Friday, August 5, 2022
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
NEWSLETTER
ՀԱՅ
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports
No Result
View All Result
Asbarez.com
ՀԱՅ
No Result
View All Result

ANCA Welcomes Supreme Court Rejection Of Massachusetts Genocide Denial Lawsuit

by Asbarez Staff
January 19, 2011
in Featured Story, National, News, Top Stories
3
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
High Court Declines to Consider Turkish Lobby-Sponsored Bid to Force Genocide Denial into Public Schools


WASHINGTON–A longstanding legal campaign, spearheaded by pro-Turkey lobbies, to force the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to include historically inaccurate Armenian Genocide denial materials in their education curriculum was killed Wednesday by a U.S. Supreme Court decision declining to hear an appeal to a lower court ruling dismissing the case, reported the Armenian National Committee (ANCA).
“We welcome the Supreme Court’s decision to decline to hear this deeply flawed and dangerous case, and thus uphold the U.S. Court of Appeals First Circuit landmark decision rejecting efforts by genocide deniers to abuse the American legal system to bring their hateful agenda to our nation’s public schools,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “This victory, while certainly a serious setback to Turkey’s campaign of denial, will, just as surely, not mark the end of the concerted and well-funded efforts by allies of Ankara to use our nation’s great freedoms to enforce their own version of Article 301, silencing discussion of the Armenian Genocide in America’s classrooms.”
This legal battle started in 2005, when, according to media accounts, the Assembly of Turkish American Associations solicited the assistance of two local teachers, a student, and his parents to file the Griswold vs. Driscoll case against the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, in an effort to force the state to include Genocide denial materials in its online education curriculum guide. In June of 2009, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf dismissed the case stating that the plaintiffs are “are not entitled to relief in federal court.” The ATAA and fellow plaintiffs appealed the decision, sending the matter for review by the First Circuit Court of Appeals. In August, 2010, the First Circuit Court affirmed Judge Wolf’s dismissal of the case, with the majority opinion prepared by retired Supreme Court Justice David Souter.
The First Circuit Court decision can be read here.
Throughout the legal process, the ANCA partnered with the Armenian Bar Association and groups including the Irish Immigration Society, Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, NAACP, Genocide Education Project and the Zoryan Institute in preparing amicus briefs in support of the Massachusetts Commonwealth’s calls to dismiss the case. Attorneys from Wilmer, Cutler, Hale and Dorr LLP, filed the briefs and championed the case pro-bono. Other groups that submitted their own amicus briefs included the International Association of Genocide Scholars and the Armenian Assembly.
This case is seen as part of a larger strategy by Turkish American groups to use the legal system to harass human rights advocates on issues relating to the Armenian Genocide. The most recent instance is the lawsuit filed by representatives of the Turkish Coalition of America against the University of Minnesota for cautioning visitors to their Holocaust Studies website about online resources which deny the Armenian Genocide.
The Middle East Studies Association, this week, sent an open letter to the Turkish Coalition urging them to drop the lawsuit, the full text of which can be viewed here.

Asbarez Staff

Asbarez Staff

Next Post

Bei Ru Discusses Fusion of Vintage Armenian with Funk and Soul

Comments 3

  1. Shahan says:
    12 years ago

    ANCA is wrong to say the Supreme Court has upheld the First Circuit Court’s decision. When the Supreme Court refuses to hear a case, it does not mean they agree with the lower court’s decision, it simply means they do not wish to address the issue at this time. Put another way, as far as the law is concerned for people who live outside of the jurisdiction of the First Circuit Court of Appeals, it is as if this lawsuit by the Turkish lobby never existed; i.e. they could try and bring the exist same lawsuit in, for example, Los Angeles, and the judge wouldn’t immediately throw it out. Of course it does help that another federal court has made a ruling favorable to Armenians on this issue…

    Reply
  2. manooshag says:
    12 years ago

    How refreshing to know that our courts still have the freedom to speak out against the misdirected Turkeys..
    as opposed to the ‘gagged’ White House and, too, the USA State Department, incapable of using our national freedom of speech – here, in the USA. Imagine such a case in the courts of a Turkey! Manooshag

