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New Armenian Genocide Lawsuit


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OIL AND MILITARY BASES CAST CLOUD OF UNCERTAINTY OVER ARMENIAN GENOCIDE: SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

 

WASHINGTON, DC, DECEMBER 17. ARMINFO. Unfortunately, much of the American media still thinks that the Armenian genocide is subject to debate. To counter such historical inaccuracy, in June 1998 the Association of Genocide Scholars unanimously defined this event as the 20th century's first genocide. Two years later, 126 Holocaust scholars, including Elie Wiesel -- awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifelong effort to bear witness to genocide -- published a petition in the New York Times affirming "the incontestable fact of the Armenian genocide." Denial of the Armenian genocide didn't always exist in this country. Before World War I, Americans knew exactly what had occurred. During the 1890s, American reformers launched a human-rights campaign to protest repeated massacres of the Armenian people. In September 1895, the New York Times headlined a story as "Another Armenian Holocaust." During 1915, that paper published 145 articles about the mass murder of the Armenian people, describing the massacre as "systematic, "authorized" and "organized by the government." In 1918, Theodore Roosevelt called it "the greatest crime of the war."

 

In May 1915, the Allies conceived of the term "crimes against humanity" to describe the Ottoman government's massacres of the Armenian people. So what cast such a cloud of uncertainty over the Armenian genocide? The short answer is: oil and military bases.

 

After World War I, the United States' drive for oil in the Middle East resulted in an alliance with the new Turkish republic. Even though post-war Ottoman military confessions and American eyewitness accounts provided indisputable proof of the genocide, Turkey waged a systematic campaign to erase the Armenian genocide from historical memory. During the Cold War, Turkey gained even greater leverage to promote its denial when it became a strategic site for American and NATO military bases. Never forget that Adolf Hitler relied on that silence when he said on Aug. 22, 1939, "Who after all speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?"

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I wonder, Hovsep, why you removed the author's name from this excellent article in the San Francisco Chronicle. I guess it doesn't fit in with you mind frame that it was written by a Jewish woman named Rosen. Can't deal with things that don't fit into your world view, can you? Just because reconciliation and compromise isn't the appraoch in Arab lands doesn't mean that we operate that way here. Become an American or go back where you came from. The plane is waiting for you on the tarmac for Amman.
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Well, as I see both of you didn’t read the article about the lawsuit. Therefore, I will paste the article here with a respect to Vartkes (vartkesy@sbcglobal.net), who has sent the following article to Groong, Armenian News Network.

 

New Armenian Genocide Lawsuit

From: "Vartkes" <vartkesy@sbcglobal.net>

Date: Thu, 25 Dec 2003 03:21:28 -0800 (PST)

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

For Immediate Release

 

YEGHIAYAN & ASSOCIATES

535 NORTH BRAND BLVD., SUITE #270

GLENDALE, CA 91203

 

Contact: Vartkes Yeghiayan 818.242.7400

E-mail: vartkesy@sbcglobal.net

Tel: (818) 242-7400

 

December 23, 2003

Los Angeles, California

 

ARMENIAN GENOCIDE SURVIVORS FILE MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR CLASS LAWSUIT

 

VICTORIA INSURANCE IS TENTH INSURER SUED

FOR VICTIMS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

 

Descendants of the Armenian Genocide filed a multi-million dollar

lawsuit against Victoria Insurance Company.

 

90 years after the tragedy of the Armenian Genocide, a class lawsuit

has been filed to recover life insurance benefits that were wrongfully

withheld. Victoria Insurance Company is the tenth insurance company

sued on behalf of victims of the Armenian Genocide.

 

Vartkes Yeghiayan and his law firm, Yeghiayan & Associates, are the

attorneys representing the descendants of the Armenian Genocide victims

in this and the other class action cases, including Marootian v. New

York Life Insurance Company and Kyurkjian v. Axa, et al. In this

federal class action lawsuit, Vazken Movsesian and four other named

plaintiffs are suing on behalf of all Armenians who owned Victoria

Life Insurance policies, who were massacred in the Armenian Genocide,

and whose beneficiaries were never paid the insurance benefits.

 

>From 1880 to 1915, many Armenians who lived in the Ottoman Empire

("Turkey") purchased life insurance policies from Victoria Insurance.

On April 24, 1915, the government of Turkey launched a systematic

campaign to destroy ethnic Armenians through a process of massacre

and deportation, which is now recognized as the Armenian Genocide.

Between 1915 and 1922, approximately two million Armenians perished

as a result.

 

Among the victims were the owners of life insurance policies issued by

Victoria Insurance. Victoria Insurance never paid any life insurance

benefits to any victims of the Armenian Genocide.

 

Despite repeated claims, Victoria Insurance refused to pay the proceeds

which are due under the policies. Even as late as 2003, Victoria

Insurance acted constantly to delay and confuse the beneficiaries and

heirs. In this lawsuit, Movsesian is asking the federal court for an

order requiring Victoria Insurance to identify the insurance benefits

which belong to the Armenians, to identify the rightful heirs, and

to pay the benefits to them.

 

Movsesian is represented by Glendale attorney, Vartkes Yeghiayan.

An expert on the legal aspects of the Armenian Genocide, he began

work on the Armenian Genocide cases in 1970.

 

Yeghiayan explained the reason for filing the lawsuit against Victoria

Insurance, "For almost 90 years, Victoria Insurance has been holding

millions of dollars which belongs to the heirs of the victims of the

Armenian Genocide. No organization should be allowed to profit from

genocide, but until now Victoria has had no incentive to identify

the rightful heirs and return the money to them. With this federal

lawsuit, we intend to give them an incentive and to bring justice

for the victims of the Armenian Genocide."

 

[The federal class action lawsuit has been filed in the United

States District Court, Central District of California, as Movsesian

v. Victoria Versicherung AG.]

 

#####

Edited by spectra
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Spectra,

 

I read the article twice, once on Groong and again whn you posted it. I am familiar with what this great man, attorney Yeghiayan is doing. I really respect him. Hovsep, however, has his blinders on. He only sees what he wants to see. Ergo, I remind him that the Chronicle article was written by a Jewish woman.

Dear America-Hye,

I apologize. I tought you two were trying to change the subject... As we spoke today, our goal is one and together we will succeed.

Thanks again.

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America-hye that is very true. Armenians in Diaspora and nowadays the Armenians in Armenia like to adopt others culture, which will put a final end to our own culture. To my own opinion we shall be very careful from incoming media, entertainment and culture to our life.

Like I said previously, I came from Armenia about 5 years ago, and what I’ve noticed in Glendale is that Armenians are separated; some of them are called Teyrantsi, Beyrutsi, and Hayastantsi. Some third person would think that Armenians are very uneducated people, like Shia and Suny from Iraq.

My Armenian people! We shall all become One. And we shall only say “Es Hye Em” Just like my Avatar says, and just like I am.

I kind of went off topic of this thread. But I’d like to see more opinions on this thread. The question is, Will there be a force on this lawsuit? And if there will be some force on the Armenian side, who will be behind of that force?

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