California Courier Online, September 9, 2004
1 – Commentary
Sargsian/Agassi Match at US Open
Provides Publicity for Armenians
By Harut Sassounian
California Courier Publisher
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2 – Mardirossian Wins $14 Million
Verdict for Family of Bus Driver
3 – Balakian Named Honorary Member
Of Armenia’s Writer’s Union
4 – Eighth Annual Celebrating Saroyan Announces
Speakers for Sept. 26 Program in Bay Area
5 – Armenian Genocide Survivors File Class
Action Lawsuit Against German Banks
6 – Edwards Named Stanford QB
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1 – Commentary
Sargsian/Agassi Match at US Open
Provides Publicity for Armenians
By Harut Sassounian
Publisher, The California Courier
Last week, when I wrote in this column that a handful of outstanding
Armenian athletes could put Armenia on the map of the world, little did I
know that my wish would come true so quickly.
Sargis Sargsian from Armenia has become the sensation of the tennis world
in recent days by winning several marathon and nail-biting matches at the
US Open Tennis Tournament in New York City, including his victory over
Olympic gold medalist Nicolas Massu.
Wire services and newspapers around the world have covered Sargsian’s
tennis victories, repeatedly mentioning that he is from Armenia. The New
York Times featured him consecutively on Sept. 5 and 6.
To top it all, the CBS network happened to broadcast the Sargis
Sargsian-Andre Agassi match on Labor Day when millions of viewers were at
home watching the game on TV. The CBS commentators made repeated references
to Sargsian’s Armenian background, Andre Agassi’s friendship with Sargis
due to their common Armenian heritage, and the hospitality of the
Mansourian family that had hosted Sargis in their Connecticut home when he
first arrived in the United States a decade ago.
It was also pleasing to note that Andre Agassi openly referred to his
Armenian background during a network TV interview. This is a big
turn-around from the time almost 20 years ago when his father yelled at me
for asking Andre about his Armenian heritage during a press conference in
Los Angeles.
Armenia and Armenians got millions of dollars worth of free publicity
during the past few days, thanks to Andre Agassi and Sargis Sargsian. One
can imagine how much more publicity can be gained from the successful
participation of Armenian athletes in such high-profile sporting events,
should a fund be set up to support their training?
Wiesenthal Center Blasts Turkish Anti-Semitic Article
Dr. Shimon Samuels, the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Director for
International Liaison, sent a letter to the Turkish Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul last month, expressing horror at an anti-Semitic article
published in the August 17th issue of the Turkish newspaper Vakit. The
writer, Abdurrahim Karakoc, had glorified Hitler and justified the
Holocaust.
Here are brief excerpts from that article:
“The Concentration camps which were set up in Germany during World War II
have been set up in Israel now. It is impossible not to admire the
forethought of Adolf Hitler who was presented to the public opinion as
‘racist, sadist, [and] monster’.”
Karakoc went on to say that Hitler “predicted what would happen these days.
He got rid of the Jews, because he knew that the conjurer Jews, who
perceive racism as a religion and take pleasure in splattering the world
with blood, would be a big trouble for the world.” Karakoc added: “We
should, in fact, be thankful to Hitler, as we are all thankful to Osama bin
Laden today.”
Dr. Samuels, in his letter, reminded Foreign Minister Gul that he and Rabbi
Abraham Cooper, the Wiesenthal Center’s Associate Dean, had met with him in
Ankara on January 12, 2004, during which they had thanked him for
condemning anti-Semitism.
In his letter, Dr. Samuels told Gul: “The content of the Vakit article …
not only appears to violate Turkish law, but its apologia for genocide and
incitement to anti-Semitism contravene the anti-racism provisions of the
European Union which Turkey aspires to join. They also negate conventions
of the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe [OSCE], to which Turkey is a signatory.”
The Wiesenthal Center urged the Turkish Government to vigorously denounce
and “publicly condemn this article and to take disciplinary measures
against its author and the editors of Vakit.”
The Vakit article is not an aberration. As various polls have repeatedly
indicated, both the government and people of Turkey hold very strong
anti-Jewish views. Turkish newspapers from time to time publish blatantly
anti-Semitic articles. That is why we have regularly cautioned some
Jewish-American organizations not to join Turkish anti-Semites in lobbying
against the recognition of the Armenian Genocide.
The Wiesenthal Center should be commended for not putting up with such
vicious anti-Jewish articles for the sake of Israel’s strategic interests
in the Middle East! In fact the Center issued a statement on June 17, 2004,
directly condemning the Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for
accusing Israel of state terrorism.
Ironically, another Jewish organization, the American Jewish Congress,
honored Erdogan earlier this year with its “Profiles in Courage” Award. In
contrast to the Wiesenthal Center’s criticisms of both Vakit and Erdogan,
the American Jewish Congress has remained shamefully silent!
