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French Insurance Company to compensate â‚¬12.7 to heirs of â€˜Armenian genocide victimsâ€™ he

13 July 2007 16:43 (UTC +04:00)

French Insurance Company AXA, one the largest insurance companies worldwide is condemned to compensate to heirs of the â€˜Armenian genocide victimsâ€™, APAâ€™s Turkey bureau reports.
The company has published the list of people who were insured by its Turkish branch till 1915 and who fell victims to the â€˜Armenian genocideâ€™. Heirs of the â€˜genocide victimsâ€™, who find last names of their ancestors in the list, should file an application till October 1, 2007.
According to an agreement concluded with the company, AXA will assign $17 million in all. $3 million will be allocated to Armenian benevolent organizations functioning in France. $3 million will cover the costs and will also be spent on notifications to the victimsâ€™ relations. $11 million will be allotted to the fund that will start paying insurance fees.
As to the cause of AXAâ€™s being condemned to compensation, this company which is known in the world purchased certificates of UAP life insurance in France in 1996. UAP was established in 1922 and it accepted Armeniansâ€™ claims regarding genocide. Therefore AXA had to compensate to Armenians automatically.
But the companyâ€™s approach towards this issue was not serious. A group of Armenians who are living in California, announcing themselves heirs of the so-called Armenian genocide and worrying on the position of â€œAXAâ€ sued the company. Armeniansâ€™ claim was examined in 2005 and decision was made against them. AXA contributed to Jewish families subjected to genocide in World War II. /APA/