Author: Andres-Papazian

18th century oil producing factory found in Tatev to become a museum exhibit

YEREVAN, JULY 30, ARMENPRESS: The oil producing factory found out as a
result of the cleaning works of the ruins of Tatev complex within the
frameworks of `Tatev Renaissance’ program will become a museum
exhibit. `15 days ago we also found a pitcher of oil with 70 liters
capacity. Our specialists will clean the territory, as well as
architectural solutions will be given, after which it will become a
tourism attraction,’ head of `Tatev Renaissance’ program of the
Armenian National Competitiveness Foundation Vanik Vardanyan said.

Author of Tatev restoration plan, architect Amiran Badishyan noted
that still in the 19th century Armenia was leader in the region in the
area of producing oil. The building has interesting Armenian
traditional architectural solutions. There were 285 oil producing
factories in Armenia in the half of the 19th century, among which the
38 worked. The oldest oil producing factory of Armenia dates back to
the 7th century BC and was found out in Karmir Blur.

From: A. Papazian

SERGEY SHAKARYANTS: BIG STATES ARE TIRED OF UNCONSTRUCTIVE POSITION OF AZERBAIJAN

ARMENPRESS
JULY 30, 2010
YEREVAN

The process of recognition of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic must start
from Armenia, political analyst Sergey Shakaryants said, adding that
in case Armenia will not start the recognition of the NKR no country
will do it.

Speaking about the expected developments in the Karabakh conflict
negotiation process, the political analyst said that soon no serious
events will take place. “New developments are possible from the
September visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. We will see what
new proposals they will present,” Shakaryants said.

He said the big states feel to be tired from the unconstructive
position of Azerbaijan. “They are trying to make Azerbaijan step
back from its war threats and thoughts about military actions,”
the political analyst said.

He said the latest phase of the NK conflict settlement negotiations
was without losses for Armenian states and they even earned points.

YEREVAN, JULY 30, ARMENPRESS: The process of recognition of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic must start from Armenia, political analyst
Sergey Shakaryants said, adding that in case Armenia will not start
the recognition of the NKR no country will do it.

Speaking about the expected developments in the Karabakh conflict
negotiation process, the political analyst said that soon no serious
events will take place. “New developments are possible from the
September visit of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs. We will see what
new proposals they will present,” Shakaryants said.

He said the big states feel to be tired from the unconstructive
position of Azerbaijan. “They are trying to make Azerbaijan step
back from its war threats and thoughts about military actions,”
the political analyst said.

He said the latest phase of the NK conflict settlement negotiations
was without losses for Armenian states and they even earned points.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN DEPUTY FM AND CANADIAN AMBASSADOR HIGHLIGHT DEVELOPMENT OF ECONOMIC TIES

ARMENPRESS
JULY 30, 2010
YEREVAN

Armenian deputy foreign minister Arman Kirakosyan received today
Canadian ambassador to Armenian Ralph Lisishin who is ending his
diplomatic mission in Armenia. Foreign Ministry press and information
department told Armenpress that Arman Kirakossyan said he is pleased
with the personal contribution of the ambassador to the development
of bilateral relations during the recent four years.

Highly praising the expanding bilateral relations and the frequency
of reciprocal visits, as well as the cooperation within the framework
of international organizations, the parties rated high the development
of economic ties between Armenia and Canada.

With the request of the ambassador the deputy minister also referred
to the NK conflict settlement process, Armenia’s relations with
neighboring countries as well as other regional issues.

The parties also highlighted the 2010 May-June visit of the Armenian
Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandyan to Canada which is a serious
impetus to the consolidation of friendly relations.

From: A. Papazian

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES MILLION FOR ARMENIA

NOYAN TAPAN
JULY 30, 2010
Washington

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations approved the
Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 State, Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill,
reported the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). The Committee
recommended million in assistance for Armenia, which is million
below last year’s level of million, and equal to the Administration’s
request of million.

“In light of Turkey’s ongoing blockade of Armenia, and its refusal
to normalize relations without preconditions, the importance of U.S.

assistance to Armenia cannot be understated,” said Congressional
Relations Associate Bianka Kadian-Dodov.

