Crimes against humanity lawsuits cut short
By Daily Bruin Staff
April 7, 2002 9:00 p.m.
 NICOLE MILLER/Daily Bruin California Attorney General
Bill Lockyer speaks at the Law School about civil
rights, genocide victim repayments and racial issues.
By Sabrina Singhapattanapong
Daily Bruin Contributor
Lawsuits against companies profiting from crimes against
humanity have been cut short due to defendants’ outcries of
unconstitutional and foreign relation violations, said
California’s “top cop,” Thursday, at a forum held
on campus.
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer said insurance
companies like New York Life, which allegedly sold but withheld
benefits on life insurance policies of Armenian Genocide victims
that reach back to 1915, are currently under fire.
Although California laws, like the Armenian Genocide Victims
Insurance Act of 2000, have facilitated the movement of reparation
claims through courts, claims usually end up being thrown into a
“bedding of constitutionality claims,” resulting in
delays, Lockyer said.
The Armenian Genocide of 1915 was an eight year massacre which
resulted in 1.5 million Armenian deaths by the Ottoman Turks.
The Turkish government denies the Armenian genocide ever taking
place. France and Israel have officially recognized the genocide
““ the United States has not.
In efforts to kill claims, New York Life and others have
asserted that the reparation claims are either unconstitutional,
that California or Federal courts lack jurisdiction over the
matter, or that there is some violation of litigation procedures,
Lockyer said.
With 28 forced labor cases brought by Korean, Chinese and
Pilipino World War II prisoners of war against Japanese companies
currently bundled into a multi-district litigation awaiting further
prosecution, this and many other cases have yet to result in any
successful wins, Lockyer said.
Armenian Graduate Students Association President Haig Hovsepian
expressed his concern toward Turkey’s and the U.S.
government’s refusal to properly recognize the Armenian
Genocide.
“Because the Armenian Genocide wasn’t punished,
wasn’t brought to justice, because it continues to go on
without proper recognition … it was repeated in Germany, Rwanda
and Cambodia,” Hovsepian said.
Lockyer agreed with Hovsepian’s thoughts:
“It’s such a horrible series of events and the
atrocities are so horrible that no temporary policy or political
convenience should stop people from moving these claims
forward.”
“Of these cases, (defendants) already are asserting
foreign policy claims and federal supremacy,” Lockyer added.
“I don’t mind fighting with them again.”
According to a foreign relations expert on Armenia, countries
recognizing the genocide may find themselves facing political
repercussions.
“The U.S. Congress is not in good position to recognize
the genocide because doing so might hurt U.S. relations with
Turkey,” said John Ordway, the U.S. Ambassador to the
Republic of Armenia when he visited UCLA in January.
Since April 24 marks the 87th anniversary of the Armenian
genocide, Lockyer was invited to speak at Thursday’s
“Victims of Crimes Against Humanity,” because of his
achievements in civil rights, Hovsepian said.
Thursday’s forum was sponsored by the UCLA Graduate
Students Association and the Near Eastern Legal society and was
held at the UCLA School of Law.
