Armenian, Turkish communities battle in textbook lawsuit
Both groups want their historical accounts heard.
By Michael Doyle
Fresno Bee
Bee Washington Bureau
11/04/06
WASHINGTON – A textbook battle is pitting Americans of Armenian
and Turkish descent against one another in a federal courtroom.
The winner will write history.
And though the fight may seem far away, it’s captivating California’s
politically vocal Armenian-American community.
"Most people who are interested in Armenian politics know about
it," said Hygo Ohannessian, chairwoman of the Fresno-based Central
California chapter of the Armenian National Committee of America.
Ohannessian and her allies are waiting on U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf
in Boston. For the past year, Wolf has overseen a lawsuit challenging
the way Massachusetts high school study guides handle the horrific
events of 1915-23.
Genocide, Armenians and many historians call it. By some counts, upward
of 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of the Ottoman Empire. Turks
and Armenians have disputed how to characterize the tragic events.
"If the Turks win this, they are going to challenge textbooks in
other states," predicted Ohannes Boghossian, chairman of the Armenian
National Committee’s Sacramento chapter.
But in its lawsuit filed last October, the Assembly of Turkish American
Associations claims Massachusetts capitulated to Armenian-American
pressure and "purged" the state’s study guides of any material
challenging Armenian claims.
"This case is not about whether there was or was not an Armenian
genocide," attorney Harvey Silverglate said in an interview this
week, "but rather, about whether teachers and students are going to
be able to study and discuss the question without undue political
interference."
Undeniably, Armenian-Americans wield political clout, particularly
in areas such as the San Joaquin Valley, with large ethnic populations.
The leading Republican author of a commemorative Armenian genocide
resolution offered this Congress is Rep. George Radanovich, R-Mariposa.
But Turkey, too, flexes political muscle. While Radanovich’s
current Armenian genocide resolution has 159 House co-sponsors,
similar resolutions have been consistently blocked by presidents of
both parties.
With lifetime tenure and 21 years on the federal bench, Wolf is
shielded from overt pressure. Still, his next decision remains closely
watched, as he considers whether to dismiss the lawsuit filed by
Silverglate on behalf of the Turkish American associations.
In 1999, an initial version of the Massachusetts study guide cited
reference materials that reflected Turkish views challenging the
genocide argument. These were optional references, not required to
be taught.
"These viewpoints contend … that the fate of the Ottoman Armenians
was the result of a number of factors, including the Ottoman
government’s response to an Armenian revolt in alliance with Russia,
a tragically flawed deportation policy and mutual wartime massacres,
which brought great suffering and death to both Ottoman Armenians
and Muslims," the lawsuit argues.
But after a Massachusetts state senator complained and the
Armenian-American community mobilized, the state’s education
commissioner changed course. The state subsequently deleted study
guide references to Turkish sites, including Georgetown University’s
Institute of Turkish Studies.
"It’s fine for governments to help make history, but not to write
it," Silverglate said. "The First Amendment is meant to provide a
free marketplace of ideas to determine truth, and history."
The Armenian National Committee and the Los Angeles-based Armenian
Bar Association have both urged Wolf in an amicus brief to toss out
the case. They argue that Massachusetts acted reasonably in omitting
the Turkish perspective.
"It would be like having the Nazi Party coming in and forcing its
views of the Holocaust," Ohannessian said Tuesday.
The Armenian-Americans have strong U.S. Supreme Court precedent on
their side, which may fatally undercut Silverglate’s lawsuit. The court
has ruled repeatedly, as the Armenian groups put it, that "the First
Amendment places no restraints" on the messages a government conveys
"Courts," Massachusetts added in its own legal filing, "have no
authority either to control government speech or to second-guess
curriculum decisions made by the responsible public officials."
Armenian-Americans cite, as well, the 37 states – including California
– whose legislatures have recognized the Armenian genocide. The study
guide, the groups say, should be appreciated "in the context of this
widespread official acknowledgment" of the tragedy.
In California, Ohannessian noted, textbooks refer to the Armenian
genocide – but she and other Armenian-American activists enhance
this with yearly seminars offered to Fresno and Clovis high school
students seeking extra credit.
The reporter can be reached at [email protected] or (202)
383-0006.
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