Calif. Assembly Panel Unanimously Adopts Genocide Curriculum Measure

Thursday, January 16th, 2014[/size] [/size]
 
 
 

WATCH: Calif. Assembly Panel Unanimously Adopts Genocide Curriculum Measure
 

 
SACRAMENTO—Standing strong against Armenian Genocide denial, the California State Assembly Education Committee unanimously adopted AB-659 on Wednesday, a measure introduced by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian which would bolster the commitment of the State of California to teach of the Armenian Genocide to public school students in Grades 7-12.
Following the hearing, Nazarian said, “It was with great pride that I introduced AB 659, a bill that will call for the adoption of an oral testimony component in teaching students about the Armenian Genocide. I would like to thank the ANCA-WR for their assistance with this bill and look forward to their continued support as AB 659 makes its way to the Assembly floor. I would like to also commend my fellow colleagues on the Assembly Committee on Education in voting unanimously on the side of truth and justice”
Testifying forcefully in support of the measure was ANCA Western Region Legislative Affairs Director Haig Baghdassarian. Turkish American groups presented a diatribe of genocide denial, which compelled Committee Chairwoman Joan Buchanan and fellow Committee members Rocky Chavez and Shirley Weber to set the record straight about the importance of speaking clearly about genocide and historical injustices.
In his remarks, Baghdassarian commended the Assembly members “for recognizing Turkey’s transparent attempt to distract [them] by engaging in genocide denial campaigns every time that the issue comes up before the Legislature. Following a 30 minute discussion, the Education Committee adopted the measure with a unanimous vote of 7-0. The bill now goes to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations for consideration.
In addition to the Armenian Genocide, the bill also “encourages the incorporation of survivor, rescuer, liberator and witness oral testimony into the teaching of human rights, the Holocaust, and genocide, including but not limited to, the Armenian Genocide, Cambodian, Darfur, and Rwandan genocides.” Furthermore, it encourages activities which would provide training and teaching resources to be able to more thoroughly teach about the Armenian Genocide.
This measure may also enhance the opportunities for the Genocide Education Project (GenEd), a non-profit organization, to conduct more teacher training sessions and further disseminate teacher resources.
Last year, The Genocide Education Project and the California Department of Education surveyed California high schools and learned that social studies teachers are lacking the resources and training they need to incorporate the Armenian Genocide appropriate in their curriculum. “Teachers seem very eager to teach about this important history, if provided the necessary tools,” said GenEd’s Roxanne Makasdjian. “Social Studies educators have told us that instruction on the Armenian Genocide is a good means of demonstrating to students that there is a continuum of genocide and human rights, not just isolated acts of evil. Learning about them in isolation, without studying the Armenian Genocide deprives students of an understanding of how denial, accountability, and reconciliation can significantly influence the tide of history.”
 
Below is the text Baghdassarian’s testimony in Sacramento
Madame. Chair and distinguished members of the committee:
I appear before you today to speak in support of this bill on behalf of Armenian-American community of California. In the brief time that I have I’d like to touch on three points. The first is to commend you for recognizing the transparency of the genocide denial campaigns that occur every time that the issue comes up before the Legislature. The second is to stress the significance of the Armenian genocide in 20th century history. And third, to take note of the fact that this legislation isn’t a departure from existing policy with respect to our meeting genocide education, but simply further codifies it those policies.
With respect to genocide denial, I don’t feel that it’s necessary to engage in a debate with deniers. As the grandson of four Armenian Genocide survivors, and the great-grandson of one of its victims, I can tell you unequivocally that there is question as to the truth. The only issue of controversy is to determine the consequences of those genocidal acts. And at the end of day that’s what the denial is about, the fear of consequences.
With respect to the significance of the Armenian genocide, scholars will tell you that there is a clear nexus between the Armenian genocide which precipitated the Holocaust. Adolf Hitler notoriously said immediately before setting the Holocaust in motion in 1939, “Who remembers the annihilation of the Armenians today?” When we consider that statement, in addition to the German complicity in the Armenian genocide, and many other factors, the totality suggests that the Holocaust and subsequent genocides cannot fully be understood by our children without an understanding of the Armenian Genocide.
Third and last is the fact that the legislature and the Board of Education have acted on this issue consistently over the years. In fact is also included in the History-Social Science Curriculum Framework which provides as follows:
Within the context of human rights and genocide, students should learn of the Ottoman government’s planned mass deportation and systematic annihilation of the Armenian population in 1915. Students should also examine the reactions of other governments, including that of the United States, and world opinion during and after the Armenian genocide. They should examine the effects of the genocide on the remaining Armenian people, who were deprived of their historic homeland, and the ways in which it became a prototype of subsequent genocides.
So the only thing that this bill will do is to bring the Education Code closer in line to the existing framework and content standards. Once again, I urge you to support this bill, and I thank you for your time.

