ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RULING SETS OFF WAVE OF LOCAL REACTION
By Christopher Cadelago
Glendale News Press
Aug 24 2009
CA
A state law that allowed heirs of victims of the Armenian genocide
to sue in state courts for unpaid insurance benefits was deemed
unconstitutional last week by a federal appeals court, setting off
a wave of reaction locally.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday that the California
law conflicts with U.S. foreign policy. It reverses a lower court
judge who refused to dismiss another class-action suit against European
insurance companies.
On three occasions, Congress has considered resolutions in the last
decade that would have provided recognition of the genocide. Each
time, the respective administrations urged each time that the bills be
foiled, fearing that their passage would damage relations with Turkey,
whose government denies that a genocide took place.