LETTER FROM THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001665

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SUBJECT: LETTER FROM THE MINISTER OF JUSTICE TO
ATTORNEY GENERAL ASHCROFT


1. (U) Sensitive But Unclassified. Please treat
accordingly.

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TEXT OF LETTER FROM MOJ
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2. (SBU) The Minister of Justice Davit Harytyunyan's
staff transmitted the following letter to the
Embassy July 28, noting that it had also been sent
to the Attorney General through other channels. End
Summary. The English-language text of the letter
from Minister of Justice follows. Begin Text:

July 27, 2004

The Honorable John Ashcroft
Attorney General of the United States of America
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

re: Martin Marootian, et al., on behalf of
themselves and all others similarly situated,
Plaintiffs v. New York Life Insurance Company,
Defendant, Case No. C99-12073 CAS (MCx) in the
United States District Court, Central District
of California (the "Court").

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

I am writing at the request of citizens of the
Republic of Armenia and on behalf of other Armenians
who are potential class members in the above-
referenced class action case to seek your
intercession before a settlement agreement is
approved at the Final Fairness Hearing, effectively
foreclosing their right to obtain just compensation
from the New York Life Insurance Company ("NYLIC").
The Final Fairness Hearing is scheduled for 9:30
a.m. on Friday, July 30, 2004, before U.S. Judge
Christina A. Snyder in Courtroom 5 of the United
States District Court, Los Angeles, CA.

Unfortunately, this case and its implications for
the rights of Armenians have been brought to the
attention of the government of the Republic of
Armenia recently by descendants of NYLIC policy
holders in Armenia after the opt-out period had
passed. Now the case is at a critical juncture when
some of class members are pursuing a settlement that
is likely to foreclose for all practical purposes
the rights of Armenian citizens and the citizens of
other nations.

Approximately 85 years ago, the U.S. government
assisted NYLIC in successfully avoiding the claims
of the Republic of Turkey to what NYLIC estimated in
correspondence with the U.S. government to be the
USD 7 million face value of policies of Armenians
that perished in the Armenian Genocide. Now, some
90 years after the Armenian Genocide, NYLIC is
proposing to settle the claims of all Armenians
worldwide for Genocide insurance claims for what
could be as little as USD 7 million for the
descendants of Armenian insureds. Additional
amounts will go to American charities with an
Armenian focus, attorneys fees and administrative
costs for a total of USD 20 million.

At this juncture, we do not have enough information
to determine if this is a fair and equitable
settlement. Nonetheless, we do note with
significant concern and interest that when NYLIC
successfully asked the U.S. government for
protection from the claims of the Republic of Turkey
85 years ago, it estimated its liability on this
issue to be USD 7 million and now when it has come
time to pay the descendants of the Armenian
insureds, it has produced a list of policyholders
for the purposes of settlement that totals somewhere
between USD 700,000 and USD 1.34 million.

On behalf of our citizens, which we believe may
represent one-third to one-half of the worldwide
class members of this case, the Republic of Armenia
would like a modest amount of time to determine (i)
if the overall amount is fair and equitable, (ii) if
the case has been handled properly (as you know, the
interests of plaintiff and contingency fee lawyers
are frequently divergent from their clients),(iii)
if there has been an adequate forensic accounting of
sorts to explain how a USD 7 million liability has
become a USD 700,000 to USD 1.34 million liability.

Although many of the potential class members in this
case reside in the United States, it is our
understanding and belief that more of the potential
class members live outside of the United States.
After the Armenian Genocide, the majority of
Armenians took refuge in what is now Armenia, Russia
and other countries outside of the United States.

In the past, Armenians dispersed throughout the
world did not have a sovereign representative to
protect the nation's interests or the interests of
those individuals of Armenian ancestry who live
outside of Armenia. With regained independence, the
Republic of Armenia is in a position to protect and
promote national interests and by this letter seeks
to play a constructive role in assuring that the
resolution of this and similar claims is concluded
fairly and equitably for all potential
beneficiaries, including distribution of a portion
of the settlement to charitable organizations in the
United States and elsewhere.

We are concerned that, among other things, the court
case and ensuing settlement have not given the
potential class members in Armenia and other
countries outside of the United States effective or
adequate notice of their rights to participate in or
opt out of this class action. Although
announcements of the settlement were carried in
approximately eight U.S.-based newspapers of general
circulation and community newspapers, we note that
only two newspapers in Armenia, with a combined
circulation of under 5,000 carried the notice. What
was even more disappointing was that the key
information was contained in a website whose address
was incorrectly printed in these Armenian newspaper
announcements.

Given the lack of experience with and awareness of
U.S. class actions in Armenia, these announcements
fall significantly short of internationally
guaranteed norms of due process. Moreover, many
other large populations of Armenians, who are
potential class members, for example, in Russia and
other countries, have not had even this level of
notice about their rights and options. While we
understand that it is not possible to reach every
possible class member, in order to assure minimum
due process and fairness, the large populations in
Armenia, Russia, Middle East and elsewhere in the
CIS, representing more than three times the number
of potential class members as in the U.S., required
effective notice and a meaningful opportunity to be
heard, which was not given.

The Republic of Armenia seeks your intercession and
support for a six-month temporary extension of the
Fairness Hearing in this case. While we understand
that speedy closure of proceedings is desirable,
under the circumstances, this continuance of the
proceeding will help to avoid collateral litigation
in the U.S. courts and abroad, conserve judicial
resources, and assure a fair outcome not only for
the hundreds of thousands of potential
claimants/beneficiaries in the United States, but
also for the millions of potential
claimants/beneficiaries in Armenia, Russia and
elsewhere.

Sincerely yours,

/s/

Davit Harytyunyan
Minister of Justice

cc: Honorable Judge Christina Snyder

End Text.
ORDWAY