Iowa recognizes Armenian Genocide

August 24, 2017 - 23:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds on Thursday, August 24 signed powerful proclamation making the Hawkeye State the 47th State to recognize the Armenian Genocide and declaring October 2017 as "Armenia Awareness Month".

In the document, Reynolds condemned the murder of over 2.5 million Armenians, Greeks, Syriacs and Assyrians, noting that the Ottoman Turkish government’s crime “still requires justice.”

Around three dozen countries, a number of municipal governments and international organizations have so far recognized the killings of 1.5 million innocent Armenians as Genocide. Turkey denies to this day.

The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.