U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION REJECTED ARMENIAN ATTORNEY’S REQUEST FOR GENOCIDE DOCUMENTATION
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.10.2008 16:55 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A civil action against the National Archives and
Records Administration of the United States was filed seeking documents
as they relate to the Armenian Genocide of 1914 to 1925. (Vartkes
Yeghiayan v. National Archives and Records Administration of the
United States of America, Case No. CV08-16248, U.S. District Court,
Central District of Calif., Sept. 23, 2008).
"Repeated efforts have been made to procure these documents,
but the National Archives has been non-responsive," said Mark
MacCarley, partner with Glendale, Calif.-based MacCarley & Rosen
who is representing plaintiff Vartkes Yeghiayan. "Its actions are in
violation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)."
The initial request by Yeghiayan occurred in April 2006. "The
National Archives acknowledged receipt of the request, but has not
provided the information despite repeated inquiries from my client,"
said MacCarley. "The National Archives, without explanation, has
exceeded the generally applicable 20-day deadline for processing FOIA
requests. We simply want the requested documentation."
Yeghiayan is an attorney who has successfully litigated lawsuits
in State and Federal courts against U.S. and foreign businesses for
Armenian Genocide asset restitution. More than 1.5 million Armenians
were killed during the genocide with millions more deported from the
Ottoman Empire. Yeghiayan filed the FOIA request because he believes
documents being held by the U.S. government that would identify
countries having either direct complicity in the Armenian Genocide
or profited by the Ottoman Turks’ actions against Armenians.
"This lawsuit is on behalf of Armenian-Americans who are seeking
documentation and information that could shed light on what happened
to their loved ones during the Armenian Genocide," said Yeghiayan,
Gibrahayer.com reports.
From: Baghdasarian