BILL ANALYSIS Ó ----------------------------------------------------------------- |SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AJR 34| |Office of Senate Floor Analyses | | |(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | | |327-4478 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Page 4 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 **** END ****