Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
ancawr@anca.org
PRESS RELEASE
Friday, June 30, 2006
Contact: Maral Habeshian
Tel: (818) 500-1918
Bill Opening California Courts to Recovery of Genocide Era Deposits
Headed to State Assembly after Passage in Senate and Committees
SACRAMENTO – The California State Assembly Judiciary Committee passed
legislation on June 27 that would grant legal rights to Armenian
Genocide survivors and their heirs to recover bank deposits wrongfully
withheld since the Armenian Genocide by giving California courts
jurisdiction over banks operating in the Ottoman Empire. The bill, SB
1524, the "Armenian Genocide Bank and Looted Assets Recovery Act,"
involves the recovery of funds from commercial entities operating in
the region at the time.
Testifying in support of SB 1524 at Tuesday’s hearing, Armenian
National Committee – Western Region (ANCA-WR) Board of Directors
member Souzi Zerounian-Khanzadian told committee members that the
reclamation of the assets can never serve as compensation for the
atrocities endured during the Armenian Genocide. "It is simply a
matter of justice exacted against those banks that took advantage of
the genocide to profiteer in the midst and aftermath of genocide. A
number of these banks continue to do business in California today
either directly or through subsidiaries, therefore we ask you to adopt
SB 1524 to help ensure this small measure of justice,"
Zerounian-Khanzadian stressed.
The bill passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee with a vote of 6-1
and is expected to go to the floor of the Assembly for vote on August
7, 2006 before going to the Governor. The State Senate has already
passed the bill, which is authored by Senators Jackie
Kanchelian-Speier and Charles "Chuck" Poochigian, and sponsored by
ANCA-WR.
The original Speier-Poochigian bill has been revised, however, due to
a hostile amendment that was introduced and accepted during its
hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 9. That amendment
binds SB 1765, a bill entitling lawsuits to be filed for wrongfully
repatriated Mexican Americans during the 1930s, to SB 1524.
Commenting on the dissimilarities of the two bills,
Zerounian-Khanzadian said that while the ANCA firmly believes in
correcting all historic wrongs, the two distinct pieces of legislation
are unreasonably and unfairly joined in fate, making the passage of
one contingent on the other. "While these two pieces of legislation
are both very significant, they must nevertheless be judged on their
individual merits. They not only address acts that occurred
separately, they also involve different fiscal impacts on the state."
With an almost 1,000,000 strong Armenian community, California has a
public policy interest in protecting the rights of its Armenian
American constituency, asserted Zerounian-Khanzadian. "Almost every
one of these individuals was impacted by the genocide. For many, their
very presence in California is a direct result of the Armenian
Genocide. They found a haven in California where they could rebuild
their lives after escaping utter turmoil. These survivors have
established their roots in and contributed to the growth of this great
state. These outstanding and ongoing grievances must be addressed."