Armenian Assembly of America
1140 19th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-393-3434
Fax: 202-638-4904
Email: [email protected]
Web:
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
COURT DATE SET FOR LAWSUIT CONTESTING REMOVAL OF GENOCIDE DENIALIST
MATERIALS FROM CURRICULUM GUIDE
Hearing Set for September
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly announced today that a lawsuit
brought by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and
others challenging the removal of genocide denialist materials from
Massachusetts classrooms has been scheduled for a hearing in Federal
Court on Monday, September 18, 2006.
U.S. District Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf will hear argument to have the
case dismissed. The Assembly filed a motion to dismiss last year,
as the ATAA and its revisionist associates failed to state a claim
for which relief can be granted. The motion to dismiss stated that
"Turkey has long denied responsibility for the Armenian Genocide,
despite incontrovertible evidence not only that the Armenian Genocide
occurred but that the Ottoman Turkish government was responsible." The
Attorney General of Massachusetts also filed a motion for a dismissal.
"The plantiffs are arguing a tired and discredited practice that the
‘other side’ of the story should be taught under the First Amendment,"
said Assembly Board of Trustees Counselor and Vice Chair Robert
A. Kaloosdian. "The fact of the Armenian Genocide is incontestable
and therfore, our expectation is that this court will determine that
the plantiffs lack standing to sue and grant the defendant’s motion
to dismiss."
The ATAA suit, filed in October 2005, seeks to reinsert genocide denial
materials into the Massachusetts school curriculum. The Massachusetts
school curriculum ensures that the lessons of the Holocaust, Armenian
Genocide, Irish Famine and other crimes against humanity are not
forgotten and are thus taught in the classrooms.
In March, the Assembly filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court)
brief in support of the Attorney General’s position defending the
rights of the Massachusetts Department of Education to teach the
facts of the Armenian Genocide. The amicus brief was in lieu of
the previously filed Motion to Intervene as Judge Wolf ruled that
the Attorney General’s Office is already adequately defending the
interests of the state and its citizens. The Armenian Bar Association
and the International Association of Genocide Scholars have also
filed amicus briefs.
To see the pleadings filed in the case, and for additional background
information, visit the "Genocide Denial Case" on the Assembly’s home
page at
The Armenian Assembly is the largest Washington-based nationwide
organization promoting public understanding and awareness of Armenian
issue. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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NR#2006-067