Armenian Genocide

A U.S. District judge on Monday gave attorneys feuding over a multimillion-dollar compensation fund for descendants of Armenian Genocide victims until Aug. 8 to agree on how to proceed. A motion filed by Glendale-based attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan contends that attorneys Mark Geragos and Brian Kabateck initially reported $346,050 in the compensation fund formed by French insurer Axa S.A. Yeghiayan, who once served as co-counsel with Geragos and Kabateck on class-action lawsuits for the descendents, called for an audit after a follow-up report showed about $2.8 million in the Axa fund, according to court records.

Politicians and members of the local community Friday expressed disappointment with a federal appellate court ruling this week that survivors of Armenian genocide victims cannot sue German insurance companies for not paying claims on policies purchased by their ancestors. In its 11-0 ruling, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit brought by Vazken Movsesian, a priest at St. Peter Armenian Church in Glendale, on behalf of a group of Southern Californian Armenian Americans about 10 years ago. A few years before the lawsuit was filed, the state Legislature passed a law that allowed courts in California to consider claims from those unpaid insurance policies.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank) on Wednesday once again called on President Obama to officially recognize the Armenian genocide of 1915 - a request that for years has gone unfulfilled amid political pressure from a key NATO ally, Turkey.  The genocide of 1915 to 1918 claimed the lives of roughly 1.5 million Armenians under the Ottoman Empire, which became the modern republic of Turkey. Modern day Turkey disputes that genocide took place, claiming the victims were killed during the violent chaos of World War I and its aftermath.

Darleene Barrientos During a special reading at the Glendale Public Library auditorium Thursday, author Peter Balakian will share a discovery about the Armenian Genocide that surprised him: that America actually cared. Balakian will answer questions and read from his book, "The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response," on Thursday at the Glendale Public Library's auditorium, 222 E. Harvard St. The event is sold out, but Balakian's book will be sold at the event and he will be available to sign copies.

At the first Glendale Unified school board election forum of the season Wednesday night, candidates discussed districtwide diversity, language programs and commemorating the Armenian genocide. About 20 people attended the event hosted and televised by the Glendale chapter of the Armenian National Committee. All candidates said they supported making April 24 - the day commemorating the Armenian genocide - a non-instructional day, effectively giving students the day off while district staff and teachers work on professional development and other matters.

Robert Chacon The denial by the Turkish government that it killed more than a million Armenians in the early part of the 20th century sears Nareg Keshishian's soul, as well as those of his fellow American Armenians, he said. "The German government pays reparations to Jews and their families who suffered in the concentration camps. The [Cambodian] Pol Pot regime had been revealed as murderers. Stalin was held accountable for the loss of Ukranian lives.

Local author Kay Mouradian will discuss her novel, "A Gift in The Sunlight: An Armenian Story," at 7 p.m. April 11 in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium at Pasadena Central Library. "A Gift in the Sunlight" is inspired by a true story that took place during the Armenian Genocide nearly 100 years ago. A young Armenian girl, Flora, and her family are deported from their homeland in Turkey during World War I. Flora and family are among two million Armenians forced to walk hundreds of miles through the barren deserts of Syria.

A federal appeals court will rehear a challenge to a California law that has resulted in lawsuits against insurance companies on behalf of victims of the Armenian Genocide. The state law, passed in 2000, extends the statute of limitations for life insurance claims that were never paid out to descendants of Armenian Genocide victims. California residents originally were given a deadline of Dec. 31, 2010, but legislation introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Silver Lake) extended it to Dec. 31, 2016.