Commonwealth of Massachusetts
A Proclamation
His Excellency Governor Deval L. Patrick
Whereas Since 1915, April 24th of each year has been imprinted upon the memory of the Armenian people worldwide. On this day the mass genocide of the Armenian people began in the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the first such genocide in the twentieth century; and
Whereas The Armenian citizens of the Commonwealth are dedicated to honoring the memory of the brave men and women who died; and
Whereas Armenian families were uprooted from their ancestral homeland, brutally exposed to all kinds of indignities with hundreds of thousands slain, resulting in more than half of the Armenian people killed; and
Whereas We consider all atrocities perpetrated by individuals or governments to be repulsive and abhorrent in civilized society; and
Whereas Americans of Armenian descent have contributed to the quality of life in Massachusetts in the best traditions of our state and nation, in times of war and peace; and
Whereas Our thoughts, offered in memory of the Armenian martyrs of 1915, will serve to remind everyone that persecution, torture, and killing must cease forever,
Now, Therefore, I, Deval L. Patrick, Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, do hereby proclaim April 24th, 2012, to be,
Armenian Martyrs Day
And urge all the citizens of the Commonwealth to take cognizance of this event and participate fittingly in its observance.
Given at the Executive Chamber in Boston, this fourth day of April, in the year two thousand and twelve, and of the Independence of the United States of America, the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
By His Excellency
Deval L. Patrick
Governor of the Commonwealth
William Francis Galvin
Secretary of the Commonwealth
God Save the Commonwealth of Massachusetts