R 257

2017 -- H 6235 Enacted 05/18/2017

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

PROCLAIMING MAY 19TH OF 2017 AS "GREEK PONTIAN GENOCIDE REMEMBRANCE DAY" IN THE STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

Introduced By: Representatives Solomon, Serpa, Shekarchi, Kazarian, and McNamara

Date Introduced: May 18, 2017

WHEREAS, Rhode Island is proud to be the home of numerous ethnic communities,

many of whom have prospered and enjoyed the freedom and democracy upon which our nation

was founded; tragically, throughout history, the people of many countries have not realized the

same autonomy and equality; and

WHEREAS, From 1914 until 1922, in a systematic attempt to exterminate an entire

population, the Ottoman Turks directed the killing of 353,000 Pontian and Anatolian Greeks and

over a million Armenians and Assyrians living in Pontos, and an equal number who were forced

to flee their homeland in one of the most condemnable atrocities in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, The Ottoman and Kemals Neoturks engaged in exile, starvation, slaughter,

and murder, using axes and fire to massacre the Pontic Greek population and perpetrate the first

mass genocide of the 20th century, and the Armenian Genocide was conceived and carried out by

the Ottoman Empire from 1915 to 1923, and resulted in the deportation of nearly 2,000,000

Armenians, of whom 1,500,000 men, women, and children were killed, and the remaining

500,000 survived but were expelled from their homes; and

WHEREAS, It is vital and proper to remember those who lost their lives in the Pontian

Genocide, and it is paramount that people of all nations look at this horrific event in our world’s

not-so-distant history as a way to learn a valuable lesson, so that such atrocities are not tolerated

and are never committed again; and

WHEREAS, It is likewise important to pay tribute to the survivors of this atrocious

period, as well as their descendents, who have made countless contributions to the enrichment of

our culture and our way of life here in the Ocean State and who stand as an inspiration to

oppressed people around the world; now, therefore be it

RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations hereby joins the Greek-American community on May 19th of each year in

a solemn commemoration of the Pontian Genocide of 1914-1922; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Gus Tsilfides President Pan-Pontain Federation

of USA and Canada and Panagiotis Petridis at the Panagia Soumela Pontian Society of Boston.

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LC002723

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