United States Court of Appeals rules against deniers of Armenian Genocide

PanARMENIAN.Net - In a unanimous opinion written by retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court David Souter, sitting on a three judge panel including Michael Boudin and Jeffery R. Howard of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, affirmed the decision of a lower court dismissing the Griswold v. Driscoll case, in which plaintiffs argued for the inclusion of genocide denial literature in the Massachusetts human rights curriculum, reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly).

The suit filed in 2005 under the guise of a First Amendment case by the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) and its supporters hoped to undermine the teaching of the Armenian Genocide in public schools by inserting genocide denial literature in the state mandated curriculum. ATAA was joined in its campaign by the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, whose principal spokesperson, Bruce Fein, is one of the most vocal deniers of the Armenian Genocide. The Court's decision effectively marks a major defeat for deniers.

The court explicitly ruled against ATAA for waiting so long to complain, and ruled against the individual plaintiffs on First Amendment and standing grounds. Significantly, the court decided that the Guide on Armenian Genocide instruction fit into the curriculum classification rather than a school library, and even if the school library cases did apply, that law would not allow the genocide denial actions that the plaintiffs sought.

The plaintiffs' attorney Harvey Silverglate took the position that "contra-genocide" websites should be included in the curriculum, overlooking the inherent contradiction of "contra-genocide" information, which does hold a position on the Armenian Genocide by disputing or denying it. Silverglate also failed to advise the court that the websites in question, whether of the ATAA or the Turkish Embassy, display brazenly denialist pages on the Armenian Genocide, therein holding yet again a very distinct view of history, disqualifying them as either pedagogically objective or scholarly.

"The Court of Appeals' decision is a major victory for sound education on the Armenian Genocide. The Court defended free speech today and struck a blow to the spurious tactics used by genocide deniers to engage under the pretext of debate. It was especially disturbing that the plaintiffs took to distorting the U.S. Constitution in court and after in public," said Van Z. Krikorian, Assembly Board of Trustees Counselor.

"I want to thank the Commonwealth's Attorney General Martha Coakley, Assistant Attorney General William W. Porter who defended the Massachusetts Department of Education, Aram Kaloosdian, as well as Duke University School of Law Professor Erwin Chemerinsky, who along with Arnold R. Rosenfeld of K&L Gates LLP, joined in filing the first amicus brief in 2006 on behalf of Armenian Genocide survivors and descendants of survivors," added Krikorian.

In December 2009, the Armenian Assembly filed another amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in support of the Commonwealth, when the ATAA and its supporters appealed the June 2009 decision by District Judge Mark L. Wolf.

In its brief, the Armenian Assembly stated that: "This lawsuit is an unprecedented attempt by the plaintiffs to utilize the federal courts as a vehicle for their unconstitutional intrusion into educational policy in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is motivated by the plaintiffs' claim based on its historically and educationally unsupported assertions, that there is a credible position that the Armenian Genocide did not occur, and therefore that view point should be part of the Curriculum Guide on teaching about the Armenian Genocide issued by the state Department of Education."

"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 Armenian Genocide, this ruling is a victory for all those concerned about genocide education and prevention."

"The International Association of Genocide Scholars, the Armenian Bar Association and all others who filed amicus briefs should be congratulated for standing up for the truth and for the importance of human rights education," added Hovnanian, "and the Assembly thanks them again for addressing this serious challenge to freedom of expression, human dignity, and educational integrity."