Insurance Settlements

[Reincarnated Am]

I was there at that protest. At least 4 of the Armenian high schools were present at the event.

Zankou Chicken delivered about 1,000 sandwiches to the protest (their compliments).

I hope they don't buy the chickens from Turkey

[Kharpert]

http://www.zankouchicken.com/

[Gavur]

Something fawl in Turkey

[Reincarnated Am]

Our Product Quality
Our food is 100% natural and we have made a commitment to keep it that way. It is prepared fresh every day in our kitchens by using only the finest ingredients. We will never use cans, freezers, microwave ovens, preservatives, or artificial ingredients. We use only all natural Foster Farms chicken, which is delivered to us daily, direct from the farm. Our beef is 100% USDA Choice and of the finest quality. Our bread is baked fresh every morning.

Now we know where the beef comes from, but what about the chickens?

[Hovik]

Now we know where the beef comes from, but what about the chickens?

http://www.fosterfarms.com/

[Gavur]

Armenian Survivors Sue Turks, Germans

Middle East Times, Egypt
Jan 17 2006

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA - Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank are being sued
for their alleged effort to keep victims of Turkey's 1915 Armenian
genocide from recovering looted assets. Lawyers for the heirs of
genocide victims also said that they are suing Turkey. "Deutsche Bank
funded the Turkish government's mass genocide of Armenians in return
for these looted Armenian assets," lawyers said. The plaintiffs'
lawyers earlier settled similar Armenian genocide lawsuits against
New York Life Insurance and AXA for $37.5 million.

[Gavur]

Reference to Genocide Deleted From AXA Insurance Settlement

Commentary


By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier



The French Insurance Company AXA agreed last October to pay $17.5 million
to descendants of life insurance policyholders who had perished during the
Armenian Genocide.
Mark Geragos along with attorneys Vartkes Yeghiayan and Brian Kabateck had
filed a class action lawsuit in a California federal court against AXA for
failing to pay death benefits for the insurance policies purchased by
Armenians in Turkey prior to the 1915. The proceeds of the agreement, which
was mediated by Federal Judge xxxxran Tevrizian, are to be disbursed as
follows: Up to $11 million for the heirs of life insurance policyholders;
$3 million to be contributed to a newly-created French-Armenian charity;
and $3 million for attorneys' fees and legal/administrative expenses.
Commenting on this agreement in an earlier column, I had noted with
satisfaction that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) pertaining to this
lawsuit had one significant advantage over the one concluded earlier with
New York Life. There was a clear reference to the Armenian Genocide in the
text of the AXA agreement, whereas in the New York Life settlement, the
Armenian Genocide was merely referred to as "the tragic events of 1915."
The MOU signed between AXA, the Armenian plaintiffs and their attorneys had
stated: "The actions assert claims under life insurance policies issued to
or on the lives of persons of Armenian descent or ancestry who died as a
result of events commencing in 1915 that the French government formally
acknowledged as the Armenian Genocide."
Regrettably, the Settlement Agreement subsequently signed on November 18,
2005, deleted the reference to the Armenian Genocide and replaced it with
the following more matter-of-fact statement: "AXA does not take any
position or express any view as to the political and/or historical issues
concerning the nature of the events in Turkey in and around 1915 and has
made the decision to settle purely from a business perspective to settle
its obligations under unpaid insurance contracts."
The deletion of the reference to the Armenian Genocide is most probably the
direct result of the wave of anger unleashed in Turkey following the news
that AXA had agreed to pay $17.5 million to Armenian heirs of life
insurance policyholders who had perished in the Armenian Genocide. Major
Turkish unions and political officials pressured OYAK, a Turkish industrial
venture firm representing the Turkish army pension fund, which has been an
AXA partner since 1999, to terminate its association with the French
insurance company. Turkey's Memur-Sen trade union, which represents 200,000
civil servants, decided to boycott AXA, union head Ahmet Aksu said.
In response to these Turkish protests, AXA executives declared that their
"decision to indemnify heirs of Armenians massacred under the Ottoman
Empire was neither politically motivated nor amounted to a recognition of
the killings as genocide," the French news agency AFP reported. "AXA, as a
private sector company, has not (and does not) express any view or opinion
on the political or historical issues concerning the nature of the events
in Turkey in 1915," the company said. "From AXA's perspective, this case is
exclusively about meeting our obligations under unpaid insurance
contracts," it said.
It is obvious that AXA buckled under the one-sided Turkish pressure in the
absence of any counter-pressures from the Armenian side. However, it is not
too late for Armenians to make their voices heard and express their
resentment of the deletion of the reference to the Armenian Genocide from
the text of the settlement.
Any "Settlement Class Member," meaning any of the potential beneficiaries
of the AXA agreement, can object by writing before April 15, 2006, to the
Honorable Christina A. Snyder, the U.S. District Court, for the Central
District of California, 312 N. Spring St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Copies of
the letter of objection must be sent to the attention of Class Counsel
Brian Kabateck, at Kabateck Brown Kellner, 350 S. Grand Ave., Suite 3900,
Los Angeles, CA 90071; and to AXA Counsel Fred W. Reinke, at LeBoeuf, Lamb,
Greene & MacRae LLP, 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W., Suite 1200, Washington,
D.C. 20009.
Those objecting to the proposed settlement must appear at the "Final
Fairness Hearing" which will be held on May 15, 2006, at 10 a.m., before
the Honorable Christina A. Snyder, in Courtroom 5 of the U.S. District
Court. Should their objection be rejected by Judge Snyder, those wishing to
appeal the "District Court's Approval of the Settlement" could do so 30
days after entry of the Final Order and Judgment.
The above outlined procedure provides to the Armenian claimants the
opportunity to inform the judge as well as AXA that they vigorously object
to the deletion of the reference to the Armenian Genocide from the
Settlement Agreement, which was done under blatant Turkish pressure and
blackmail.

