The City of Portland, Maine’s Mayor, Kathleen M. Snyder, announced in a letter to the Armenian American community today that she rescinded the Khojaly Remembrance Day Mayoral Proclamation, stating that it’s in the “city’s best interest to remove this proclamation from the public record,” reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).
Mayor Snyder apologized for the “pain and harm that the issuance of this proclamation has caused.” She also noted that the City of Portland’s process regarding the review of pre-written proclamations has been “changed as a result of this particular experience.”
The Mayor’s Proclamation follows the rescinding of a similar Proclamation in Boston last month.
“We appreciate Mayor Snyder’s apology to the Armenian American community and for rescinding the Mayoral Proclamation,” said Assembly State Chair Gerard Kiladjian, who is the President of the Armenian Cultural Association of Maine. “The activism and support from the community has been fantastic,” Kiladjian added.
“On behalf of the Assembly, in addition to the Mayor, I would like to thank Gerard and Annie Kiladjian, Paul Proudian, Co-Founder and Board Member of the Armenian Cultural Association of Maine, Armen Carapetian and Gary Zartarian for their efforts in bringing awareness to this historical inaccuracy. The Armenian Assembly remains committed to standing up for the truth and calling out propaganda by Turkey and Azerbaijan,” stated Assembly Co-Chair Anthony Barsamian.
