Senate Concurrent Resolution 3

Oregon Laws 2005

AN ACT

Whereas the Kurdistan Regional Government traces its roots to the formation of the Kurdistan National Assembly in 1992 after regional, freely conducted elections in northern Iraq; and

Whereas despite the brutal oppression of the Kurdish people at the hands of Saddam Hussein, that government remained a beacon of hope and a model of democratic ideals in a nation wracked by tyranny; and

Whereas the Kurdistan Regional Government and the people it represents have been and are among the most faithful allies of the United States, the coalition forces and the citizens of Iraq in their efforts to bring political and economic freedom to a ravaged country; and

Whereas Kurdistan is now a relative oasis of law and order in Iraq because of the diligence of its own military forces and civil security services, its successful reconstruction of vital infrastructure, its attention to health and education and its commitment to economic stability; and

Whereas the Kurds and the Kurdistan Regional Government will now play a pivotal role in Iraq’s new, duly elected government as it forges a constitution and takes its first tentative steps toward restoring that nation to its rightful place among the free nations of the world; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Legislative Assembly of the State of Oregon:

That we, the members of the Seventy-third Legislative Assembly, establish a sister state relationship with Kurdistan; and be it further

Resolved, That a Kurdistan Sister State Committee be appointed to promote cultural, economic and political relations between the State of Oregon and Kurdistan.

Filed in the Office of the Secretary of State August 30, 2005

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