    Reply
  3. Akcam Is A Low Life Scum says:
    11 years ago

    You guys are using the “Gag Rule” conspiracy theory to justify your little war on Turkey to vilify not only Turkish people, but to snitch land from Turkey and drain every dollar from the Turkish economy. You say that these ATAA people are supressing free speech, what about how you whine to every country to jail people who criticise your genocide allegations. There was Armenian civilian casualties, yes sure. But there were Turkish civilian casualties also. You guys want to play innocent angels with no blood on their hands and make Turkish people look more evil then devils. Why is that when even Non-Turkish people explain that there were Turkish civilian casualties, you guys get more mad then bulls. Because you know those are facts and you are attacking people who disagree with these genocide allegations because you know your goal is to wipe Turkey off the map and divide it between the Kurds. I don’t hate Armenian people, but I am just voicing my views against Armenian Supremacists like yourselves, that is all.
    You guys are the haters and you hate the Akcam/Pamuk types. You guys exxagerate your “sufferings” so you can create Anti-Turkish hate and you can carve Turkey and wipe it off the map. Whenever someone wants to point out both sides of the story, you say it is supressing free speech. But whenever someone disagrees with your “genocide” waa waa crybaby fairy tales, you say it is hate, but criticism is not hate. Get over it, move on with your lives and stop hating. Instead of just whining for land which you will never ever ever get, try to build your country, it is as poor as Africa. You guys are spending money on hate and lie campaigns, when you can build up Armenia. We don’t spend our time spreading hate as incessantly like you guys.
    By the way, don’t refuse to post my comment or else this will prove your guys intolerance to the democratic principles of Free Speech.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Russia Again Blames Azerbaijan for Ceasefire Violation

In Response to Lavrov, Yerevan Says it Voiced Concerns about Russian Peacekeepers in 2021

2 hours ago
U.S. Wants to Assist Armenia in Reforms

Blinken Discusses Karabakh with Pashinyan, Aliyev

2 hours ago

Connect with us

  • About
  • Advertising
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Top Stories
  • Community
  • Arts & Culture
    • Art
    • Books
    • Music
    • Theatre
    • Critics’ Forum
  • Op-Ed
    • Editorial
    • Opinon
    • Letters
  • Columns
    • By Any Means
    • My Turn
    • Three Apples
    • Community Links
    • Critics’ Forum
    • My Name is Armen
    • Living in Armenia
  • Videos
  • Sports

© 2021 Asbarez | All Rights Reserved | Powered By MSDN Solutions Inc.

Accessibility

Accessibility modes

Epilepsy Safe Mode
Dampens color and removes blinks
This mode enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
Visually Impaired Mode
Improves website's visuals
This mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
Cognitive Disability Mode
Helps to focus on specific content
This mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
ADHD Friendly Mode
Reduces distractions and improve focus
This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
Blindness Mode
Allows using the site with your screen-reader
This mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.

Online Dictionary

    Readable Experience

    Content Scaling
    Default
    Text Magnifier
    Readable Font
    Dyslexia Friendly
    Highlight Titles
    Highlight Links
    Font Sizing
    Default
    Line Height
    Default
    Letter Spacing
    Default
    Left Aligned
    Center Aligned
    Right Aligned

    Visually Pleasing Experience

    Dark Contrast
    Light Contrast
    Monochrome
    High Contrast
    High Saturation
    Low Saturation
    Adjust Text Colors
    Adjust Title Colors
    Adjust Background Colors

    Easy Orientation

    Mute Sounds
    Hide Images
    Virtual Keyboard
    Reading Guide
    Stop Animations
    Reading Mask
    Highlight Hover
    Highlight Focus
    Big Dark Cursor
    Big Light Cursor
    Navigation Keys

    Asbarez.com Accessibility Statement

    Accessibility Statement

    • www.asbarez.com
    • August 5, 2022

    Compliance status

    We firmly believe that the internet should be available and accessible to anyone, and are committed to providing a website that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability.

    To fulfill this, we aim to adhere as strictly as possible to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 (WCAG 2.1) at the AA level. These guidelines explain how to make web content accessible to people with a wide array of disabilities. Complying with those guidelines helps us ensure that the website is accessible to all people: blind people, people with motor impairments, visual impairment, cognitive disabilities, and more.

    This website utilizes various technologies that are meant to make it as accessible as possible at all times. We utilize an accessibility interface that allows persons with specific disabilities to adjust the website’s UI (user interface) and design it to their personal needs.

    Additionally, the website utilizes an AI-based application that runs in the background and optimizes its accessibility level constantly. This application remediates the website’s HTML, adapts Its functionality and behavior for screen-readers used by the blind users, and for keyboard functions used by individuals with motor impairments.

