Chairman Wolfe Acknowledges 100th Anniversary of Armenian Genocide

PRESS RELEASE 

The Chairman of the Rockland County Legislature Alden H. Wolfe has issued a proclamation in remembrance of the Armenian Genocide, a massacre that was carried out between the years 1915 and 1923 by the political party then in power in the Ottoman Empire, known as the Young Turks, determined to establish a new empire whose population would be exclusively of Turkic origin.

The systematic plan began on April 24, 1915, when several hundred Armenian community leaders were placed under arrest by the Turkish government, and later executed. It has been estimated that one and a half million Armenians, three quarters of the entire population, perished between 1915 and 1923 at the hands of the Young Turks. Many were summarily executed while others were driven into the Syrian Desert and into concentration camps to die from starvation, exhaustion and disease.

Despite a strong public outcry from world powers, no meaningful actions or interventions were taken against the Ottoman Empire either to sanction its brutal policies or to make restitution to the Armenian people for their immense human and material losses.  The present day government of Turkey denies that genocide was committed and dismisses the evidence as mere allegations.

Legislature Chairman Alden Wolfe, said, “The Rockland County Legislature felt it necessary to pay tribute to the memories of those who perished in the Armenian Holocaust. We must never forget the brutality inflicted on these innocent people; conscious remembrance is a means for the world community to stand up and denounce these crimes against humanity. Tragically, genocide continues in our world. This is all the more reason why we must take every opportunity to renew our resolve to end genocide in all its forms.”

 

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