HJ0056 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The centennial of the Armenian Genocide is before us, and Armenians throughout the world resound with a powerful call for justice and truth that will not be silenced; and

WHEREAS, Each day of 2015 is a day of devotion for the Armenian people, a spiritual journey to memorials of their martyrs in the homeland and in the diaspora; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people kneel humbly before those memorials in prayer for the souls of the innocent who rest in unmarked graves, having accepted death rather than reject their faith and nation; and

WHEREAS, In 1915, and in the years that followed, Ottoman Turkey committed genocide against the Armenian people; and

WHEREAS, In the historic homeland of Western Armenia and in Armenian communities throughout other parts of the Ottoman Empire, one and a half million sons and daughters of the Armenian nation were subjected to slaughter, famine, and disease as they were deported and forced to march to their deaths; and

WHEREAS, A centuries-old inheritance was pillaged as thousands of monasteries and churches were desecrated and destroyed, national institutions and schools were razed to the ground, and their spiritual and national values were uprooted; and

WHEREAS, Western Armenia, where the Armenian people had lived since the time of Noah, where they forged an identity and shaped a distinctive culture, was savagely wrested from the native population; and

WHEREAS, Eastern Armenia, the birthplace of the Church of Armenia and from where the Armenian people received the light of St. Gregory the Illuminator, was threatened out of existence; and

WHEREAS, In this time of darkness, when Armenia was splintered, when its fragments were scattered the world over, it was hard to believe that a new day would come; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people persevered by the Lord's grace, rose up from the ashes, and began to build anew; and

WHEREAS, In Eastern Armenia, a country was built out of ruins, a homeland of light and hope, where Armenians once again harnessed their creative forces in education, the sciences, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, Today, though they still face hardships, the Armenian people continue to strengthen their independent homeland, where they live in freedom and look with hope to the future; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian spirit also flourished in far-flung lands, where the exiled people set down roots, built schools and churches, and gave generously of their talents in these new places they called home; and

WHEREAS, By placing their hope in the Lord, the Armenian people were illuminated and empowered; His light kindled the ingenuity of their spirit; and His might propelled them to victories in the face of destruction and in the face of annihilation; and

WHEREAS, It was the Will of the Lord that the Armenian nation should live and rise again, so that they might seek justice where there has been oppression, concern where there has been indifference, and truth where there has been denial; and

WHEREAS, The Armenian people in their native homeland and in the diaspora will continue their fight without retreat, working together in unity until justice triumphs over darkness; and

WHEREAS, The innocent martyrs cry out for justice; the destroyed shrines and the falsification and distortion of history cry out for justice; and

WHEREAS, We believe that the states and nation states and individuals who have recognized the Armenian Genocide will be joined by others who believe that the affirmation of truth will lead to a world free of hostility and violence; and

WHEREAS, We express our gratitude to all those states and nation states who had the courage and conviction to recognize and condemn the Armenian Genocide, and also to the countries and individuals who gave a new home to the Armenian people, for we know that these acts of justice and compassion are glimpses of humanity at its best, and they are lessons we can pass on from one generation to the next to guide our world toward peace and harmony; and

WHEREAS, In spiritual consolation, His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, issued a Patriarchal encyclical on December 28, 2014 announcing that during the Divine Liturgy on April 23, 2015, the Church of Armenia will perform a special ceremony canonizing as saints its sons and daughters who became Martyrs for their faith and for their homeland; and

WHEREAS, His Holiness pronounced April 24, 2015 as the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide of 1915; and

WHEREAS, The People of Illinois, as represented by the General Assembly and the Governor, should remain mindful of these tragic events, and should act in a spirit of justice and humanity to designate April 24, 2015 as the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide of 1915; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we commemorate April 24, 2015 as the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide of 1915; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we request Governor Bruce Rauner to proclaim April 24, 2015, as the Day of Remembrance of the Holy Martyrs of the Armenian Genocide of 1915; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we call upon the people of Illinois to observe that Day of Remembrance and to draw strength from the firm determination of the Armenian people, who trampled death and rose again to rebuild, to renew, and to reassert the spirit of their ancestors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That this be the lesson we teach our children and our grandchildren, so that they, too, will realize that the affirmation of truth will lead to a world free of hostility and violence; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Governor Bruce Rauner.