2022 -- S 2725 | |
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LC005404 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2022 | |
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S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N | |
CELEBRATING MARCH 25, 2022, AS THE 201ST ANNIVERSARY OF GREEK | |
INDEPENDENCE DAY AND CELEBRATING DEMOCRACY IN GREECE AND THE | |
UNITED STATES | |
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Introduced By: Senators Raptakis, Kallman, Gallo, Felag, and Euer | |
Date Introduced: March 22, 2022 | |
Referred To: Recommended for Immediate Consideration | |
1 | WHEREAS, On March 25, 1821, the Feast Day of the Annunciation, the Greek nation |
2 | reclaimed its ancient heritage as the "Cradle of Democracy" by overthrowing the yoke of |
3 | oppression which had enslaved its people since the fall of Constantinople in 1453. Conquered by |
4 | the Ottoman Turks in the 15th century, Greece waged a successful war of Independence (1821- |
5 | 1829) and re-instituted a democratic form of government; and |
6 | WHEREAS, The People of the United States generously offered humanitarian assistance |
7 | to the Greek people during their struggle for independence; and |
8 | WHEREAS, The price for the people of Greece to hold onto their common values in their |
9 | region was high, as hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed in Greece during World War |
10 | II; and |
11 | WHEREAS, Greece is one of only three nations in the world, beyond the former British |
12 | Empire, that has been allied with the United States in every major international conflict over the |
13 | last 100 years; and |
14 | WHEREAS, Greece, located in a region where Christianity meets Islam and Judaism, |
15 | maintains excellent relations with Muslim nations and Israel, and demonstrates religious |
16 | tolerance; and |
17 | WHEREAS, The Ancient Macedonians were Hellenes and the northern Province of |
18 | Greece, Macedonia and the Hellenic descendants; and |
19 | WHEREAS, Greece and the United States are at the forefront of the effort for freedom, |
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1 | democracy, peace, stability, and human rights; and |
2 | WHEREAS, Many American Philhellenes participated and fought in the Greek War of |
3 | Independence. One such individual was George Wilson from Providence, Rhode Island, who |
4 | served as a gunman in the Greek fleet, most notably in the battle against the Turkish navy in |
5 | Nafpaktos Bay, Greece; and |
6 | WHEREAS, Former United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Greece on |
7 | October 4, 2019, where he met with Greek leaders and together they signed the Mutual Defense |
8 | Corporation Agreement MDCA); and |
9 | WHEREAS, Turkey has continued to destabilize the Aegean Sea and the Eastern |
10 | Mediterranean Sea Region. As a result, the United States Department of State continues to |
11 | strongly support regional efforts that enhance and promote cooperation and regional stability, |
12 | including the 2+1 mechanism in which the Republic of Cyprus (ROC), Greece, Israel and the |
13 | United States participate. The United States department of State also supports projects such as the |
14 | planned Greece Africa Power interconnector from Egypt to Crete and the Greek mainland, and |
15 | the proposed EuroAsian interconnector to link the Israeli, Cypriot, and European electricity grids; |
16 | and |
17 | WHEREAS, A high-level review of the United States-Greece Strategic Dialogue took |
18 | place in Greece on September 28, 2020, which underscored Greece’s importance to the United |
19 | States as a geostrategic partner in the Eastern Mediterranean and Balkans and as an important |
20 | NATO ally; now, therefore be it |
21 | RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island hereby celebrates March 25, |
22 | 2022, as the 201st Anniversary of Greek Independence, reaffirms Rhode Island’s abiding |
23 | commitment to the magnificent principles of democracy and religious freedom, and urges Turkey |
24 | to respect the rights and religious freedoms of the Ecumenical Patriarchate; and be it further |
25 | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
26 | transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church of |
27 | Cranston, the Assumption Greek Orthodox Church of Pawtucket, the St. Spyridon Greek |
28 | Orthodox Church of Newport, members of the Rhode Island Congressional delegation, the |
29 | Honorable Stratos Efthymiou, Consul General of the Hellenic Republic in Boston, Archbishop |
30 | Elpidophoros of the Greek Archdiocese of America. |
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