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
September 18, 2006
CONTACT: Christine Kojoian
E-mail: [email protected]
THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
STATEMENT ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE DENIAL CASE
Washington, DC – The Armenian Assembly of America has released the
following statement in the case of Griswold v. Driscoll et. Al. (the
Armenian Genocide Denial Case), which will be heard in U.S. District
Court in Boston today. The lawsuit, filed last year by the Assembly of
Turkish American Associations (ATAA), asserts that the Massachusetts
Department of Education’s decision to remove denialist materials in
the school curriculum amounts to "censoring" and therefore would be
a violation of the First Amendment.
PRESS STATEMENT
OF THE ARMENIAN ASSEMBLY OF AMERICA
AND OTHER ARMENIAN AMERICAN AMICUS CURIAE
FOR HEARING BEFORE CHIEF JUDGE MARK WOLF
OF THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT, DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
SEPTEMBER 18, 2006
The Armenian Assembly of America and the Armenian-American individuals
who have filed an Amicus Curiae Memorandum for today’s hearing on the
Motion to Dismiss the Complaint in the case of Griswold v. Driscoll
et al will point out to the Court in the oral argument scheduled
today that:
1. The Armenian-Americans who have filed this Amicus brief are
affronted that the Turkish interests and other plaintiffs who have
brought this lawsuit are seeking to have students in Massachusetts
schools be referred to websites which characterize the Armenian
Genocide as a "myth" and "as bogus as a three dollar bill." In fact,
there is no credible argument that the massacres of Armenians during
and after World War One were not genocide and the overwhelming
historical and legal records supports the finding of genocide of the
Armenian population in Ottoman Turkey during and after World War One.
2. The choice of the Massachusetts Board of Education, in a sound
educational decision, to exclude the Turkish sponsored websites in
recommending what should be taught to students in Massachusetts
public schools without reference to the so-called denialist or
"contra-genocide" theory, fulfills the mandate of G.L. c. 276 of the
Acts of 1998;
3. When the Massachusetts Board of Education issued its curriculum
guide on teaching about the Armenian Genocide, it was government
speech and there is no First Amendment right to challenge such
government speech;
4. If the plaintiffs succeed with this lawsuit, there will be no
stopping point for the demands anyone can make for inclusion in
curriculum recommendations, no matter how flawed or outrageous.
5. No one’s First Amendment rights to receive information have been
denied since the plaintiffs, and anyone else, can obtain whatever
information they want about the Armenian Genocide from sources outside
the curriculum guide.
CONTACTS: Arnold R. Rosenfeld, Esq.
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP
(617) 951-9125
[email protected]
Van Z. Krikorian
Attorney-at-Law
(914) 439-4333
[email protected]
The Armenian Assembly of America is the largest Washington-based
nationwide organization promoting public understanding and awareness of
Armenian issues. It is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt membership organization.
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