Edited by Yervant1, 17 January 2014 - 11:28 AM.

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CURRICULUM BILL CLEARS SECOND HURDLE IN SACRAMENTO

http://asbarez.com/1...-in-sacramento/
Friday, January 24th, 2014

The California State Capitol building in Sacramento

SACRAMENTO-Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian's Armenian Genocide education
bill overcame yet another hurdle on Thursday at the State Capitol. One
week earlier, the California State Assembly's Education Committee
had passed AB 659 by a unanimous vote, at which time Assembly member
Katcho Achadjian lent his support by joining Nazarian as a principal
co-author of the measure.

"We are very grateful for the stewardship of Assembly members
Nazarian and Achadjian" said ANCA-WR Legislative Affairs Director
Haig Baghdassarian. "As a result of their leadership, more and more
high school students may learn about the Armenian Genocide."

Once again, the bill advanced by a unanimous vote, 16-0, this time
before the Assembly's Appropriations Committee, setting the stage for
a vote by the entire body of the California State Assembly next week.

If AB 659 is adopted by both chambers of legislature and signed
into law by the governor, it would promote the incorporation of oral
testimony and teacher training, such that the Genocide may be more
comprehensively taught in California's public schools.

"AB 659 is an important part of the equation, but it will require the
combination of laws and activism by students and parents to achieve
the objective of greater awareness about the Armenian Genocide,"
stated Baghdassarian. Several years ago, the Genocide Education
Project (GenEd), a non-profit organization based in San Francisco,
developed model resources for high school teachers. "As a community,
we must demand that our educators utilize these resources in order
to ensure that future generations learn about the Armenian Genocide."
 

Calif. State Assembly unanimously approves Genocide Education bill.

 

Despite heavy opposition by pro-Turkey lobbying groups, the California State Assembly on January 29 voted unanimously, to pass Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian’s bill, AB 659, encouraging schools to use oral histories when teaching about the Armenian Genocide, asbarez.com said. AB 659 will now move on to State Senate for consideration.

“The unanimous passage of AB 659 sends a strong message that California officials cannot be bought or bullied into denying truth and justice. The ANCA WR commends Assemblymembers Nazarian and Achadjian for spearheading through this important genocide education legislation and looks forward to working with them in garnering similar support in the State Senate,” stated Elen Asatryan, Executive Director of the ANCA-WR.

“AB 659 has enjoyed overwhelming support from my colleagues in the Assembly,” commented Assemblymember Nazarian, following the vote. “I look forward to continuing to work with the ANCA-WR to garner support from our counterparts in the Senate. The personal testimonies of Genocide survivors will give educators a powerful tool to engage students in the subject matter in ways they have never been taught before. If we expect to stop the genocides of the future, it is important that we strengthen the teaching mechanisms on past genocides,” he continued.

Joining Nazarian as co-authors AB 659 were State Senator Mark Wyland ® and Assemblymembers Katcho Achadjian ®, Steve Fox (D), Mike Gatto (D), Scott Wilk ®, and Cheryl Brown (D). Other members of the State Assembly who spoke in support of the measure during the floor session were Assemblymembers Tim Donnelly ® and Diane Harkey ®.

Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918
media@ancawr.org
www.ancawr.org

PRESS RELEASE                January 29, 2014
Contact: Haig Baghdassarian
E-Mail: haig@ancawr.org
Phone: (415) 596-6163


ARMENIAN GENOCIDE CURRICULUM BILL PASSED UNANIMOUSLY BY CALIFORNIA STATE
ASSEMBLY


SACRAMENTO, CA -- Despite heavy opposition by pro-Turkey lobbying groups,
the California State Assembly voted unanimously, today, to pass
Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian's bill, AB 659, encouraging schools to use
oral histories when teaching about the Armenian Genocide. AB 659 will now
move on to State Senate for consideration.

"The unanimous passage of AB 659 sends a strong message that California
officials cannot be bought or bullied into denying truth and justice. The
ANCA WR commends Assemblymembers Nazarian and Achadjian for spearheading
through this important genocide education legislation and looks forward to
working with them in garnering similar support in the State Senate," stated
Elen Asatryan, Executive Director of the ANCA-WR.

"AB 659 has enjoyed overwhelming support from my colleagues in the
Assembly," commented Assemblymember Nazarian, following the vote. "I look
forward to continuing to work with the ANCA-WR to garner support from our
counterparts in the Senate. The personal testimonies of Genocide survivors
will give educators a powerful tool to engage students in the subject
matter in ways they have never been taught before. If we expect to stop the
genocides of the future, it is important that we strengthen the teaching
mechanisms on past genocides," he continued.

