TITLE
Recommendation to request City Council adopt resolution to recognize April as Genocide Awareness Month.
DISCUSSION
Genocide, the crime of barbarity, has played a cruel part of our human existence far too long. Instead of man-kind pledging the "never again" that we wish for, the history of our world is "again and again". This is a crime committed by human will and is best prevented by awareness of citizens, civic engagement, and the intervention of other countries.
The month of April reflects the power of awareness due to the number of genocides that has occurred during this month. As we raise awareness to these horrific crimes let us give hope that something can be done to prevent it.
The past crimes of barbarity for the month of April include:
· The Armenian Genocide, April 24, 1915, known as the Armenian Holocaust was the systematic killing of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. The total number of resulting Armenian deaths is generally held to have been between 1 million and 1.5 million. *1
· The Holocaust in April 1933, the Nazis issued a decree paving the way for the "final solution," the annihilation of 6 million Jews of Europe and millions of others that were deemed non-Arian such as Russians, homosexuals, and Catholics. *2
· The Cambodian Genocide, April 17, 1975, the Cambodian Communists or Khmer Rouge started its four year reign of terror and indiscriminate executions that ended with the Killing Fields of over two of the seven million people of Cambodia. *3
· Bosnian Genocide started in April 5, 1992, Serbia set out to "ethnically cleanse" Bosnian territory by systematically removing all Bosnian Muslims. The ethnic cleansing campaign killed more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslims as well as the mass expulsion of another 25,000-30,000 Bosnian. *4
· The Rwandan Genocide, April 6, 1994 was the mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate. Estimates of the death toll have ranged between 500,000 and 1,000,000, or as much as 20% of the country's total population. *5
· Genocide in Sudan, April 2003, innocent civilians in Sudan's Darfur region were attacked, thus started a killing spree of over 400,000 people and 2.5 million have been displaced in a genocide that continues today. *6
The scars of genocide are borne by the survivors and the families of victims living in Long Beach, as well as throughout the world. We ask that the City of Long Beach, via the approval of the City Council, pay tribute in honor of humanity those who suffered unimaginable tragedy, as well as to remind ourselves that future atrocity can be prevented through awareness and action.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no significant cost for this item.
SUGGESTED ACTION
Approve recommendation.
BODY
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LONG BEACH RECOGNIZING THE MONTH OF APRIL AS GENOCIDE AWARENESS MONTH.
Respectfully Submitted,
COUNCILMAN DEE ANDREWS
SIXTH DISTRICT