Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) has filed a federal lawsuit against University of Minnesota after the University listed the website of TCA among “unreliable” sources.
According to the report of Minnesota Daily, the list of sources, which could be found on the University’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies web page, is designated “unreliable” because of their views on 1915 incidents in Ottoman Empire. The Turkish Coalition of America was the first site on the list.
Turkey rejects that 1915 incidents in Ottoman Empire constitute a genocide as many Turks also died as a result of civil war. On the other hand Armenians, the heirs of ethnic Armenians in the Ottoman Empire who were displaced due to war conditions in the region, claim that Ottoman government intended to annihilate them.
“This center has a website for students and researchers which suggests, among other things, recommended readings. It also indicates that other texts on these subjects are “unreliable”, beginning with the texts of the Turkish Coalition,” reads the statement by Meir Waintrater, editor in chief and publisher of L’Arche, a French Jewish monthly magazine, News.am reported.
This lawsuit contains seven charges, each relating to freedom of speech, due process or defamation, Historyoftruth.com reports quoting Minnesota Daily.
There are multiple counts of due process violations in the complaint, with the plaintiffs’ arguing they did not know how or why they were placed on the list.
The TCA first sent a letter to the University almost a year ago asking it to take the list down, but the University refused, according to local counsel for the plaintiff, Larry Frost.
This fall, Frost was tasked by Bruce Fein, attorney for the Turkish American Legal Defense Fund, to begin working on a complaint against the University for a potential federal lawsuit.
When a copy of that complaint was sent to Bruininks, the list was taken down. Chaouat claimed he had intended to take it down prior to receiving the letter.
Rotenberg said last week the list was taken down for academic reasons, not legal ones.
"As a legal matter we didn’t find anything defamatory or inconsistent with academic freedom in that little box," he said. "There was no restriction on free speech."
TCA wasn’t satisfied with that response and decided to file the claim anyway.
The University has 20 days to respond to the complaint. Until then it is unclear how the process will proceed, but according to Frost the average federal court case takes 18 months to move from complaint to trial.
Minnesota Daily, News.am, History of Truth
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