[Gavur]

Armenian Americans Urge Deutsche Bank to Return Genocide-Era Assets

ANCA Launches WebFax Letter-writing Campaign
to the Firm's Chairman, Dr. Josef Ackermann

http://groong.usc.edu/news/msg171398.html

[Joseph]

PRESS OFFICE
Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Tel: (212) 889-5150; Fax: (212) 889-4849
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: www.farusa.org

December 22, 2006
___________________

GENOCIDE DEATH HONORED WITH DONATION TO FUND FOR ARMENIAN RELIEF

It is a unique number: 46732314673231. It binds Negdar Arukian to her
father and her grandfather. Today Negdar is using the number to improve the
lives of the next generation.

The digits are the New York Life insurance policy number of Negdar's
grandfather Thomas Parounaghian. When she received a check through the
recent settlement of claims brought on behalf of victims of the Genocide,
she decided to donate the money to the Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) to
help orphans in Armenia.

HISTORY OF LOSS

Though some of the details are lost with time, Negdar knows her grandfather
Thomas moved to the United States sometime before 1915. In America, he
worked as a merchant. He traveled back to his home in Arabkir, where he
asked his wife, Negdar's grandmother to move back to America with him.

"She asked about life in America and he told her that in America husbands
and wives kissed and held hands on the street," Negdar said, recalling the
traditional family stories. "So she said 'No way am I going to go there.'"

Instead, Thomas stayed in his village, where he and his wife had two
children, Negdar's father Yeghishe and a daughter. It was there Thomas was
killed during the Genocide. Negdar's grandmother and their two children
were sent into the desert.

The young family eventually found their way to Lebanon, before settling in
Ethiopia in 1927. Negdar was born in Ethiopia, moving to Montreal in 1977
before heading to America a few years latter, bringing her father with her.

He brought something with him as well, Thomas's New York Life policy number.

"I don't know how my father, through all that, through the Genocide, how he
kept that policy number with him, but some how he did," said Negdar of her
late father, who was too young to remember his father. "He wanted to look
into it, but at the time nobody wanted to help. Nobody wanted to find out
about this policy."

FUTURE OF HOPE

Eventually, Vartkes Yeghiayan, who was born in Ethiopia like Negdar, and
fellow Los Angeles lawyer Mark Geragos would take an interest in Thomas' New
York Life policy number.

In 2004, as part of the historic legal settlement the team brokered, New
York Life agreed to pay $20 million to settle the suit on behalf of 2,300
unsettled claims. As a descendent of a policy holder, Negdar ended up with
about $5,000 after their settlement was divided between Thomas' six
grandchildren.