The Senate Committee action comes after the House Appropriations
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
adopted its version of the bill last month, which included million
for Armenia and million in assistance to Nagorno Karabakh.

“The Assembly will continue to work with both the Senate and House to
ensure the best possible outcome for Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh,”
said Assembly Executive Director Bryan Ardouny.

The Senate Bill also called for “confidence-building measures and other
activities in furtherance of the peaceful resolution of conflicts”
for the “Southern Caucasus region.” In addition, the Bill provided
.5 million “to support people to people reconciliation programs,
which bring together individuals of different ethnic, religious and
political backgrounds from areas of civil strife and war..”

The Committee also required a report regarding Section 907 of the
Freedom Support Act directing the “Secretary of State to submit a
report not later than 90 days after enactment of this act, analyzing
the effectiveness of the restrictions on assistance for the Government
of Azerbaijan as contained in section 907 of Public Law 102-511, and
the exceptions to such restrictions on assistance provided under this
heading, in furthering a resolution to the conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Such report shall also include specific recommendations
for increasing opportunities for reconciliation between parties.”

Funding for Foreign Military Financing (FMF) and International
Military Education Training (IMET) were not delineated for Armenia
and Azerbaijan. Given Azerbaijan’s escalating military expenditures
and its continued war mongering, the Assembly in its congressional
testimony, “urged” appropriators “to cease military assistance to
Azerbaijan.” The Committee’s report also expressed concerns “with
repression of independent journalists in Azerbaijan” and directed the
Secretary of State to “seek improvements in freedom of expression in
connection with assistance for the central Government of Azerbaijan.”

Further action on the Senate and House bills will continue in September
when Members of Congress return from the August recess.

Established in 1972, the Armenian Assembly of America is the
largest Washington-based nationwide organization promoting public
understanding and awareness of Armenian issues. The Assembly is a
501(c) (3) tax-exempt membership organization.

From: A. Papazian

MORE DETAILS OF ARMENIAN ARMY SHOOTING EMERGE
Tatevik Lazarian

Armenia – Soldiers and tanks lined up for a military exercise, undated.

30.07.2010

The Armenian military officially confirmed on Friday the deaths of
one officer and five soldiers in a mysterious shooting spree that
occurred at one of its frontline detachments on Wednesday.

In a short statement, the Defense Ministry in Yerevan identified all
six victims but gave no other details of the incident. The statement
said only that it was the result of “a blatant violation of the rules
of combat duty.”

It added that “all necessary measures are being taken to clarify the
causes of the incident and bring the guilty to account in a manner
envisaged by law.”

Other sources said the shooting took places at an Armenian army unit
located in Nagorno-Karabakh’s southeastern Martuni district. One
victim’s uncle, Khachik Sargsian, told RFE/RL’s Armenian service that
his nephew served there.

“[Andranik Sargsian] was killed by three bullets,” he said by phone.

“There are no traces of physical violence on his body.”

According to Artur Sakunts, a prominent Armenian human rights
campaigner, the shootings were the work of another dead soldier, Karo
Ayvazian. He claimed that Ayvazian went on a shooting spree after a
fellow conscript was caught sleeping at an observation post on the
main Armenian-Azerbaijani “line of contact.”

“When the lieutenant [Vardges Tadevosian] and a sergeant visited the
post and saw that one of the soldiers there is asleep, they woke him
up and started insulting and humiliating him,” Sakunts told RFE/RL.

“Another soldier, who was not asleep, took his assault rifle and shot
the lieutenant and the sergeant.”

“After the gunshots, three other soldiers rushed to the post and
[Ayvazian] gunned them down too and committed suicide,” he said.

The incident, apparently the deadliest ever non-combat shooting in
the Armenian Armed Forces, occurred the day after another army officer
was found shot dead on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. The Defense
Ministry claimed that Lieutenant Artak Nazarian, 30, most probably
committed suicide. Nazarian’s relatives strongly denied that, saying
that he was murdered by fellow servicemen.

The state human rights ombudsman, Armen Harutiunian, on Friday
expressed serious concern about both incidents highlighting lingering
abuse and other serious problems within the military. In a written
statement, Harutiunian said they “complement a spate of murders
committed at various army detachments” and will have “a negative
influence on the army’s combat-readiness and the moral-psychological
state of the society.”

