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PRESIDENT OBAMA’S HOME STATE BECOMES 42nd TO RECOGNIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Aloha State Officially Marks Atrocity During President’s Visit to Turkey
HONOLULU, HI – Hawaii, home to President Barack Obama, became the 42nd U.S. state to recognize the Armenian Genocide, with the State House of Representatives earlier today adopting a formal measure (HR192) that both condemned this crime and noted Turkey’s ongoing denial of this atrocity.

The measure, which was adopted unanimously on the day of the President’s trip to Turkey, declares April 24th as a "Day of Remembrance in Recognition of and Commemoration of the Armenian Genocide of 1915." The "Aloha State" proclamation makes Hawaii the 42nd state to recognize the Armenian Genocide.

“Hawaii’s recognition today of the Armenian Genocide reflects the broad-based and growing tide of civil society support throughout the United States for a strong, moral American stand against all genocides,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “In this spirit, and keeping faith with the citizens of Hawaii and the forty-one other states that have officially marked this crime, we look forward, in the coming days, to the President honoring his pledge to recognize the Armenian Genocide.”

The legislation, HR192, states that, "approximately 1.5 million Armenian men, women, and children living within the Ottoman Empire's borders were killed in a brutal genocide," and that, "the Armenian Genocide remains unacknowledged by the Republic of Turkey to this day." The measure also notes that, "this body joins with Hawaii's Armenian-American community and all Armenians worldwide in recognizing and honoring those who were killed and persecuted during the Armenian Genocide, and urging people throughout the world to never forget these horrific crimes against humanity."

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