PRESS RELEASE
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
Washington D.C.
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-3553
Sacramento
501 I Street, Suite 7-600
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 448-2787
(916) 448-2563 fax
SENATOR BOXER INTRODUCES ARMENIAN VICTIMS INSURANCE FAIRNESS ACT
Dear Friend:
Between 1915 and 1923, the Ottoman Empire conducted the first
Genocide of the 20th Century, killing an estimated 1.5 million
Armenians and displacing thousands more. The campaign was so
devastating that at the beginning of World War I, there were
2.1 million Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire; following
the Genocide, fewer than 100,000 Armenians remained.
Survivors and descendants of the Armenian Genocide–even after
all of these years–are still trying to recoup the benefits
owed to them from insurance policies that were issued prior to
the Genocide. Insurance policy documents held by the victims
were often destroyed during the Genocide, and death
certificates were not issued to those Armenians who lost their
lives. Therefore, survivors and descendants can only rely on
the documents held by insurance companies as proof that they
are owed benefits. Unfortunately, insurance companies have
offered little cooperation in disclosing the documents and
opening up their records. As a result, I recently introduced
S. 2344 which gives states the authority to require insurance
companies to disclose records of policies that were issued in
areas controlled by the Ottoman Empire between 1875 and 1923.
It is absolutely critical that survivors of the Armenian
Genocide, and their decedents, receive full disclosure of the
insurance records that demonstrate their rightful claim to
insurance policies obtained during this frightful period of
world history. The horror of this international tragedy
continues to resonate strongly in the hearts and minds of
Armenian-Americans, and it is the responsibility of the U.S.
government to step in where insurance companies have not to
bring some measure of peace and resolution to this aspect of
the suffering so cruelly imposed on an entire generation of
people.
If you have questions or concerns about this or any other
matter, I encourage you to contact me at
.
Sincerely,
Barbara Boxer
United States Senator