MASSACHUSETTS DISTRICT COURT DISMISSES ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL CASE
In a major blow to Turkey's global campaign to suppress the truth about the , U.S. District Court Chief Judge Mark Wolf today ruled in favor of the Massachusetts Department of Education, allowing it to continue teaching the facts of the , and other crimes against humanity, in public schools across the Commonwealth as constitutionally protected government speech, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).
"The Armenian Assembly appreciates the court's ruling in this matter. It sends a clear message to Turkey and its revisionist allies that history cannot be rewritten to further Ankara's state-sponsored denial campaign," said Assembly Board of Trustees Chairman Hirair Hovnanian. Carolyn Mugar, the Board's President, added, "Given the overwhelming historical and legal evidence documenting the incontestable fact of the , this ruling is a victory for all those concerned about genocide education and prevention."
Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny noted that "today's decision is in keeping with a growing trend toward teaching genocide prevention with nearly every state, including Massachusetts, formally recognizing the . We want to thank the office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts for not backing down in this case."
The court's ruling preserves the teaching of accurate history, which is part of the official "Massachusetts Guide to Choosing and Using Curricular Materials on Genocide and Human Rights," prepared in 1999. In 2005, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), along with others, filed the suit against the Department of Education arguing that the Commonwealth violated the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights by removing materials from the curriculum that deny the events of 1915.
In an unprecedented move, the plaintiffs attempted to use the federal courts to argue a tired and discredited practice that the "other side" of the story should be taught.
"In light of the fact that Turkey criminalizes honest discussion of the , it is especially ironic that Turkish denialists turned to U.S. courts in an attempt to twist freedom of speech in America," stated Assembly Board of Trustees Counselor Van Krikorian. "Even though the court viewed this case 'in the light most favorable to plaintiffs,' it still ruled in favor of truth, history and the U.S. Constitution. The sooner Turkey comes to terms with its past, the better it will be for everyone."
The Armenian Assembly immediately responded when the suit was filed, hiring Duke University Law Professor Irwin Chemerinsky, one of the nation's leading First Amendment experts, and co-counsel Arnold Rosenfeld of the firm K&L Gates LLP. Over the past four years, the Assembly, and others, challenged the ATAA at every turn by filing a series of pleadings including an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief. The brief was intended to assist the Court in bringing the case to a conclusion in favor of the Commonwealth.
Attorneys Rosenfeld and Krikorian presented the amicus brief before Judge Wolf. Rosenfeld and Krikorian warned that if the court accepted the plaintiffs' First Amendment claims, it would open the door for any extremist group, such as Holocaust deniers, to challenge curriculum matters in court.
Attorney Gabrielle R. Wolohojian, then of Wilmer, Cutler, Hale and Dorr LLP, also represented an Amicus Class, which included the Armenian Bar Association, the Armenian National Committee of America, the Irish Immigration Center, the Jewish Alliance for Law and Justice and the NAACP.
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