"I felt so happy," Negdar said about the settlement. "Even if it was only
$5, I would have been happy. Because it was something my father wanted to
have taken care of. And though he's not here, it was finally taken care of.
His daughter fulfilled his efforts."

Negdar, her husband Hratch, and two daughters, Arpi and Talin, decided they
didn't need to buy extra Christmas gifts this year or plan a family vacation
with the money. Instead, they donated it to the Fund for Armenian Relief
(FAR), the preeminent aid and development organization operating in Armenia.

She asked that the money go towards FAR's Homeless Children Center in
Yerevan, which works to save the souls of at-risk and runaway youth through
temporary housing, medical care, and social services.

"When I went to Armenia, I saw the orphanage. And my father was an orphan,"
Negdar said emotionally. "I had worked with FAR for a long time. I knew
when I gave the money to FAR, it would go where I wanted it to go."

For Negdar's two daughters, the gift is just another example from their
parents of the importance of giving back to the community. Negdar, for
example, has been active for more than two decades in the Holy Martyrs
Church in Bayside, NY.

"I was not at all surprised by my mother's decision. She is one of the most
generous and kind-hearted individuals I know, and I am very proud to be her
daughter. It will serve the right cause" said her daughter Arpi.

Since its founding in response to the 1988 earthquake, FAR has served
millions of people through more than 220 relief and development programs in
Armenia and Karabagh. It has channeled more than $270 million in
humanitarian assistance by implementing a wide range of projects including
emergency relief, education, medical aid, construction and job opportunity
development.

FAR, one of the preeminent relief and development organization operating in
Armenia, is dedicated to realizing the dream of a free, democratic,
prosperous, and culturally rich Armenia. It works towards a brighter future
by partnering with donors to make life a little better for our people. By
offering hope and more promising prospects in Armenia, Karabagh, and
Javakhk, FAR binds the Diaspora and the Armenian family together around the
globe.

For more information on FAR or to send donations, contact us at 630 Second
Avenue, New York, NY 10016; telephone (212) 889-5150; fax (212) 889-4849;
web www.farusa.org; e-mail [email protected].

[Gavur]

Turkey Interferes in Lawsuit Against German Banks on Genocide Assets

27 March 2007
By Harut Sassounian - The California Courier -26.03.200

Defying all acceptable legal norms, Turkey's ambassador to the U.S.,
Nabi Sensoy, recently sent a highly inappropriate letter to U.S.
District Judge Margaret M. Morrow (Federal Court), asking her to
dismiss a lawsuit by Armenian plaintiffs against the German Deutsche
Bank and Dresdner Bank. A copy of this previously undisclosed letter
was obtained by this writer.In a class action lawsuit, filed by
Yeghiayan & Associates; Kabateck, Brown, Kellner, and Geragos &
Geragos, Armenian plaintiffs had accused the two German banks of
concealing and preventing the recovery of assets which were deposited
by Armenians in these banks "prior to World War I and the Armenian
Genocide." The plaintiffs had further alleged that the banks
"accepted looted assets,forcibly taken by the government of the
Ottoman Turkey during World War I andthe Armenian Genocide."
Ever since the filing of this lawsuit in 2004 (amended in 2006),
these German banks have done everything possible to have it
dismissed. They have challenged the constitutionality of the law
passed by the California Legislature which extended the Statute
of Limitations and created standing for plaintiffs to sue the
German banks and other institutions until 2016. In their attempt
to counter the charge that they are the beneficiaries of ill-gotten
gains, theGerman banks, through their legal counsel, Milbank,
Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, have claimed that the California law
"is an unconstitutional encroachment on the federal government's
exclusive power over foreign affairs."

It now appears that in order to back up their claim, the German
banks have succeeded in getting Turkey to instruct its ambassador
to the U.S. to send a letter to the Judge Morrow telling her that
the District Court is interfering in a matter involving U.S.
-Turkish relations. This modern-day German-Turkish collaboration
reminds one of the alliance forged some 90 years ago between the
German and Turkish governments during the Armenian Genocide. By
reviving this unholy union, the German banks hope to keep their
"loot," while the Turkish government can continue to cover up
the genocide and attemptto preempt anyfuture claims against
Turkey itself.

