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Armenian-Americans Sue For Century-Old Losses

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  • Armenian-Americans Sue For Century-Old Losses

    ARMENIAN-AMERICANS SUE FOR CENTURY-OLD LOSSES
    LINDA DEUTSCH

    AP
    07/29/2010

    LOS ANGELES-Armenian-American lawyers filed a federal lawsuit Thursday
    against the Turkish government and two banks seeking compensation for
    the heirs of Armenians whose property was allegedly seized nearly a
    century ago as they were driven from the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

    Lawyers were seeking class-action status for the suit, a process that
    attorney Brian Kabatek said could take as long as three years.

    "We are rolling up our sleeves and are going forward," he said.

    The suit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Garbis Davouyan of Los
    Angeles and Hrayr Turabian of Queens, N.Y. It alleges breach of
    statutory trust, unjust enrichment, human rights violations and
    violations of international law.

    It seeks compensation for land, buildings and businesses allegedly
    seized from Armenians along with bank deposits and property, including
    priceless religious and other artifacts, some of which are now housed
    in museums in the Republic of Turkey.

    Attorney Mark Geragos said it was the first such lawsuit directly
    naming the government of the Republic of Turkey as a defendant.

    "All of the lawyers involved have relatives who perished or fled the
    Armenian genocide, which gives it a special poignancy for us," he said.

    The lawsuit claims more than a million Armenians were killed in
    forced marches, concentration camps and massacres "perpetrated,
    assisted and condoned" by Turkish officials and armed forces.

    The U.S. government does not recognize

    the mass killings of Armenians during World War I as genocide.

    Also named in the lawsuit were the Central Bank of Turkey and T.C.,
    Ziraat Bankasi, the largest and oldest Turkish bank with origins
    dating back to the 1860s.

    The lawsuit claims the government of Turkey agreed to administer the
    property, collect rents and sale proceeds from the seized assets and
    deposit the receipts in trust accounts until the property could be
    restored to owners.

    Instead, the government has "withheld the property and any income
    derived from such property," the lawsuit said.

    A message left with the Turkish Consul General's office in Los Angeles
    was not immediately returned. After-hours e-mails seeking comment
    from both banks were not immediately returned.

    Lawyers for the plaintiffs believe records of the properties and
    profits still exist, and they are seeking an accounting that could
    reach billions of dollars.

    Geragos said the biggest issue in Armenian communities is seeking
    recognition for the ethnic bloodshed that allegedly claimed the lives
    of as many as 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919.

    In 2000, the California Legislature recognized the deaths as genocide
    when it allowed heirs to seek payment on life insurance policies of
    dead relatives.

    The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later invalidated the law.

    Geragos has appealed that ruling.

    Still, the heirs were paid nearly $40 million by New York Life
    Insurance Co. and French insurer AXA.




    From: A. Papazian
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