CA Assembly Education Panel adopts Genocide curriculum measure

January 16, 2014 - 23:34 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Standing strong against Armenian Genocide denial, the California State Assembly Education Committee unanimously adopted AB-659, a measure introduced by Assembly Member Adrin Nazarian which would mandate the inclusion of Armenian Genocide materials in CA state curricula and expand the use of oral testimonies in the teaching of the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur and Rwandan Genocide and the Holocaust, the ANCA-WR reported.

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.

Following a 30 minute discussion, the CA Assembly Education Committee adopted the measure with a vote of 7-0. The bill now goes to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations for consideration.

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The Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide (1915-23) was the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I. It was characterized by massacres and deportations, involving forced marches under conditions designed to lead to the death of the deportees, with the total number of deaths reaching 1.5 million.

The majority of Armenian Diaspora communities were formed by the Genocide survivors.

Present-day Turkey denies the fact of the Armenian Genocide, justifying the atrocities as “deportation to secure Armenians”. Only a few Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Prize winner Orhan Pamuk and scholar Taner Akcam, speak openly about the necessity to recognize this crime against humanity.

The Armenian Genocide was recognized by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, 45 U.S. states, Greece, Cyprus, Lebanon, Argentina, Belgium, Austria, Wales, Switzerland, Canada, Poland, Venezuela, Chile, Bolivia, the Vatican, Luxembourg, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Sweden, Venezuela, Slovakia, Syria, Vatican, as well as the European Parliament and the World Council of Churches.