However, the German banks and the Turkish government apparently
were oblivious to the fact that by writing a letter directly to
the Federal Judge, the Turkish ambassador was interfering in a
judicial process to which the Turkish side is not a legal party.

It is noteworthy that the Turkish Ambassador's letter, dated
February 23-2007, came on the heels of Foreign Minister Abdullah
Gul's latest visit to Washington, leading one to speculate that
the Ambassador may have been pressured into this improper act by
his political superiors, possibly against the advice of his
American attorneys. It is noteworthy that, during the court
hearing on February 27, 2007, the German banks' attorney
disclosed that David Saltzman, the attorney for the Turkish
Embassy, had been in close communication with him for several
years since the lawsuit was first filed.

In his letter to Judge Morrow, Amb. Sensoy wrote: "I am deeply
concerned that the plaintiffs have asked you to sit in judgment
on Turkey's sovereign acts carried out within its territory,
from which I would request that you refrain. Specifically, the
plaintiffs have made allegations that require this court to
delve into whether there was a governmental plan to commit
crimes against Armenians living in the late Ottoman Empire,
including the looting of property. The plaintiffs have made
clear that they wish their allegations to span the demise of
the Ottoman Empire and carry over into modern Turkey. For
example, the plaintiffs allege that the Armenian tragedy
extended from 1915 to 1923, insinuating that any wrongful
acts that contributed to it are not only the responsibility
of the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor state, but also its
successor, Republic of Turkey, which was founded in 1923."

The Turkish ambassador then unabashedly offered the Judge his
embassy's services as an unimpeachable source for documentation
on the Armenian Genocide! "My embassy places itself at your
disposal to provide references to scholarly works that disagree
with the current orthodoxy that the Armenian tragedy ought to be
termed genocide," the letter said.

Amb. Sensoy then chastised Judge Morrow by instructing her that
her "use of the term 'Armenian Genocide,' is inappropriate."
He said he was unhappy that in her September 11 opinion, the
Judge had made a reference to the "Historical Background of the
Armenian Genocide." He also accused the Judge of "being an
advocate of one side in a genuine historic controversy=80¦."

In response to this unwarranted intrusion into the affairs of
the court, the attorneys for the Armenian side -- the plaintiffs
-- filed an affidavit with the court on March 7, 2007, that
stated: "The letter from the Turkish Ambassador is replete with
inaccuracies and erroneous suppositions=80¦. The Republic of
Turkey is not a party to this lawsuit, nor has it appeared in any
capacity in such a way to allow it any voice in this process=80¦.
There is no legal justification for this Court to consider any
position presented by the Republic of Turkey in this case.
Accordingly, Plaintiffs recommend that the Court disregard the
Turkish Ambassador's letter."

On the other hand, the attorneys for the German banks -- the
defendants - claimed in their affidavit that the Turkish
ambassador's letter was "relevant evidence." Not surprisingly,
the defendants used that letter to buttress their allegation
that the lawsuit could have to "negative implications" on U.S.
relations with Turkey. They claimed that the Turkish ambassador's
letter demonstrates that the court's consideration of "the degree
of Turkey's culpability for its treatment of Armenians during the
WWI period implicate[s] sensitive foreign policy concerns between
the United States and Turkey even to this date."

While the Turkish government's intent in sending such a letter
to the Judge may have been to defend its interests, it may
actually result in the following unintended and detrimental
consequences for Turkey:

1) The Ambassador's unwarranted interference in the affairs of
a U.S. Federal Court could result in the Judge not only rejecting
his unsolicited intervention but also negatively disposing her
towards the German banks fortheirpossible role in orchestrating
that letter;

2) Should the judge reject the letter, her ruling would imply
that a straightforward case of seeking the return of Armenian
assets held by German banks, would become, as the Turkish
ambassador himself stated, a legal case with far reaching
consequences for the Turkish side, including the reaffirmation
of the Armenian Genocide by a U.S. Federal Court and holding
today's Republic of Turkey responsible for the losses suffered
by genocide victims.

Once again, by its emotional over-reaction to all issues dealing
with the Armenian Genocide, the Turkish government may have shot
itself in the foot!

http://setasarmenian.blogspot.com/2007/03/turkey-interferes-in-lawsuit-against.html