Bill Text: NJ SCR71 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Recognizes Armenian Genocide and condemns attacks against civilians in Republic of Artsakh.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2021-11-08 - Received in the Assembly, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [SCR71 Detail]

Download: New_Jersey-2020-SCR71-Amended.html

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[First Reprint]

SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 71

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 13, 2020

 

 

Sponsored by:

Senator  JOSEPH A. LAGANA

District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)

Senator  VIN GOPAL

District 11 (Monmouth)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Schepisi and Scutari

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Recognizes Armenian Genocide and condemns attacks against civilians in Republic of Artsakh.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As reported by the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 30, 2021, with amendments.

  

A Concurrent Resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide ¹and condemning attacks against civilians in the Republic of Artsakh¹.

 

Whereas, On April 24, 1915, Ottoman Empire authorities arrested, and later executed, more than 200 Armenian community leaders and intellectuals in the capital of Constantinople, now known as Istanbul; and

Whereas, This atrocity marked the escalation of systemic persecution and violence against the Armenian people by the government of the Ottoman Empire that continued through 1923; and

Whereas, During this period, Armenians were subject to deportation, expropriation, abduction, torture, massacre, and starvation, planned and orchestrated by the government of the Ottoman Empire; and

Whereas, In all, approximately 1.5 million Armenians had perished and hundreds of thousands more had become homeless, stateless refugees at the hands of the Ottoman Empire; and

¹[Whereas, By 1923, the entire landmass of Asia Minor and historic West Armenia had been expunged of its Armenian population; and]¹

Whereas, These horrific events constitute what is widely recognized today by numerous scholars, governments, and international organizations as the Armenian Genocide; and

¹Whereas, In 2019, the United States Congress expressed that it is the policy of the United States to recognize the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance; and

Whereas, On April 24, 2021, recognized as "Armenian Genocide Memorial Day" in Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh, President Biden officially declared that the United States considers the events "genocide" in a statement; and¹

Whereas, Notwithstanding the historical evidence to the contrary ¹and international recognition¹, some, including the government of the Republic of Turkey, deny that the Armenian Genocide ever happened; and

¹Whereas, Turkey has continued its campaign of aggression against the Armenian population of the Republic of Artsakh, a democracy and integral part of the Armenian homeland for thousands of years; and

Whereas, The Republic of Artsakh, having legally declared its independence from Azerbaijan and resisted years of aggression, consistently holds parliamentary and presidential elections that have been rated as free and fair by international observers; and

Whereas, Azerbaijan, with the support of Turkey, illegally targeted civilian homes and infrastructure, cultural sites, and religious sites; and

Whereas, Azerbaijan has already destroyed and continues to destroy Armenian churches and cultural sites in the territories they have illegally occupied since the end of the hostilities in 2020; and

Whereas, Turkey has continued its military support to Azerbaijan in its full-scale attack against Artsakh, including from September 27 to November 9, 2020 in an attempt to remove the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh from its homeland; and¹

Whereas, The danger of denying these events was manifested when Adolf Hitler ordered his military commanders to attack Poland without provocation in 1939 by saying "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? ¹[,]¹ " setting the stage for the Holocaust; and

¹[Whereas, In 2019, the United States Congress expressed that it is the policy of the United States to commemorate the Armenian Genocide through official recognition and remembrance; and]¹

Whereas, It is altogether fitting and proper to remember, with the Armenian communities throughout New Jersey, the United States, and the world, and with Armenia ¹and the Republic of Artsakh¹, these tragic events ¹[to help ensure] and to condemn any actors¹ that ¹attempt¹ such atrocities ¹[are never repeated] again¹; now, therefore,

 

     Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey (the General Assembly concurring):

 

     1.    The New Jersey Legislature recognizes the Armenian Genocide and acknowledges the criminal mistreatment of Armenians by the government of the Ottoman Empire as an issue of international and historic significance.

 

     ¹2.   The New Jersey Legislature condemns attacks by Azerbaijan against the civilians in the Artsakh Republic, recognizes the Republic of Artsakh's right to self-determination and independence, and respectfully urges the President of the United States and the United States Congress to do the same.¹

 

      ¹[2.] 3.¹     The New Jersey Legislature expresses that it is the ¹[sense of the Legislature that it is the]¹ policy of New Jersey to:

     (1)   commemorate the Armenian Genocide ¹[through official recognition]¹ and ¹[remembrance] acknowledge the crimes against Armenians by the government of the Ottoman Empire as an issue of international and historic significance¹;

     (2)   reject efforts to enlist, engage, or otherwise associate the State of New Jersey with denial of the Armenian Genocide or any other genocide; and

     (3)   encourage education and public understanding of the facts of the Armenian Genocide, including the role of the United States in humanitarian relief efforts, and the relevance of the Armenian Genocide to modern-day crimes against humanity ¹from the 2020 war on the Republic of Artsakh¹.

 

     ¹[3.] 4.¹     Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of the State, shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the General Assembly to the ¹President of the United States, the United States Secretary of State,¹ the Governor of the State of New Jersey, ¹the Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, the Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives,¹ and each member of Congress elected from this State.