From: A. Papazian

RFE: Armenian Press Review

30.07.2010

“Hraparak” blames Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian for the latest
deadly shootings in the Armenian army, saying that he should have
dealt with army problems instead of making trips abroad, “receiving
some delegations” and “handing out medals.” The paper says a short
statement issued by Ohanian’s ministry Wednesday’s “slaughter” at
an army unit was extremely vague and resembled “disinformation.” “Of
course, no army in the world is immune to tragic incidents,” it says.

“But when they have a quantitative growth that makes qualitative
changes obvious, we all get something to think about. And the defense
minister, who likes posing before TV cameras, in the first instance.”

“Until when will military service be something like a battlefield
for our young men?” continues “Hraparak.”

“Haykakan Zhamanak” claims that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
may cancel a visit to Armenia planned for August because of “some
problems.” A spokeswoman for Medvedev, Valeria Fedorina, is quoted
as telling the paper that she can not give any information about
the trip. When asked whether the visit will take place, she replied,
“It’s still on the schedule.”

A senior member of the Nagorno-Karabakh parliament, Vahram Atanesian,
assures “Hayots Ashkhar” that authorities in Stepanakert did not plan
to hold a rally in connection with the top United Nations court’s
ruling on Kosovo’s independence. “There was only an idea [to hold
such a rally] that was floated by one of the political forces during
political discussions, consultations,” says Atanesian. “Afterwards,
after weighing up all pros and cons, the political forces decided to
refrain from holding the rally.”

“I don’t think that we should concentrate on the opposition’s
activities,” Galust Sahakian, a leader of the ruling Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK) tells “Iravunk.” “Generally speaking, I’ve started
forgetting what the opposition is,” he says. Sahakian complains
in this context that there has been too much hype over the recent
congress of the opposition Armenian Pan-National Movement (HHSh). He
is glad that the gathering saw few verbal attacks on the government
but disapproves of opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosian’s statements
on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and Turkish-Armenian relations that
were made during it.

Ruben Hakobian, the deputy chairman of the opposition Zharangutyun
(Heritage) Party, tells “Aravot” that the Armenian opposition camp
is far more pluralistic than the HHK-led governing coalition because
“the authority is now totalitarian.” Hakobian claims that the HHK’s
coalition partners are already under pressure to declare that they
will not field candidates in the 2013 presidential election. “The
opposition is not like that, and rightly so,” he says, adding that
disputes among opposition groups are natural and healthy.

From: A. Papazian

RUSSIAN TROOPS IN ARMENIA SET FOR MISSION UPGRADE

30.07.2010

Russia — President Dmitry Medvedev meets with his Armenian counterpart
Serzh Sarkisian in Rostov-on-Don, 1 June 2010.

Moscow and Yerevan are planning to sign a new military agreement
that would assign Russia and its troops a greater role in ensuring
Armenia’s security, official sources in both countries said on Friday.

The Interfax news agency reported that the two governments will soon
amend a 1995 treaty regulating the presence of a Russian military
base in Armenia. It said the Russian government has already submitted
a relevant “protocol” to President Dmitry Medvedev, who is scheduled
to visit Yerevan in mid-August.

It said one of the amendments proposed by the protocol makes clear
that the Russian base will not only protect Russia’s interests but
also contribute to Armenia’s national security.

Under another change cited by Interfax, Moscow will explicitly commit
itself to providing its main South Caucasus ally with “modern and
compatible weaponry and (special) military hardware.”

Speaking to RFE/RL’s Armenian service, a senior official at the
Armenian Defense Ministry essentially confirmed the information. The
official noted, though, that the Russian troops headquartered in the
northern Armenian city of Gyumri are already tasked with defending
Armenia. The planned changes in the Russian-Armenian treaty would
simply underline that mission in more explicit terms, he explained.

The treaty went into effect in 1997 and is valid for 25 years.

Interfax said its amended version would prolong the Russian military
presence in Armenia by another 24 years and provide for its further
automatic extension in the future.

