TURKISH DENIAL CAMPAIGN CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA
Last month, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) reported that Turkey's ongoing global campaign to suppress the truth about the Armenian Genocide was dealt a major blow in a U.S. District Court. Chief Judge Mark Wolf issued a ruling in favor of the Massachusetts Department of Education (Department), which allows the Department to continue teaching the facts of the Armenian Genocide, and other crimes against humanity, in public schools across the Commonwealth, as constitutionally protected government speech.
Shortly after this landmark decision, as part of an ongoing campaign to derail human rights education, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) indicated, through a June 23 letter to the editor of the Boston Globe from its attorney Harry Silverglate, that it intended to appeal Chief Judge Wolf's decision in the case of Griswold v Driscoll. The appeal was officially filed on July 13, in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts.
"The Armenian Assembly appreciates the court's ruling in the matter and will work to ensure that it is sustained on appeal. This decision clearly demonstrates 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 Armenian Genocide, this ruling is a victory for all those concerned about genocide education and prevention."
When this suit was initiated four years ago, the Assembly immediately responded by hiring one of the nation's preeminent First Amendment expert, Duke University Professor Irwin Chemerinsky, and co-counsel Arnold Rosenfeld of the firm K&L Gates LLP. Throughout this process, the Assembly, along with 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.
Assembly's Board Vice-Chair and Counselor Robert A. Kaloosdian chaired the committee that responded to the lawsuit: "Through the federal court's ruling, the Griswold case rejected ATAA's attempt to require the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Board of Education to insert 'contra-genocide' citations into its curriculum guide. Judge Wolf wrote in his decision that 'plaintiffs do not have a right to receive contra-genocide information in the classroom.' In addition he wrote that 'the curriculum guide required defendants to include materials concerning the 'Armenian Genocide.'"
"This ruling sends a message not only to the ATAA, but also to others who may seek to distort history," said Krikorian. "This was certainly a direct blow to ATAA's plan to get a favorable ruling here and then repeat the tactic in every school district across the country. The court's decision cuts them off, destroys that plan and protects the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Department of Education from being subject to manipulation from a genocide denialist organization, which is carrying out its campaign of dishonesty from coast to coast," added Krikorian.
ATAA Threatens to Oppose Human Rights Education and Passage of California Genocide Awareness Act
At the California Senate Education Committee public hearing, the ATAA and Armenian Genocide denier Bruce Fein testified against the passage of the Genocide Awareness Act. He also questioned whether the mistreatment of the Armenians, and the parallel cases in Cambodia and Darfur were genocide, despite the fact that the California legislature has repeatedly recognized and annually commemorated the Armenian Genocide since 1968.
IRAN-ARMENIA PLANE CRASHES: 168 REPORTED TO BE KILLED
A passenger plane heading from Tehran to the Armenian capital Yerevan crashed near the village of Jannatabad outside the city of Qazvin, around 75 miles northwest of Tehran, state television said. The ...EXTRAORDINARY CONSULTATIONS AT THE PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
President Serzh Sargsyan convened extraordinary consultations today connected with the crash of the Iranian Tu-154 plane en route to Armenia. Heads of the General Directorate of the Civil Aviation and ...PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA EXTENDS CONDOLENCES ON TU-154 CRASH
President Serzh Sargsyan has issued a statement expressing condolences for the crash of the Tehran-Yerevan plane. "Dear compatriots, I'm applying to you on this sad occasion: hours ago the Tehran-Yerevan ...ARMENIA DECLARES JULY 16 DAY OF MOURNING
On July 15 President Serzh Sargsyan signed a decree on declaring July 16 a Day of Mourning in the Republic of Armenia connected with the human losses, including Armenian citizens as a result of the crash ...OSCE MONITORING REVEALS NO CEASE-FIRE VIOLATIONS
On July 15, in accordance with the earlier achieved agreement with the NKR authorities the OSCE mission conducted а regular monitoring of the line of contact of Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijani ...NKR MFA: NO AGREEMENT POSSIBLE WITHOUT THE PARTICIPATION OF KARABAKH
Due to the recent developments around the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict settlement, the NKR Ministry of Foreign Affairs considers it essential to issue the following statement: "The NKR stance on the ...SARGSYAN-MEDVEDEV-ALIYEV MEETING SCHEDULED FOR JULY 18
The Presidents of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan will discuss the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement on July 18, RIA Novosti quoted Russian President's Aide Sergey Prikhodko as saying. "Such a meeting will ...RAZMIK DAVOYAN: GIVING LANDS WOULD BE UNREASONABLE
Writer Razmik Davoyan told a press conference today that the forthcoming meeting of the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents in Moscow will be restricted to oral conversations. Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham ...WORKING CONSULTATIONS AT NKR PRESIDENT'S OFFICE
On 15 July President of the Nagorno Karabagh Republic Bako Sahakyan convoked a working consultation dedicated to enlarging cooperation between the Office of Public Prosecutor, National Security Service ...ANCA DENOUNCES MINSK GROUP PRESSURE TO SECURE UNILATERAL ARMENIAN CONCESSIONS IN KARABAGH TALKS
Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) Chairman Ken Hachikian expressed "profound disappointment" at the unreasonable pressure being applied by the Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe ...WELSH SHEPHERD DOES MORE FOR ARMENIAN CAUSE THAN MOST ARMENIANS
By Harut Sassounian, Publisher, The California CourierIncredible, but true! Eilian Williams, a shepherd in Wales, has done more in support of the Armenian Cause than most Armenians, despite the fact that he is not related to Armenians by heritage or marriage. ...TURKISH DENIAL CAMPAIGN CONTINUES IN CALIFORNIA
Last month, the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly) reported that Turkey's ongoing global campaign to suppress the truth about the Armenian Genocide was dealt a major blow in a U.S. District Court. ...
AL PACINO WILL PLAY THE ROLE OF JACK KEVORKIAN
IRAN-ARMENIA PLANE CRASHES: 168 REPORTED TO BE KILLED
GRIGOR ARAKELYAN APPOINTED ARMENIA'S AMBASSADOR TO IRAN
ARKADY GHUKASYAN COMMENTS ON ALIYEV'S STATEMENT
US, FRANCE AND RUSSIA CALL ON ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN TO RESOLVE THE REMAINING DIFFERENCES
EDWARD SHARMAZANOV: THE MADRID PRINCIPLES ARE PRO-ARMENIAN
MERZLYAKOV: MOSCOW MEETING WILL HELP REACH THE FINISH LINE OF THE KARABAKH CONFLICT SETTLEMENT
PRESIDENT OF ARMENIA EXTENDS CONDOLENCES ON TU-154 CRASH
ALEXANDER ARZUMANYAN: THE ROAD MAP WAS A GREAT BLUFF
Siranush Muradyan, "Radiolur"BAKO SAHAKYAN: NAGORNO KARABAKH DESERVES INTERNATIONAL RECOGNITION
- 1826 Persian forces invade Artsakh, Shoragial and Pambak. Start of the Second Russo-Persian War.
- 1915 Ambassador Morgenthau explicitly described to the United States Department of State the policy of the Young Turk government as a campaign of "race extermination", and was instructed, by United States Secretary of State Robert Lansing, that the "Department approves your procedure ... to stop Armenian persecution".
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