    If you’ve found a malfunction or have ideas for improvement, we’ll be happy to hear from you. You can reach out to the website’s operators by using the following email

    Screen-reader and keyboard navigation

    Our website implements the ARIA attributes (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) technique, alongside various different behavioral changes, to ensure blind users visiting with screen-readers are able to read, comprehend, and enjoy the website’s functions. As soon as a user with a screen-reader enters your site, they immediately receive a prompt to enter the Screen-Reader Profile so they can browse and operate your site effectively. Here’s how our website covers some of the most important screen-reader requirements, alongside console screenshots of code examples:

    1. Screen-reader optimization: we run a background process that learns the website’s components from top to bottom, to ensure ongoing compliance even when updating the website. In this process, we provide screen-readers with meaningful data using the ARIA set of attributes. For example, we provide accurate form labels; descriptions for actionable icons (social media icons, search icons, cart icons, etc.); validation guidance for form inputs; element roles such as buttons, menus, modal dialogues (popups), and others. Additionally, the background process scans all of the website’s images and provides an accurate and meaningful image-object-recognition-based description as an ALT (alternate text) tag for images that are not described. It will also extract texts that are embedded within the image, using an OCR (optical character recognition) technology. To turn on screen-reader adjustments at any time, users need only to press the Alt+1 keyboard combination. Screen-reader users also get automatic announcements to turn the Screen-reader mode on as soon as they enter the website.

      These adjustments are compatible with all popular screen readers, including JAWS and NVDA.

    2. Keyboard navigation optimization: The background process also adjusts the website’s HTML, and adds various behaviors using JavaScript code to make the website operable by the keyboard. This includes the ability to navigate the website using the Tab and Shift+Tab keys, operate dropdowns with the arrow keys, close them with Esc, trigger buttons and links using the Enter key, navigate between radio and checkbox elements using the arrow keys, and fill them in with the Spacebar or Enter key.Additionally, keyboard users will find quick-navigation and content-skip menus, available at any time by clicking Alt+1, or as the first elements of the site while navigating with the keyboard. The background process also handles triggered popups by moving the keyboard focus towards them as soon as they appear, and not allow the focus drift outside of it.

      Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Disability profiles supported in our website

    • Epilepsy Safe Mode: this profile enables people with epilepsy to use the website safely by eliminating the risk of seizures that result from flashing or blinking animations and risky color combinations.
    • Visually Impaired Mode: this mode adjusts the website for the convenience of users with visual impairments such as Degrading Eyesight, Tunnel Vision, Cataract, Glaucoma, and others.
    • Cognitive Disability Mode: this mode provides different assistive options to help users with cognitive impairments such as Dyslexia, Autism, CVA, and others, to focus on the essential elements of the website more easily.
    • ADHD Friendly Mode: this mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions.
    • Blindness Mode: this mode configures the website to be compatible with screen-readers such as JAWS, NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack. A screen-reader is software for blind users that is installed on a computer and smartphone, and websites must be compatible with it.
    • Keyboard Navigation Profile (Motor-Impaired): this profile enables motor-impaired persons to operate the website using the keyboard Tab, Shift+Tab, and the Enter keys. Users can also use shortcuts such as “M” (menus), “H” (headings), “F” (forms), “B” (buttons), and “G” (graphics) to jump to specific elements.

    Additional UI, design, and readability adjustments

    1. Font adjustments – users, can increase and decrease its size, change its family (type), adjust the spacing, alignment, line height, and more.
    2. Color adjustments – users can select various color contrast profiles such as light, dark, inverted, and monochrome. Additionally, users can swap color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds, with over 7 different coloring options.
    3. Animations – epileptic users can stop all running animations with the click of a button. Animations controlled by the interface include videos, GIFs, and CSS flashing transitions.
    4. Content highlighting – users can choose to emphasize important elements such as links and titles. They can also choose to highlight focused or hovered elements only.
    5. Audio muting – users with hearing devices may experience headaches or other issues due to automatic audio playing. This option lets users mute the entire website instantly.
    6. Cognitive disorders – we utilize a search engine that is linked to Wikipedia and Wiktionary, allowing people with cognitive disorders to decipher meanings of phrases, initials, slang, and others.
    7. Additional functions – we provide users the option to change cursor color and size, use a printing mode, enable a virtual keyboard, and many other functions.

    Browser and assistive technology compatibility

    We aim to support the widest array of browsers and assistive technologies as possible, so our users can choose the best fitting tools for them, with as few limitations as possible. Therefore, we have worked very hard to be able to support all major systems that comprise over 95% of the user market share including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, Opera and Microsoft Edge, JAWS and NVDA (screen readers), both for Windows and for MAC users.

    Notes, comments, and feedback

    Despite our very best efforts to allow anybody to adjust the website to their needs, there may still be pages or sections that are not fully accessible, are in the process of becoming accessible, or are lacking an adequate technological solution to make them accessible. Still, we are continually improving our accessibility, adding, updating and improving its options and features, and developing and adopting new technologies. All this is meant to reach the optimal level of accessibility, following technological advancements. For any assistance, please reach out to