FRENCH INSURER SETTLES SUIT BY HEIRS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS

Armenialiberty.org, Armenia
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Oct 13 2005

(AFP) – The heirs of victims of the 1915 Turkish massacre of Armenians
have agreed to settle a class action lawsuit against French insurer
Axa for $17 million, lawyers said Wednesday.

The lawsuit, filed in a California court, accused Axa of failing to
pay death benefits for the insurance policies purchased by Armenians
living in the Ottoman Empire prior to the genocide in which up to
1.5 million people were killed.

“This is an example where dead men can’t speak but they can file
lawsuits,” said Vartkes Yeghiayan. “It writes another chapter about
persistence and hope. The resolution of the case helps the healing
process.”

Under the terms of the deal, announced in Los Angeles, Axa will donate
at least $3 million to various French-based Armenian charities and
another $11 million towards a fund designed to pay out policyholders
of Axa units that did business in the now defunct Turkish-run Ottoman
Empire.

“Certain of these policyholders and beneficiaries were among the
1.5 million Armenians who perished and were unable to obtain their
insurance proceeds in the ensuing chaos,” lawyers for the victims’
descendants said in a statement.

The Axa settlement follows a similar agreement with New York Life
Insurance Company in early 2004 under which it agreed to pay $20
million.

“The AXA and New York Life settlements are important building blocks
not only toward seeking financial recovery for the losses resulting
from the Armenian Genocide but also in our ultimate goal, which is
for Turkey and the US to officially acknowledge the genocide,” said
U.S. celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos.

Geragos, who has represented stars including Michael Jackson and
Winona Ryder, is of Armenian descent. “These cases are historical
because they are the only cases ever brought on behalf of genocide
survivors,” he said.

No comment was immediately available from Axa.

The settlement, subject to court approval, will be administered
in France, which was one of the first countries to recognize the
Armenian genocide.