HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolutions - 2014.04.17 - 21285REQUESTING SUSPENSION
OF THE BOARD RULES FOR
IMMEDIATE CONSIDERATION
UNDER NEW BUSINESS
MISCELLANEOUS RESOLUTION #14087
BY: Commissioners Shelley Taub, District # 12; Bill Dwyer, District #14; Kathy S. Crawford, District #9;
Marcia Gershenson, District# 13; Mike Bosnic, District #16; Chris Long, District #7
IN RE: BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS — DESIGNATION OF APRIL 24, 2014 AS ARMENIAN MARTYRS' DAY
IN OAKLAND COUNTY
To the Oakland County Board of Commissioners
Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen:
WHEREAS in 1915, the leaders of the Young Turk Party of the Ottoman Empire undertook a brutal,
genocidal campaign of hatred against the people of Armenian descent; and
WHEREAS leaders of the Armenian people, including writers, thinkers, and professionals were rounded
up, deported, and killed in Constantinople or present-day Istanbul, Turkey; and
WHEREAS the horrific events that followed have been recognized by scholars, governments, and civil
society all over the world as the Armenian Genocide of World War I, when from 1915 through 1923, the
Young Turk leadership of the Ottoman Empire orchestrated the persecution and death of approximately
1.5 million of the 2.5 million Armenians then living in Anatolia or present-day Turkey; and
WHEREAS this tragedy must be recognize as an attempted genocide of the Armenian people that
inspired the horrific acts of others; and
WHEREAS the survivors of this massacre were forced from their homeland and scattered around the
world; and
WHEREAS Pastor Garabed Kochakian of St. John's Armenian Church in Southfield recently stated, "It's
the duty of all, not only Armenians, to remember. Countries can't do these types of things and get away
with it. It's a problem that touches all people. Not just specifically one group" and;
WHEREAS more than 30,000 people of Armenian descent reside in Southeast Michigan and many call
Oakland County home; and
WHEREAS included among these many Armenian citizens are refugees, direct descendants and relatives
whose lives were touched by the genocide; and
WHEREAS April 24, 2014 has been designated by community and religious leaders as Armenian Martyr's
Day, a day of Memorial observance; and
WHEREAS even as we confront the inhumanity of 1915, we also are inspired by the remarkable spirit,
strength, tenacity and courage of the Armenian people and their contributions which have enriched our
communities, spurred our economy, and strengthened our democracy; and
WHEREAS the Oakland County Board of Commissioners desires to join in this observance to
commemorate the victims of these crimes against humanity and express our desire that these horrors
are never forgotten.
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Oakland County Board of Commissioners does hereby
declare April 24, 2014, and each subsequent anniversary, in perpetuity, to be Armenian Martyrs'Day in
Oakland County.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Oakland County Clerk is requested to forward copies of this adopted
resolution to the Armenian Embassy in Washington, DC, St. John's Armenian Church of Southfield, the
Society for Orphaned Armenian Rescue-Detroit Chapter and the Armenian National Committee.
Chairperson, I move the adoption of the foregoing Resolution.
—
Commissioner 4,/cc41e,
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Chris Long, District #
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Marcia Gershenson, DiAria #13
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Shelley Goodman. aub, District #12
Resolution #14087 April 17, 2014
Moved by Taub supported by Zack to suspend the rules and vote on Miscellaneous Resolution #14087 —
Board of Commissioners — Designation of April 24, 2014 as Armenian Martyrs Day in Oakland County.
Vote on motion to suspend the rules:
AYES: Hoffman, Jackson, Long, Matis, McGillivray, Middleton, Quarles, Runestad, Scott, Spisz,
Taub, Weipert, Woodward, Zack, Bosnic, Crawford, Dwyer, Gershenson, Gingell, Gosselin,
Hatchett. (21)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the motion to suspend the rules and vote on Miscellaneous
Resolution #14087 — Board of Commissioners — Designation of April 24, 2014 as Armenian Martyrs' Day
in Oakland County carried.
Moved by Taub supported by Woodward the resolution be adopted.
Vote on resolution:
AYES: Jackson, Long, Matis, McGillivray, Middleton, Quarles, Runestad, Scott, Spisz, Taub,
Weipert, Woodward, Zack, Bosnic, Crawford, Dwyer, Gershenson, Gingell, Gosselin, Hatchett,
Hoffman. (21)
NAYS: None. (0)
A sufficient majority having voted in favor, the resolution was adopted.
I HEREBY APPROVE THIS RESOLUTION
CHIEF DEPUTY COUNTY EXECUTIVE
ACTING PURSUANT TO MCL 45.559A (7)
STATE OF MICHIGAN)
COUNTY OF OAKLAND)
I, Lisa Brown, Clerk of the County of Oakland, do hereby certify that the foregoing resolution is a true and
accurate copy of a resolution adopted by the Oakland County Board of Commissioners on April 17, 2014,
with the original record thereof now remaining in my office,
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the County of Oakland at
Pontiac, Michigan this 17 th day of April 2014.
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Lisa Brown, Oakland County