The Russian base, which numbers some 4,000 personnel, and the broader
military alliance with Russia has been a key element of Armenia’s
national security ever since the Soviet collapse. Armenian leaders
have repeatedly stated that despite forging closer security links
with the West in recent years, they will not seek NATO membership in
the foreseeable future.

Just last week, Yerevan and Moscow announced plans to significantly
boost cooperation between their defense industries within the framework
of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a Russian-led
military alliance of seven ex-Soviet states. Top Russian and Armenian
security officials said after talks in Yerevan that they have reached
agreements envisaging the establishment of defense joint ventures.

From: A. Papazian

ISTANBUL HOTEL, HOST TO LEGENDS AND WITNESS TO AN EMPIRE’S FALL, TO REOPEN AFTER RENOVATION
CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA

Associated Press
,0,6880623.story
6:05 AM PDT, July 30, 2010

ISTANBUL (AP) – It was the last stop on the Orient Express, a
grand hotel with Istanbul’s first electric elevator where artists
and aristocrats sipped champagne beneath chandeliers as the Ottoman
Empire dissolved and the world drifted toward war.

Mata Hari, accused of spying and executed in France in 1917, stayed
at the Pera Palace Hotel. So did Greta Garbo, who played the shadowy
dancer in a 1931 movie. Ernest Hemingway checked in to report on war
between Turks and Greeks. Agatha Christie is said to have crafted
“Murder on the Orient Express” in Room 411.

Then, like the empire it outlived, the hotel slid into decay.

On Sept. 1, the state-owned Pera Palace will reopen after a two-year
restoration that cost 23 million euros ($30 million), seeking to
capture the lost sparkle of what was one of Istanbul’s most prominent
landmarks. It is no longer the lone luxury hotel on a hill above the
Golden Horn inlet. The former Ottoman capital teems with high-end
accommodation, some in restored imperial mansions along the Bosporus
Strait that divides the Asian and European continents.

Pinar Kartal Timer, general manager of the Pera Palace, believes
fabled guests of the past will bestow new glory on the hotel, which
held its opening ball in 1895.

“These people have left their traces in this hotel,” Timer said in
an interview in the 115-room hotel Wednesday. Major structural work
and painting was complete, but the old ballroom was empty and the
mother-of-pearl bookshelves had not been installed. Workers hammered,
and layers of cardboard and plastic covered some balustrades and
marble-floored passageways.

The Pera Palace mirrors the revival of the surrounding Beyoglu area,
historically known as Pera, which comes from the Greek word for
“beyond.” It was nicknamed “Little Europe” in the late 19th century,
an enclave of Greek and Armenian entrepreneurs, along with European
diplomats and businessmen who imported luxury goods from capitals to
the west.

Many local residents fled deadly unrest or moved to outlying areas,
leaving neglected stone facades to brood in the narrow, trash-filled
streets. In the last decade, shops and restaurants flooded the
central neighborhood as economic fortunes and pride in Istanbul’s
heritage blossomed.

Mehmet Karaoren is a partner in an architectural firm that snapped
up a dozen Pera buildings, restoring them and selling or renting the
refitted apartments. In some years, the prices of their properties
have doubled.

“In the beginning, this was a game for us. It became a business,”
said Karaoren, who sought inspiration for his restorations during
travels to Paris, London and New York City.

A commission linked to Turkey’s Culture Ministry bars changes that
would taint the historical integrity of a structure, though allowances
are made for reinforcement against earthquakes and the installation
of elevators in tall buildings with dimly lit, winding staircases.

Business interests and a lack of political will have sometimes trumped
the work of conservationists. Istanbul, home to relics and monuments
from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires, is at risk of being
placed on a list of endangered cultural treasures by UNESCO’s World
Heritage Committee. That would be a serious embarrassment since the
European Union designated the city as its “cultural capital” this year.

David Michelmore, an international conservationist, said unrestored
sections of old Pera were at risk of demolition, and he compared the
area to London’s Notting Hill district in the 1960s, a shabby area
before its successful rehabilitation.

“It’s not tourists mostly, it’s Turkish people who are going there,”
Michelmore said. “Historic centers have a huge capacity for serving
purposes of recreation and relaxation.”

