A couple of Armenian Genocide-related items:

• The state Assembly unanimously passed Assembly Joint Resolution 15, co-authored by local Assemblyman Paul Krekorian. It designates April 24 as "California Day of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923."
  It's an annual gesture by the state Legislature to remember this still-contentious piece of history -- Armenians contend the Ottoman Empire began an orchestrated slaughter in 1915 in which about 1.5 million Armenians were killed. Turkey denies it was a genocide, saying about 300,000 were killed and noting that Armenians sided with invading Russian troops in the aftermath of World War I and took up arms against Turks.

  “It's an important opportunity for the Legislature to take a moment each year to remember the victims of the genocide and also demand truth and accountability on the part of the Turkish government,” Krekorian told me. “By doing that, the Legislature is reallly taking a step in trying to prevent future genocides from occurring. ... Through inaction in response to human rights violations, we run the risk of encouraging future violations.”

  The federal government has only taken baby steps on this issue for fear of alienating Turkey -- an ally in the War on Terror. Asked if it's the state Legislature's job to move on this, Krekorian said: “We're elected to lead. When the federal government fails to act as it should, it's incument on state government to press the issue.” Plus California is home to the largest population of ethnic Armenians outside of Armenia.

  It's now up to the state Senate also to approve the resolution.

• Burbank Library Blog has a post on genocide history and recommended reading. An excerpt:

  After decades of denial and silence, scholars, historians, journalists, and authors like Orhan Pamuk and Elif Shafak have published books that tell about the killings of Armenians. Orhan Pamuk has been indicted by a prosecutor in Istanbul on the grounds that his remarks amounted to "public denigration of the Turkish identity". Shafak’s latest novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, has caused an uproar in Turkey as it may be the first Turkish novel to explore the emotional realities of the Armenian Genocide through three generations of women in a Turkish family in Istanbul and an Armenian American family in the United States.