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2 – Mardirossian Wins $14 Million
Verdict for Family of Bus Driver
By Blair Clarkson
Daily Journal Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES – The family of a 34-year-old driver who died after being
catapulted, seat and all, through the front window of her bus won a $13.7
million verdict Tuesday from the charter company that maintained
the vehicle.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Farrell found Inglewood-based Four
Winds Inc. liable for the April 2001 death of LaShaun Clemmons because of
“mismatched” and “inadequate” bolts that mechanics had used to attach her
seat to the floor of the bus, according to the victim’s lawyer.
“She didn’t recognize the defect,” said Garo Mardirossian of Los Angeles’
Mardirossian & Associates, “but the [Four Winds] mechanics should have.”
The lawyer for Four Winds, Gerald Malanga, declined to comment on the
decision.
Clemmons, a South Los Angeles resident and the mother of two teenage sons,
was driving the empty bus south on Interstate 5 near Valencia when she hit
an icy patch and lost control, Mardirossian said.
Clemmons struck a car parked in the median lane, plowed into the center
median itself and was launched, still strapped into her seat, through the
right front windshield.
She slid across five lanes and was run over by a tractor-trailer, which
killed her instantly, according to Mardirossian’s trial brief.
Mardirossian claimed the seat was moved from its factory-installed position
at an unknown point and reattached with improper bolts, turning a moderate
accident into a fatal one.
He alleged that Four Winds mechanics were negligent for failing to notice
or replace the improper bolts.
“The accident itself was survivable,” Mardirossian said. “But once she was
ejected from the vehicle, all bets were off.”
Clemmons originally was employed by Four Winds and leased the bus from the
firm. In 2000, Clemmons purchased the bus from Four Winds and became an
independent charter driver.
However, Four Winds remained responsible for maintaining the bus and
performing vehicle inspections, according to the brief.
The bulk of the verdict, $12 million, was awarded to Clemmons’ two sons,
Tayarie Baker, 15, and Antonio Baker Jr., 16, who live with their
grandmother. The father, Antonio Baker Sr., who is in prison, received
$400,000, Mardirossian said.
“She was the glue that held that family together,” he said.
Mardirossian, a prominent plaintiffs’ attorney, won a $9.4 million
settlement in 2002 from a Tustin-based Ford dealership for a similar
accident. A Newport Beach family was tossed from their Explorer sport
utility vehicle in a rollover on Interstate 15.
Mardirossian argued that the dealership failed to make proper repairs on
Catherine and Agop Gozukara’s SUV, which veered out of control and flipped
over a concrete barrier, according to news reports.
A jury ruled that the 1994 Explorer had a design defect that could cause
rollovers but said that the defect didn’t cause the Gozukaras’ accident,
diluting the impact of the ruling, according to reports.
The family also won a $5.5 million settlement from the state Department of
Transportation and a highway construction firm.
All five passengers sustained serious injuries, including Catherine
Gozukara, 40, who was pregnant. She became a paraplegic.
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3 – Balakian Named Honorary Member
Of Armenia’s Writer’s Union
YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan) – Author Peter Balakian visited Armenia recently at
the invitation of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) and the
Writers’ Union of Armenia. It was the writer’s second visit to the
homeland.
During an Aug. 10 meeting with journalists and the AGBU leadership,
Balakian said he first visited Armenia in 1987.
“It was a journey that has changed my life, I would never started writing
so, if there wasn’t this visit.” Hailing the writer, Levon Ananian,
Chairman of the Writers’ Union of Armenia, stressed that regardless of the
loss of the Armenian language, Balakian remained an Armenian, he had
researched his roots and presented the tragedy of the beginning of the
century, the Armenian Genocide, to the world community. “The study of the
Genocide topic made my art more common to all mankind,” said Balakian. He
also said that his book “Sad Days of the World” translated by Artem
Harutiunian will be published this year.
Levon Ananian confered the rank of the honored member of the Writers’ Union
of Armenia to Peter Balakian.
Balakian is the author of eight books. His book, entitled “Burning
Tigris,” received several American prizes, was released in 2004, and the
earlier “Black Dog of Fate” book was awarded with “The New York Times”
Prize as the best book of the year.
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4 – Eighth Annual Celebrating Saroyan Announces
Speakers for Sept. 26 Program in Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – The Eighth Annual Celebrating Saroyan event is coming up on
Sept. 26, and interest is high, expectations at a peak. What will they do
next and who will be the speakers?
Expect the unexpected.
Popular Saroyan speaker and writer of, ” My Real Work is Being” David
Calonne, Ph.D., will be speaking about one of his favorite authors, William
Saroyan. The complex, colorful, provocative title is, “Saroyan on
Creativity: Genius, Madness and Inspiration.
A French counterpart arriving in San Francisco from Paris to also speak
about Saroyan is Hagop Papazian, Ph.D. His thesis was received on the
subject of Saroyan and covered “The Human Comedy,” the short story and the
autobiography. His equally provocative Title is “Writing: A Saroyanesque
Engagement.”
The American Conservatory Theater will again be part of the program
presenting a scene from a Saroyan play never produced in America.
