust persecution and brutality, including wholesale
massacres beginning in the 1890s.
AJR 34
Page 2
2)The Armenian nation was subjected to a systematic and
premeditated genocide officially beginning on April 24, 1915,
at the hands of the Young Turk Government of the Ottoman
Empire from 1915-1919 and continued at the hands of the
Kemalist Movement of Turkey from 1920-1923 whereby over 1.5
million Armenian men, women, and children were slaughtered or
marched to their deaths in an effort to annihilate the
Armenian nation in the first genocide of modern times, while
thousands of surviving Armenian women and children were
forcibly converted and Islamized, and hundreds of thousands
more were subjected to ethnic cleansing during the period of
the modern Republic of Turkey from 1924-1937.
3)Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and
denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and
despite the Turkish government's earlier admissions and the
overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey
inexplicably and adamantly has denied the occurrence of the
crimes against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young
Turk rulers for many years, and continues to do so a full
century since the first crimes constituting genocide occurred.
Those denials compound the grief of the few remaining
survivors and deprive the surviving Armenian nation of its
individual and collective ancestral lands, property, cultural
heritage, financial assets, and population growth.
4)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 and contribution
in business, agriculture, academia, government, and the arts,
many of whom have family members who experienced firsthand the
horror and evil of the Armenian Genocide and its ongoing
denial.
5)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 the recurrence of genocide.
6)The Armenian people, in this state and elsewhere, remain
resolved and their spirit continues to thrive more than a
century after their near annihilation.
AJR 34
Page 3
This resolution:
1)Designates the year of 2016 as "State of California Year of
Commemoration of the Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide of
1915-1923" and in doing so, intends, through the enactment of
legislation, that the Armenian Genocide is properly
commemorated and taught to its citizens and visitors through
statewide educational and cultural events.
2)Designates April 24, 2016, as "State of California Day of
Commemoration of the 101st Anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide of 1915-1923".
3)Commends conscientious educators who teach about human rights
and genocide, and intends for them, through the enactment of
legislation, to continue to enhance their efforts to educate
students at all levels about the experience of the Armenians
and other crimes against humanity.
4)Commends the extraordinary service which was delivered by Near
East Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the
Assyrian Genocide, including thousands of direct beneficiaries
of American philanthropy who are the parents, grandparents,
and great-grandparents of many Californian Armenians and
Assyrians, and pledges its intent, through the enactment of
legislation, to working with community groups, nonprofit
organizations, citizens, state personnel, and the community at
large to host statewide educational and cultural events.
5)Deplores the persistent, ongoing efforts by any person, in
this country or abroad, to deny the historical fact of the
Armenian Genocide.
6)Calls upon the President of the United States and the United
States Congress to formally and consistently reaffirm the
historical truth that the atrocities committed against the
Armenian people constituted genocide.
7)Calls on the President of the United States to work toward
equitable, constructive, stable, and durable Armenian-Turkish
relations.
AJR 34
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Prior Legislation
AJR 1 (Gatto, 2015) designates the week of April 18 to 24, 2015,
as "California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of
1915-1923," commemorate the week of remembrance through the
Armenian Genocide Commemorative Project, calls upon Congress and
the President of the United States to recognize the atrocities
committed against the Armenian people, and calls upon the
Republic of Turkey to acknowledge the facts of the Armenian
Genocide and work toward a just resolution. This resolution is
in the Assembly.
AJR 41 (Calderon, Resolution Chapter 61, Statutes of 2014)
commended the extraordinary service delivered by Near East
Relief to the survivors of the Armenian Genocide and the
Assyrian Genocide.
AJR 35 (J. Perez, Resolution Chapter 29, Statutes of 2014)
designated the week of April 20 to 26, 2014, as "California Week
of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923," and
memorialized 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.
SJR 21 (De León, Resolution Chapter 32, Statutes of 2014)
designated and encouraged the people of California to
commemorate the month of April 2014, as "California Month of
Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923," and called
upon the Congress and the President of the United States to act
likewise.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified4/15/16)
None received
AJR 34
Page 5
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/15/16)
None received
Prepared by: Jonas Austin / SFA / (916) 651-1520
4/18/16 14:15:25
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