December 17, 2003 - 22:05 AMT
"MEMORY OF DESCENDANTS" FUND TO WORK FOR TURKEY PAYING COMPENSATION IN FAVOR OF DESCENDANTS OF ARMENIAN GENOCIDE VICTIMS
"Memory of Descendants" international fund, aiming at making Turkey pay compensation for material and moral loss in favor of descendants of the victims of the Armenian Genocide in Ottoman Empire early last century, has started work in Armenia. As stated by fund chairman Valery Stepanian, "Memory of Descendants" will try to transmit the struggle for recognition of the Armenian Genocide from the political and human rights aspects to the economic one. "We are arranging judicial suits against the Turkish government on compensating for losses of the descendants of the Genocide victims on the basis of the documents saved. Then, beginning with paying compensations, Turkey will de-facto recognize the Armenian Genocide," V. Stepanian noted. In his words, the fund already has 20 branches in various countries, and the one in Moscow is at the stage of opening. The foreign ministry of Armenia assists him in that issue much, the fund head noted.