The afternoon promises to be an enlightening experience full of Saroyan
with avenues yet to be explored. Those who cherish and delight in the
varied, heightened, arabesque Saroyan life will leave filled with threads
of hope, anguish, delight and above all, the feeling that William Saroyan
and his loud antics and jovial nature, words of insight and despair will be
an integral part of the 21st century.
The program will be held in the Main Branch of the San Francisco Public
Library, Koret Auditorium, lower level. The library is in the Civic Center
located on Grove at Larkin.
The Sept. 26 program starts at 2 p.m. and the doors open at 1:30. Seating
is limited and open. The program is free to the public.
The program will open with Cory Shakarian who has been with the San
Francisco Giants for seven years, introducing Jacqueline Papazian Kazarian,
Executive Director of the William Saroyan Literary Foundation,
International. This year’s program will be dedicated to the memory of Aram
Jack Kevorkian who was a keynote speaker at the Fourth Celebrating Saroyan
event. For more information, visit the website , or
call (415) 307-4418.
The co-sponsors of this event are numerous and include the nation’s oldest
public forum, The Commonwealth Club of California.
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5- Armenian Genocide Survivors File Class
Action Lawsuit Against German Banks
LOS ANGELES – A class action lawsuit was filed Aug. 31, in a Los Angeles
Federal Court against two German Banks, giant Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB) and
Allianz acquired Dresdner Bank. Armenian Genocide survivors and their
heirs, the Plaintiffs, charge both banks, the Defendants, of several acts
of wrongdoing and demand recovery of assets. Dresdner Bank was acquired by
Allianz (NYSE: AZ) in 2001.
Deutsche Bank was Adolf Hitler’s lead banker. Documents released by bank
historian Manfred Pohl, who made them public in February 1999, revealed for
the first time how Deutsche Bank financed much of the construction of the
Auschwitz concentration camp. The documents provide evidence of the secret
SS-controlled accounts used to transfer funds stolen from Jews who had been
deported or sent to death camps during World War II. The Armenian Genocide
occurred during World War I, in 1915 – when reigning Turks of the Ottoman
Empire mass-murdered over 2.1 million Armenians in present day Turkey.
Five families filed as Lead Plaintiffs, and since the case is a class
action lawsuit, it was filed on behalf of Armenians who: 1) made deposits
with the Banks, 2) who were killed in the Armenian Genocide and 3) whose
heirs were not repaid deposits on their accounts.
In addition to the demand of asset recovery, plaintiffs are seeking
compensation for unpaid wages and other damages stemming from the use of
plaintiffs’ ancestors and other Armenians as slave and forced laborers
during the time of the Genocide.
Plaintiffs have information supporting wrongdoings by Deutsche Bank and
Dresdner Bank of engaging in the following acts during the Armenian
Genocide and World War I:
1 – Knowingly trading with Young Turks in goods made by slave labor
2 – Acting as the secret banks of Young Turks, aiding and abating in
looting, and functioning as conduit for looted assets – laundering for
profit from goods from Armenians
3 – Directly owning / controlling the Berlin – Baghdad Railway that used
slave labor
4 – Taking 100,000 Armenians by rail to the death camps and charging them
for this trip to death
Attorney for the plaintiffs, Vartkes Yeghiayan of Los Angeles says,
“Europeans nicknamed the Ottomans and reigning Turks as the “Sick Man of
Europe” during World War I. Turks lacked governmental organization;
therefore, Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank stepped in to help them
organize, aid and abate in looting—profiting from the innocent. They
haven’t cleared their names in history by settling with Jewish Holocaust
survivors. The Armenian Diaspora will not waiver either.”
In June 2004, Armenian survivors and heirs settled with US giant insurer,
New York Life Insurance Company for $20 million dollars, recovering funds
for unpaid life insurance policies.
Demirjian, et al. v. Deutsche Bank and Dresdner Bank, (Case No. CV04-7248),
a class action law suit in Federal Court was filed on August 31, 2004,
seeking payment for recovery of account deposits, as well as punitive
damages for unpaid wages and other reparations.
The attorney representing plaintiffs, Vartkes Yeghiayan of Yeghiayan and
Associates, recovered unpaid life insurance benefits for over 2,000
Armenian policyholders and their heirs in settling Marootian et al. v. New
York Life Insurance Company, on Aug. 31, 2004. He is an expert in Armenian
asset recovery and Genocide losses.
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6 – Edwards Named Stanford QB
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Sophomore Trent Edwards will be the starting
quarterback for the Stanford Cardinals football team this season.
He is the grandson of the late Ben Suren Morjig(ian) of Castro Valley.
Morjig, then the vice-chairman of the Pacific Association of the Amateur
Athletic Union, was one of the early backers of the Western Armenian Summer
Games, along with Richard Demirjian, President of the Western Armenian
Athletic Association.
Edwards attended most of the Armenian Olympics up until the time of his
freshman year in Stanford University, according to Demirjian.
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