Bill Text: CA SCR107 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Chaptered
Bill Title: Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2016-05-04 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Res. Chapter 29, Statutes of 2016. [SCR107 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SCR107-Chaptered.html
BILL NUMBER: SCR 107 CHAPTERED
BILL TEXT
RESOLUTION CHAPTER 29
FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE MAY 4, 2016
ADOPTED IN SENATE APRIL 14, 2016
ADOPTED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 28, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 6, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Lara
(Coauthors: Senators Anderson, Bates, Cannella, Hall, Hertzberg,
Leno, Liu, Nguyen, and Vidak)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Baker, Chávez, Dodd, Maienschein,
Mullin, O'Donnell, and Patterson)
FEBRUARY 8, 2016
Relative to Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 107, Lara. Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week.
This measure would recognize the week of April 11 to April 17,
2016, inclusive, as Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week.
WHEREAS, The Cambodian people have a long and rich cultural
heritage symbolized by the temple city Angkor Wat, considered one of
the Wonders of the Ancient World, built between the 9th and 12th
centuries, that stands as a living icon of the endurance and genius
of all Cambodians throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, Early connections between the United States and Cambodia
began in the 1950s, when Cambodia sent bright and talented college
students to universities, including California State Universities in
Long Beach and Los Angeles, to study technical trades, engineering,
and agriculture with the assistance of the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID); and
WHEREAS, The relationship between the United States and Cambodia
had been forged through educational and professional exchange, and
therefore in 1975, with the impending overthrow of the government by
the totalitarian Khmer Rouge regime, the United States accepted over
4,000 Cambodian evacuees to ensure their safety; and
WHEREAS, April 17, 2016, will mark both the 41st anniversary of
the Khmer Rouge, led by Pol Pot, seizing control of Cambodia and the
beginning of the Cambodian Genocide; and
WHEREAS, Between April 17, 1975, and January 7, 1979, the Khmer
Rouge of Democratic Kampuchea, led by Pol Pot, General Secretary of
the Communist Party of Kampuchea, and other members of the Standing
Committee of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of
Kampuchea and their agents, committed acts of genocide and other
crimes against humanity; and
WHEREAS, The genocide and other crimes against humanity committed
against the people of Cambodia, including various religious groups
and ethnic minorities, during the Khmer Rouge regime led to the
deaths of over 1,700,000 Cambodians, which was 21 percent of the
nation's population; and
WHEREAS, The Khmer Rouge regime also sought to eliminate all
aspects of Cambodian culture by systematically killing those with
education, separating families, and destroying institutions such as
Buddhist temples, schools, libraries, dance, and music; and
WHEREAS, Countless victims have since come forward to tell their
stories of imprisonment, starvation, slavery, rape, and systematic
forced marriage; and
WHEREAS, After the overthrow of the Khmer Rouge regime in 1979,
over 140,000 Cambodians came to the United States as refugees, a
group of special humanitarian and foreign policy concern to the
United States because of the well-founded fear of persecution for
reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular
social group, or political opinion and thus in need of protection in
accordance with the United Nations' 1951 Convention Relating to the
Status of Refugees; and
WHEREAS, The State of California has the largest population of
Cambodians and the City of Long Beach is known around the world as
home to the largest Cambodian community outside of Southeast Asia;
and
WHEREAS, The Cambodian people have drawn from their cultural
history to rebuild their lives and communities through participation
in American politics on the local and national levels, by
establishing local and international businesses, by developing new
art forms and community organizations, and by raising a new
generation of Americans who promise to contribute to the future of
the State of California and the nation; and
WHEREAS, The Cambodian Genocide was a human tragedy and must be
remembered for the scale of violence and devastation perpetrated
against the people of Cambodia so that it does not happen again,
there or in any other country; and
WHEREAS, In 1994 the United States Congress passed the Cambodian
Genocide Justice Act, committing the American government to the
pursuit of justice for the victims of the genocide and affirming the
policy of the United States to bring members of the Khmer Rouge to
justice for their crimes against humanity; and
WHEREAS, The genocide and other crimes against humanity did not
succeed in destroying the Cambodian people or their culture, in fact
the culture and heritage of the Cambodian people continues to this
day through the accomplishments of Cambodians and their descendants;
and
WHEREAS, The suffering and loss of the Cambodian people and their
accomplishments and perseverance in reestablishing families,
communities, and enhancing the cultural and historical diversity of
our state and nation should be recognized and honored; and
WHEREAS, The Cambodian Genocide Memorial Week will honor the
survivors and their descendants for their courage and contributions
to our state and country. This week will serve as a way to remember
those who lost their lives in Cambodia and in genocides around the
world; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby recognizes the week
of April 11 to April 17, 2016, inclusive, as Cambodian Genocide
Memorial Week, and calls upon all Californians to observe the week by
participating in appropriate activities and programs; and be it
further
Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.
