Land under US Airbase Stolen by Turkey during Armenian Genocide

Land under U.S. Airbase Stolen by Turkey during Armenian Genocide,Lawsuit Says Armenian Americans Seek Reparations from TurkishGovernment and Two Leading Turkish Banks in First Lawsuit Based onSpecific Land Parcels Seized during GenocideLOS ANGELES - December15, 2010 - Descendants of Armenian genocidevictims today filed a lawsuit in U.S. Federal Court against theTurkish government and two leading Turkish banks seeking hundreds ofmillions of dollars in potential damages, citing the illegal seizureof their homes, business and farmland, a portion of which now houses akey U.S. airbase used to support military operations in Iraq andAfghanistan. The lawsuit accuses the Republic of Turkey, the CentralBank of the Republic of Turkey and T.C. Ziraat Bankasi, one ofTurkey's largest and oldest banks, of stealing and then profiting fromland that was illegally seized during the Armenian Genocide of1915-23, when the Ottoman Turks drove them from the Adana region, acenter of Armenian culture and religion. The three Armenian Americanswho are plaintiffs in the lawsuit are seeking hundreds of millions ofdollars as compensation for their families' seized property andrepayment of rent and other illegal proceeds collected over the pastcentury. This is the first lawsuit filed in a U.S. court against theTurkish government in which the plaintiffs are seeking reimbursementfor specific parcels of property illegally seized during the ArmenianGenocide, said their attorney Vartkes Yeghiayan, whose wife, RitaMahdessian, is one of three Armenian American plaintiffs in thelawsuit. Mahdessian's ancestor was a wealthy Armenian landowner whowas forced to flee Turkey with his family in 1915, leaving behind hishome, some farmland, a dry goods store and an insurancebusiness. Their lawsuit seeks "fair market rents and other relief forPlaintiffs, the rightful owners and their heirs, of approximately122.5 acres of property located in the Adana region of Turkey,"according to the filing.The Incirlik Air Base, which is located at the crossroads of Europe,the Middle East and Central Asia, is considered strategically vital toU.S. interests in the region. During the Cold War, the base was usedfor U.S. spy plane missions over the Soviet Union. Today, the base isa vital transportation hub supporting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistanand humanitarian missions throughout the region. Fast food giantsBaskin-Robbins, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut are among the U.S. companiesoperating on the base, according to the lawsuit. The Turkishgovernment has repeatedly threatened to deny Americans access to thebase if the U.S. Congress recognizes the Armenian genocide, despitethe fact that the base is built on land illegally confiscated fromArmenians. "I was upset when I learned that the Turkish government wasrenting my family's property to the U.S. government for an airbase,"said Anais Haroutunian, another plaintiff in the case. "I cannotbelieve that the brave Americans who have served at Incirlik, some ofwhom are of Armenian descent themselves, would condone such abhorrentbehavior by a government claiming to be our ally." Today's filingcomes less than a week after the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appealsruled that descendants of Armenian genocide victims could pursue legalaction against insurance firms that failed to honor the policies ofArmenian genocide victims, re-opening the door for legal claims inCalifornia stemming from the Turkish atrocities. California, home ofthe nation's largest Armenian community, is one of 42 states that havepassed laws recognizing the massacre of more than 1 million Armeniansnearly a century ago by the Ottoman Turks. "Until Turkey acknowledgesand makes amends for this genocide, the injustice continues unabated,"said Yeghiayan, a Glendale attorney who has championed the Armeniangenocide litigation movement. "There can be no healing until Turkeydoes what is right." Joining Yeghiayan in this litigation are LosAngeles attorneys Kathryn Lee Boyd and David Schwarcz of Todd,Ferentz, Schwarcz & Rimberg. Professor Michael Bazyler of ChapmanUniversity, one of the nation's leading experts on genocide law andrestitution, has been brought in as an international legalexpert. Yeghiayan has filed more than half a dozen lawsuits related tothe Armenian genocide issue and has negotiated successfulmulti-million dollar settlements against two major life insurancecompanies. In June, Yeghiayan and Boyd filed litigation against theJ. Paul Getty Museum in what is believed to be the first case in theU.S. seeking the return of cultural or religious objects stolen duringthe Armenian genocide.Haroutunian, Mahdessian and Alex Bakalian, the third plaintiff intoday's filing, have deeds proving ownership to the property stolenfrom their grandparents, some of which lies directly beneath therunways, warehouses and commercial buildings that have served theU.S. military since the 1950s, according to their lawsuit. The town ofIncirlik, where the base was built, was also home for a large Armenianchurch. The lawsuit estimates the current value of the stolen Armenianland in and around Incirlik Air Base at approximately $63.9 millionbased on U.S. Department of Defense data.