Full Text of SR0307 102nd General Assembly
SR0307 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois stands with the Assyrians, | 3 | | the indigenous people of the Middle East, and vehemently | 4 | | opposes all those who commit or support, now and in the past, | 5 | | any and all acts of genocide; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Assyrians, the indigenous people of the Middle | 7 | | East Region and the root of Christianity whose Assyrian Empire | 8 | | was the cradle of civilization, have been and continue to be | 9 | | victims of genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and | 10 | | ethnic cleansing in violation of the internationally | 11 | | recognized United Nations Convention on the Prevention and | 12 | | Punishment of the Crime of Genocide signed in Paris, France on | 13 | | December 9, 1948, commonly referred to as the UN Genocide | 14 | | Convention; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Assyrians have experienced violent persecutions | 16 | | at nearly 50-year intervals over the past two millennia; over | 17 | | the past century, they have suffered mass killings, | 18 | | persecutions, and forced deportations from their historical | 19 | | lands, especially in the heart of their homeland in the | 20 | | Assyria Nineveh Plain (ANP) of today's Iraq in 1915, 1918, | 21 | | 1922, 1933, 1940 to 1945, 1963 to 1965, 1975, 2010, and as | 22 | | recently as 2014 to 2017 in both ANP as well as the Khabur | 23 | | River Valley in Syria; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Thousands of Assyrian men, women, and children | 2 | | alike were ethnically cleansed in Simele, Iraq in August 1933; | 3 | | extensive documentation of this incident, available at the | 4 | | Ashurbanipal Library located in Lincolnwood, depicts the | 5 | | horrific atrocities committed against the Assyrians, including | 6 | | how they were specifically targeted because they were both | 7 | | Assyrian and Christian; for example, Assyrian Priests were | 8 | | tortured and their bodies mutilated, Assyrian girls were | 9 | | raped, Assyrian women were violated and made to march naked | 10 | | before the Iraqi Army commanders, Assyrian Bibles and holy | 11 | | books were used as fuel for burning Assyrian girls, and | 12 | | Assyrian children were run over by military cars; as a result, | 13 | | the 7th of August of each year is officially recognized as | 14 | | Assyrian Martyrs Day; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Since the establishment of the Kingdom of Iraq in | 16 | | August 1921 through the present, Assyrians have silently | 17 | | suffered cultural genocide committed by the Government of Iraq | 18 | | (GOI); as recently as March 2021, the GOI approved and oversaw | 19 | | the demolition of the city walls of the Assyrian capitol of | 20 | | Nineveh, a UNESCO World Heritage site; only after a Western | 21 | | nation intervened did the GOI halt the demolition several days | 22 | | later; however, the damage was irreparable as the stones from | 23 | | the city walls of the Assyrian capitol of Nineveh remain | 24 | | unaccounted for by the GOI, and the case remains unresolved; |
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| 1 | | and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The lack of any response or accountability for | 3 | | these atrocities, most notably the genocide committed against | 4 | | the Assyrians for being Assyrian and Christian in Simele, Iraq | 5 | | in August 1933, set a precedent that led to other acts of | 6 | | genocide to occur in the 20th century, such as the Holocaust | 7 | | during World War II; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois wishes to stand in support | 9 | | with the Assyrian people, especially on Assyrian Martyrs Day, | 10 | | as a continuous reminder that all victims of genocide shall | 11 | | never be forgotten until those responsible are held | 12 | | accountable; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL | 14 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare August 7, | 15 | | 2021 as Assyrian Martyrs Day in the State of Illinois; and be | 16 | | it further
| 17 | | RESOLVED, That we support the Assyrians of Illinois, which | 18 | | is currently home to the largest Assyrian diaspora community | 19 | | outside of the heart of their historical homeland, the Assyria | 20 | | Nineveh Plain; and be it further
| 21 | | RESOLVED, That we commemorate all Assyrian American |
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| 1 | | military veterans who have served and continue to serve in the | 2 | | U.S. Armed Forces, including the Illinois National Guard.
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