PRINTER'S NO. 682
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No.
99
Session of
2021
INTRODUCED BY CAPPELLETTI, KEARNEY, STREET, FONTANA, HUGHES,
PHILLIPS-HILL AND COSTA, APRIL 27, 2021
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, APRIL 27, 2021
A RESOLUTION
Designating April 24, 2021, as "Pennsylvania's Day of
Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923."
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania joins human rights
advocates and historians from around the world to recognize and
mourn the 1.5 million Armenians who perished in the Armenian
Genocide as ordered by the government of the Ottoman Empire,
which began on April 24, 1915, with the arrest, exile and murder
of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and political, religious
and business leaders; and
WHEREAS, During the 1915-1923 Genocide, Armenian survivors
were forced to witness the slaughter of their relatives and the
loss of their ancestral land and property in what is now known
as the "First Genocide of the 20th Century"; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania declared in 1965
that April 24 of each year will serve as a day of remembrance of
the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923; and
WHEREAS, The failure to learn from the past allows history to
repeat itself as the world saw during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabagh
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War when the military forces of Azerbaijan and Turkey attacked
the Armenian civilian population of Nagorno-Karabagh and its
churches and civic buildings, resulting in casualties and loss
of ancestral land and property, motivated by the same genocidal
campaign that their ancestors suffered 106 years earlier; and
WHEREAS, The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is proud to join
the Armenian-American community of Pennsylvania in its
commemoration of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide
in an effort to educate others about the tragic loss of life,
land and human rights of the Armenian people and the crimes of
genocide committed against them, as well as Greeks and
Assyrians, due to religious and political beliefs; therefore be
it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
designate April 24, 2021, as "Pennsylvania's Day of Remembrance
of the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923"; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate urge all residents of Pennsylvania
to join in this solemn remembrance in memory of the victims of
the Armenian Genocide and in honor of the survivors and their
descendants; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate affirm the right of Christians and
all the residents of the Artsakh Republic to practice their
faith in freedom and without fear of foreign aggression; and be
it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the right to self-
determination and independence of the Artsakh Republic, and
respectfully urge the President and Congress of the United
States to do the same; and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the presiding officers of each house of Congress and to each
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member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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