The original owner of the Pera Palace was Compagnie Internationale des
Wagons-Lits, which operated the Orient Express luxury train line. A
Turkish conglomerate, the Besiktas Group, now manages the hotel. It
has a modern spa and an indoor pool, as well as new elevators to
supplement the original wood and cast iron one.

The building is a mix of styles distinctive to 19th century Istanbul –
neo-classical, art nouveau and oriental. Rooms have handwoven carpets
and antique furniture mixed with the new. Sixteen are suites named
after guests including Britain’s King Edward VIII and Austro-Hungarian
Emperor Franz Joseph I.

Basic room prices start at 185 euros ($240), excluding tax and
breakfast, but go higher in peak season. Ahead of the September
opening, they are 265 euros ($350).

Nobody will sleep in Room 101. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a former army
officer who founded Turkey in 1923, once used it as a base. The room
will house a museum of items belonging to Ataturk, including hats,
slippers and dignitaries’ gifts.

The hotel hosted spies as well as statesmen. Kim Philby, the
British-Soviet double agent, was nearly unmasked in Istanbul, and the
agent codenamed Cicero, valet to the British ambassador in Ankara,
visited as he sold secret documents to German agents in World War II.

A witness to tumult, the Pera Palace became a target in 1941 when a
bomb exploded at the entrance shortly after the arrival of a British
diplomatic party from Bulgaria, which had sided with the Nazis.

Several people died.

Hemingway drank at the hotel’s Orient Bar in the early 1920s. In
his story, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro,” the main character, a writer,
recalls a brawl over a woman with a British soldier in Istanbul. He
slept with the woman that night:

“…and he left her before she was awake looking blousy enough in
the first daylight and turned up at the Pera Palace with a black eye,
carrying his coat because one sleeve was missing.”

From: A. Papazian

LE MINISTRE ARMENIEN DE LA DEFENSE SEYRAN OHANIAN DE RETOUR D’AFGHANISTAN
Gari

armenews
vendredi30 juillet 2010

Le ministère armenien de la defense Seyran Ohanian a acheve lundi 26
juillet au soir une visite de trois jours en Afghanistan au cours de
laquelle il a inspecte les troupes armeniennes qui servent dans ce
pays sous l’egide de l’Otan, dont il a rencontre les hauts commandants
militaires sur le terrain ainsi que son homologue afghan. Lors d’une
conference de presse a Erevan le 27 juillet, le ministre armenien
de la defense a fait le point sur cette visite et a notamment rendu
compte de ses entretiens avec les responsables militaires, dont le
general David Petraeus , commandant des forces americaines et autres
forces etrangères en Afghanistan, entretiens qui ont porte sur l’etat
de la securite en Afghanistan et la reponse a apporter au defi lance
par les talibans.

Un communique du ministère armenien de la defense precise que les
entretiens ont egalement permis d’etudier ” les perspectives de
cooperation ” entre l’Armenie et l’International Security Assistance
Force (ISAF), la force internationale sous commandement de l’OTAN .

L’Armenie figure au nombre des 43 membres ou Etats partenaires de
l’Otan qui composent le contingent multinational, a un rang certes
modeste, puisque le bataillon armenien ne compte que’ 40 soldats. Il a
ete deploye a proximite de la ville afghane de Kunduz et est en charge
de la protection d’un aeroport militaire local . La zone depend du
Commandement Nord de l’ISAF, dirige par le general allemand Hans Werner
Fritz. M. Ohanian a rendu visite au bataillon armenien et inspecte
ses positions et postes d’observation, ainsi que ses equipements au
debut de son voyage le samedi 24 juillet. Mgr Vrtanes Abrahamian,
l’aumônier principal de l’ armee armenienne, accompagnait le ministre,
aux côtes duquel il a consacre une petite chapelle edifiee pour les
soldats armeniens dans l’enceinte du camp militaire.

Le communique du ministère armenien de la defense indique par ailleurs
que les generaux Petraeus et Fritz ont remercie M.Ohanian pour
le comportement “excellent et exemplaire ” des soldats armeniens,
dont ils ont salue le professionnalisme. Le ministre afghan de la
defense, Abdul Rahim Wardak, a de son côte egalement rendu hommage a
leur contribution a la mission de l’ISAF lors de son entretien avec
M.Ohanian dimanche 25 juillet a Kaboul. M. Wardak a par ailleurs
tenu informer son homologue armenien de la situation generale de
l’Afghanistan et des questions de securite auxquels il fait face.

