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FRANCE TO PAY ARMENIAN MASSACRE DESCENDANTS
Moscow News, Russia
July 20 2007
YEREVAN (AFP) - The descendants of victims of a World War I massacre
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire can apply for payments from
French insurance giant AXA until October, lawyers said.
AXA settled a class-action lawsuit in 2005 with a $17.5 million
settlement in favor of the heirs of policy-holders who were unable
to claim insurance from current subsidiaries of the company that were
operating in the Ottoman Empire.
AXA has released a list of 7,000 names of victims whose heirs may be
eligible for payments. Applicants must present documented evidence
of their relationship with the victims, the law firm said.
Barseg Gardalian, a lawyer with the US-based firm that filed the
class-action suit, told a press conference in Yerevan that a settlement
board has been accepting applications since April 1.
The deadline for requests is October 1, Gardalian said.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were victims of a
genocide under the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.
Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died
in civil strife during World War I when Armenians took up arms for
independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with invading Russian
troops.
Similar class-action suits claiming restitution for deposits allegedly
seized by Ottoman authorities and transferred to Europe have been
filed against major Western banks, including Germany's Deutsche and
Dresdner banks.
Moscow News, Russia
July 20 2007
YEREVAN (AFP) - The descendants of victims of a World War I massacre
of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire can apply for payments from
French insurance giant AXA until October, lawyers said.
AXA settled a class-action lawsuit in 2005 with a $17.5 million
settlement in favor of the heirs of policy-holders who were unable
to claim insurance from current subsidiaries of the company that were
operating in the Ottoman Empire.
AXA has released a list of 7,000 names of victims whose heirs may be
eligible for payments. Applicants must present documented evidence
of their relationship with the victims, the law firm said.
Barseg Gardalian, a lawyer with the US-based firm that filed the
class-action suit, told a press conference in Yerevan that a settlement
board has been accepting applications since April 1.
The deadline for requests is October 1, Gardalian said.
Armenians say up to 1.5 million of their kinsmen were victims of a
genocide under the Ottoman Empire in the early 20th century.
Turkey argues that 300,000 Armenians and at least as many Turks died
in civil strife during World War I when Armenians took up arms for
independence in eastern Anatolia and sided with invading Russian
troops.
Similar class-action suits claiming restitution for deposits allegedly
seized by Ottoman authorities and transferred to Europe have been
filed against major Western banks, including Germany's Deutsche and
Dresdner banks.