Joining Nazarian as co-authors AB 659 were State Senator Mark Wyland ®
and Assemblymembers Katcho Achadjian ®, Steve Fox (D), Mike Gatto (D),
Scott Wilk ®, and Cheryl Brown (D). Other members of the State Assembly
who spoke in support of the measure during the floor session today were
Assemblymembers Tim Donnelly ® and Diane Harkey ®.

Assemblymember Achadjian, principal co-author on AB 659, worked closely
with his Republican colleagues to secure broad bipartisan support for the
measure, noted, "I am proud to be a principal co-author of AB 659. Part of
ensuring a better world for our children includes educating them about the
past. We must take the initiative to recognize such tragic acts of
violence in order to prevent such events from happening again. It
encourages teachers to educate our students on the Armenian Genocide."

Earlier this month, AB 659 was unanimously adopted by the State Assembly
Education and Appropriations Committees. Education Committee Chairwoman
Joan Buchanan explained, "It is important for California students to
understand and learn from the lessons of history, including the atrocities
of genocide around the world. I am proud to support AB 659, which
encourages schools to include the Armenian genocide in our history courses."

In the weeks leading up to State Assembly consideration of the measure, the
ANCA Western Region worked closely with legislators to ensure they learned
of the Armenian American community's enthusiastic support for the measure.
"Grassroots efforts are critical for the success of such legislation,
particularly in light of the increasingly aggressive lobbying campaigns
which are being mounted by Turkey and Azerbaijan. In these times, it is
especially important to activate our grassroots, because while we may be
outspent by our adversaries, active participation by our community makes a
difference," added Asatryan.

Once adopted by the State Senate and signed into law by the Governor, AB
659 would encourage the incorporation of oral testimony and teacher
training, such that the Genocide may be more comprehensively taught in
California's public schools.

The Genocide Education Project (GenEd), a non-profit organization based in
San Francisco which has developed model resources for high school teachers
regarding the Armenian Genocides, hailed the measure. "With the proper
materials and training, teachers can incorporate the Armenian Genocide into
their social studies curriculum in a meaningful way," said Roxanne
Makasdjian of The Genocide Education Project. "This resolution reminds
education administrators across the state of California's commitment to the
inclusion of the Armenian Genocide as an essential part of its courses on
world history, genocide, and human rights."

The Armenian National Committee of America-Western Region is the largest
and most influential Armenian American grassroots advocacy organization in
the Western United States. Working in coordination with a network of
offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the Western United States and
affiliated organizations around the country, the ANCA-WR advances the
concerns of the Armenian American community on a broad range of issues.
 

Utter nonsense, if Armenians were able to kill half a million muslims at that time what stopped them from killing you all. God damn lying bastards like like your fake on the take historians!

 

Santa Barbara Independent, CA

Feb 2 2014

Armenian Genocide Not Legally Founded

Sunday, February 2, 2014
By Vedat Alemdar, Omer Komili, and Artemis Ozten, Goleta


We join the Turkish-American citizens of California, members of the
Pax Turcica Institute, to oppose Assembly Bill 659. Introduced by
Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian, AB 659 seeks to impose the one-sided
and legally unfounded "Armenian genocide" narrative in the
history-social science curricula of our public schools.

As acts of crime, all genocides, including the Holocaust, Srebrenica,
and Rwanda, have been determined through relevant court tribunals and
verdicts. In contrast, the atrocities in the Ottoman Empire were never
tried in any court. No legal ground to charge the crime of genocide
was ever established. Last month, in the landmark Perincek vs.
Switzerland decision, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that
genocide is "a very narrowly defined legal notion which is difficult
to prove" in the Armenian case. ECHR also doubted that there could be
a general consensus on the alleged "Armenian genocide" as it remains a
matter of historical debate. In 2012, then Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton expressed the same position.

Reputable American scholars, including Bernard Lewis, Stanford Shaw,
Guenter Lewy, Justin McCarthy, Edward J. Erickson, and Michael Gunter,
have rejected the characterization of the Ottoman Armenian tragedy as
genocide.

Furthermore, during World War I, over half a million Turks, Kurds, and
other Muslims were massacred by the Armenian armed groups, fighting
alongside the Russian, Greek, and French armies, with an aim to carve
an ethnic Armenian state. While we share the pain of innocent
Armenians who perished in World War I, memories of the non-Armenian
victims are insulted by this bill.