M.Ohanian etait parti pour l’Afghanistan deux jours après avoir
effectue une visite officielle en Allemagne, où la question de
la participation de l’Armenie a l’ISAF figurait d’ailleurs sur
l’agenda de ses entretiens avec le ministre allemand de la defense
Karl -Theodor zu Guttenberg . Les deux ministres avaient visite le
22 juillet un camp d’entraînement militaire allemand a Germersheim,
au sud-ouest de l’Allemagne, où une deuxième rotation de soldats
armeniens se preparait a se deployer a Kunduz. M. Ohanian a souligne
a cette occasion ” l’ importance de la participation de l’Armenie
dans les operations internationales de maintien de la paix. ” Cette
participation s’nscrit pour l’essentiel, dans le cadre de relations
toujours plus etroites qu’entretient l’Armenie avec l’Occident dans
le domaine de la defense et, plus precisement, dans le cadre de son
” plan d’action individuel de partenariat “, ou IPAP, avec l’OTAN,
lance en 2005. Une version recemment revisee de l’IPAP a confirme
que Erevan continuera a developper une unite speciale de l’armee
ayant vocation a fournir des effectifs pour des missions militaires
sous l’egide de l’Otan dans differentes zones de conflit. La Brigade
armenienne de maintien de la paix est egalement presente au Kosovo,
où quelque 70 soldats armeniens servent sous commandement de l’Otan.

From: A. Papazian

ARMENIAN-AMERICAN LAWYERS FILE FEDERAL LAWSUIT AGAINST TURKISH GOVERNMENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
July 30, 2010 – 13:21 AMT 08:21 GMT

Armenian-American lawyers filed a federal lawsuit on July 29 against
the Turkish government and two banks seeking compensation for the
heirs of Armenians whose property was seized nearly a century ago as
they were driven from the Turkish Ottoman Empire.

Lawyers were seeking class-action status for the suit, a process that
attorney Brian Kabateck said could take as long as three years.

“We are rolling up our sleeves and are going forward,” he said.

The suit was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Garbis Davouyan of Los
Angeles and Hrayr Turabian of Queens, N.Y. It claims breach of
statutory trust, unjust enrichment, human rights violations and
violations of international law.

It seeks compensation for land, buildings and businesses seized from
Armenians along with bank deposits and property, including priceless
religious and other artifacts, some of which are now housed in museums
in the Republic of Turkey.

Attorney Mark Geragos said it was the first such lawsuit directly
naming the government of the Republic of Turkey as a defendant.

“All of the lawyers involved have relatives who perished or fled the
Armenian genocide, which gives it a special poignancy for us,” he said.

The lawsuit claims more than a million Armenians were killed in
forced marches, concentration camps and massacres “perpetrated,
assisted and condoned” by Turkish officials and armed forces.

Also named in the lawsuit were the Central Bank of Turkey and T.C.,
Ziraat Bankasi, the largest and oldest Turkish bank with origins
dating back to the 1860s.

The lawsuit claims the government of Turkey agreed to administer the
property, collect rents and sale proceeds from the seized assets and
deposit the receipts in trust accounts until the property could be
restored to owners. Instead, the government has “withheld the property
and any income derived from such property,” the lawsuit said.

A message left with the Turkish Consul General’s office in Los Angeles
was not immediately returned. After-hours e-mails seeking comment
from both banks were not immediately returned.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs believe records of the properties and
profits still exist, and they are seeking an accounting that could
reach billions of dollars.

Geragos said the biggest issue in Armenian communities is seeking
recognition for the ethnic bloodshed that claimed the lives of as
many as 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1919.

In 2000, the California Legislature recognized the deaths as genocide
when it allowed heirs to seek payment on life insurance policies of
dead relatives.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals later invalidated the law.

Geragos has appealed that ruling.

Still, the heirs were paid nearly $40 million by New York Life
Insurance Co. and French insurer AXA, AP Special Correspondent Linda
Deutsch reported.

From: A. Papazian