A party in Griswold-Massachusetts lawsuit, Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) announced thatthe organizationhas applied to Supreme Court of Error to reverse the decision that was given by district court. American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Turkish American Legal Defense Fund (TALDF) supported the efforts of ATAA and presented two seperate defence statements to Supreme Court of Errors.
In the October of 1999, Mayor of Massachusetts censored ’www.ataa.org’ from teachers’ education guide despite the decision of State Committee of Educationists that Armenian issue is a historical debate and the website of ATAA and other dissident websites are approved as learning sources.Mayor of Massachusetts also ignored the defences of ATAA and The Turkish American Cultural Society of New England (TACSNE).
On the other hand, decidingthat the decision about selection of educational material that will be put into education guide is not an educational but a political issue, District Courtrejected the thesis of ATAA.
Commenting on the decision of District Court, Chairman of ATAA Gunay Evinch said, “We do not agree with the decision of Court of First Instance which lets ethnic policies to trample on the opinion of State Committee of Educationist that found Turkish thesis on 1915 events beneficial for education. Assembly of Turkish American Associations considers that political powers should not be deciding on which opinion studentsshould have about a historical debate. Otherwise, education would be left to unrighteousness of the strongest lobby and it would be impossible to stand against dogmas and to satisfy scientific curiosity. Most of the Ottoman Empire History Specialists oppose allegations of so called Armenian genocide. Nobody should not let the books of these historians to be burned, even on internet.”
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