AB 659's advocacy of an unfounded allegation of a crime constitutes an
educational malpractice. Therefore, we urge a vote against this bill
when it comes to the floor. The young generations should have a choice
not to be indoctrinated using a single disputed viewpoint.

http://www.independe...lly-founded/?on

 

 

CALIF.ASSEMBLY SPEAKER'S BILL URGES CONGRESS, PRESIDENT TO RECOGNIZE GENOCIDE

http://asbarez.com/1...gnize-genocide/
Thursday, February 20th, 2014

Speaker Perez (far right) with members of California delegation at
Dzidzernagapert while visiting Armenia in September

SACARAMENTO--California State Assembly Speaker John A. Perez on
Thursday introduced a resolution that reaffirms California's strong
position on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

The resolution calls on Turkey to recognize the Armenian Genocide
and urges Congress and President Obama to do the same.

This measure would designate the week of April 20 to 26, 2014,
as "California Week of Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of
1915-1923," and would memorialize the Congress and the President
of the United States to observe the California Week of Remembrance
for the Armenian Genocide by participating in the Armenian Genocide
Commemorative Project.

Below is the text of the resolution AJR 35

WHEREAS, The Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923 was the first genocide
of the 20th century, in which 1.5 million men, women, and children
lost their lives at the hands of the Turkish Ottoman Empire in their
attempt to systematically eliminate the Armenian race; and

WHEREAS, In their 3,000 year historic homeland in Asia Minor, Armenians
were subjected to severe and unjust persecution and brutality by the
Turkish rulers of the Ottoman Empire before and after the turn of
the 20th century, including widespread acts of destruction and murder
during the period from 1894 to 1896, inclusive, and again in 1909; and

WHEREAS, The massacre of the Armenians constituted one of the most
atrocious violations of human rights in the history of the world; and

WHEREAS, Adolph Hitler, in persuading his army commanders that the
merciless persecution and killing of Jews, Poles, and other people
would bring no retribution, declared, "Who, after all, speaks today
of the annihilation of the Armenians?"; and

WHEREAS, Unlike other people and governments that have admitted and
denounced the abuses and crimes of predecessor regimes, and despite
the overwhelming proof of genocidal intent, the Republic of Turkey
has inexplicably and adamantly denied the occurrence of the crimes
against humanity committed by the Ottoman and Young Turk rulers,
and those denials compound the grief of the few remaining survivors
of the atrocities, desecrate the memory of the victims, and cause
continuing pain to the descendants of the victims; and

WHEREAS, Leaders of nations with strategic, commercial, and cultural
ties to the Republic of Turkey should be reminded of their duty to
encourage Turkish officials to cease efforts to distort facts and
deny the history of events surrounding the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, The determination of those who continue to speak the truth
about the Armenian Genocide is tested to this day with some of these
speakers of truth being silenced by violent means; and

WHEREAS, The accelerated level and scope of denial and revisionism,
coupled with the passage of time and the fact that very few survivors
remain who can serve as reminders of indescribable brutality and
tormented lives, compel a sense of urgency in efforts to solidify
recognition of historical truth; and

WHEREAS, By consistently remembering and forcefully condemning the
atrocities committed against the Armenians, and honoring the survivors
as well as other victims of similar heinous conduct, we guard against
repetition of such acts of genocide and provide the American public
with a greater understanding of its heritage; and

WHEREAS, This measure would provide that the Legislature deplores the
persistent, ongoing efforts by any person in this country or abroad
to deny the historical fact of the Armenian Genocide; and

WHEREAS, California is home to the largest Armenian-American population
in the United States, and Armenians living in California have enriched
our state through their leadership in business, agriculture, academia,
government, and the arts; and

WHEREAS, The State of California has been at the forefront of
encouraging and promoting a curriculum relating to human rights and
genocide in order to empower future generations to prevent recurrence
of the crime of genocide; now, therefore,

Be it Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the State of California commends its
conscientious educators who teach about human rights and genocide;
and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature of the State of California hereby
designates the week of April 20 to 26, 2014, as "California Week of
Remembrance for the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923"; and be it further

Resolved, That California commemorates California Week of Remembrance
for the Armenian Genocide through the Armenian Genocide Commemorative
Project; and be it further

Resolved, That the State of California respectfully calls upon the
Congress and the President of the United States to act likewise and to
formally and consistently recognize and reaffirm the historical truth
that the atrocities committed against the Armenian people constituted
genocide; and be it further

Resolved, That the Legislature calls upon the Republic of Turkey to
acknowledge the facts of the Armenian Genocide and to work toward a
just resolution; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of this
resolution to the President and Vice President of the United States,
Members of the United States Congress, the Governor, and the Turkish
Ambassador to the United States.