BILL NUMBER: AJR 41	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Olsen
   (Coauthors: Assembly Members Achadjian, Harkey, Jeffries, and
Portantino)
   (Coauthor: Senator Runner)

                        JUNE 19, 2012

   Relative to Assyrian Martyrs Remembrance Day.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 41, as introduced, Olsen. Assyrian Martyrs Remembrance Day.
   This measure would memorialize August 7, 2012, as Assyrian Martyrs
Remembrance Day in California and would request the President and
the Congress of the United States to commemorate Assyrian Martyrs
Remembrance Day.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, In victory for historical accuracy and inclusion, the
International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS), an
organization of some of the world's foremost experts on genocide,
overwhelmingly affirmed that, between 1914 and 1923, Assyrians
suffered a genocide inflicted by the Ottoman Empire; and
   WHEREAS, The League of Nations, in a monthly summary entitled,
"The Settlement of the Assyrians, A Work of Humanity and Appeasement,"
published by its information section in Geneva in 1935, declared,
"The years of war have changed the face of the old world. Dynasties
and empires have fallen; old freedoms have been reborn; revolutionary
systems of government have arisen, but it is probable that in
proportion to its size, no community has undergone trials and
upheavals to equal those of the little nation-church which bears the
name of the Assyrians"; and
   WHEREAS, This affirmation of an Assyrian genocide is long overdue,
and long awaited by the survivors and their descendants, who have
not until now had a voice to express their grief at the loss of
family, home, community, and country; and
   WHEREAS, Another massacre was committed against the Assyrians on
August 11, 1933, in the village of Simel, in northern Iraq, where
Assyrians were murdered in cold blood; and
   WHEREAS, On August 7, 2012, the Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian
Church of the East will join the Assyrian community and its many
religious, communal, and philanthropic organizations as they honor
the sacrifices and memories of their noble ancestors; now, therefore,
be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
hereby designates August 7, 2012, as Assyrian Martyrs Remembrance Day
in California; and be it further
   Resolved, That the State of California respectfully memorializes
the Congress of the United States to act likewise to commemorate the
Assyrian Martyrs Remembrance Day; 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
Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East.