Bill Text: IL SR0307 | 2021-2022 | 102nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Declares August 7, 2021 as Assyrian Martyrs Day in the State of Illinois. Further supports the Assyrians of Illinois, which is currently home to the largest Assyrian diaspora community outside of the heart of their historical homeland, the Assyria Nineveh Plain. Further commemorates all Assyrian American military veterans who have served and continue to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces, including the Illinois National Guard.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-05-18 - Referred to Assignments [SR0307 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2021-SR0307-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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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