STUDENT PROTEST OVER NEW DRAFT LAW ENTERS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 000489

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN; DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL OEXC AM
SUBJECT: STUDENT PROTEST OVER NEW DRAFT LAW ENTERS
SECOND WEEK; LARGE DEMONSTRATIONS PLANNED



1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

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SUMMARY
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2. (SBU) Nearly one thousand university students in
Yerevan continued to boycott their classes in protest
of the proposed "Law on Military Service" currently
before the National Assembly. The controversial draft
law, strongly supported by the Ministry of Defense,
would end all draft deferments for graduate study. The
student protestors claim that the law dilutes the
quality of Armenian science, and have formed an
umbrella group "For the Development of Science" to
coordinate future demonstrations and lobbying efforts.
The group plans further public demonstrations and a
march to the National Assembly (NA) in the next five
days. End Summary.

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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO CONSIDER CONSCRIPTION REFORMS
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3. (U) The GOAM recently submitted "The Law on Military
Service" to the National Assembly for consideration.
The proposed law removes draft deferments for students
in master's programs and the full exclusion provided to
full-time Ph.D. students. (Note: The National
Statistical Service reports that 149 of the 155 full-
time Ph.D. students in Armenia are men. End Note.)
All Armenian men would be required to serve in the
army, either when the reach the age 18 or when they
finish their four-year undergraduate education. The
GOAM sees two benefits to this law: an additional
1,000 men eligible for military service yearly, and a
more academically dedicated and diverse applicant pool
for post-graduate programs. The National Assembly will
vote on the draft law in its first reading on March 1
or 2.

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MALE STUDENTS PROTEST, BOYCOTT
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4. (SBU) Male undergraduate and graduate students
strongly oppose the law. Several Ph.D. students
created the group "For the Development of Science" to
coordinate student opposition to the bill. The group
staged protests at Yerevan State University February 18-
20, in which approximately 1000 students participated,
and have encouraged a boycott of classes since February

18. Minister of Defense Serzh Sarksian convened a town-
hall style meeting for youth that the action group also
boycotted after discovering that the majority of the
120 seats had been reserved for the pro-government
National Youth Council. Armenian television footage
showed the meeting as almost "Komsomol-like" with the
youth looking approvingly on as Sarksian lectured about
civic virtues.

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FOR THE SAKE OF SCIENCE!
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5. (SBU) The protestors claim that the law will degrade
the quality of Armenian science. In a press conference
held on February 18, leaders of "For the Development of
Science" stated that they were not seeking to avoid
their own military service, rather preserve the
integrity of the Armenian scientific field. The
students argue that if they are not allowed to directly
follow their undergraduate studies with a master's or
Ph.D. program, they may lose interest in academics and
never return to school. They further contend that
dedicated students may flee the country in a "brain-
drain" to pursue studies elsewhere and never return to
Armenia if the law is passed.

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MAYOR'S OFFICE DENIES PERMITS FOR FUTURE RALLIES
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6. (SBU) "For the Development of Science" held a
meeting that filled a local movie theater February 25.
With an audience that was roughly 90 percent male,
students, professors, a former army colonel, and one
parliamentarian spoke against the law, which one
professor described as "a genocide campaign against
science." Form letters to National Assembly members
were awaiting rally participants' signatures. Erik
Grigoryan, a Yerevan State University undergraduate
student who has organized many of the campaign's
events, told us that the group plans to flood the
National Assembly with such letters. The students
announced that two future rallies were also planned for
February 28 and March 1. On March 1, the students plan
to march through the city to the parliament building to
stage the demonstration. Grigoryan said that while the
Mayor's Office had denied permits to stage the
demonstrations, they would not be canceled. He
recognized that anyone participating could be
administratively detained for demonstrating without a
permit.

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STUDENTS USE MEDIA, WEB TO SPREAD MESSAGE
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7. (SBU) In its second week, "For the Development of
Science" has developed an impressive level of
sophistication in their efforts. The students are
issuing daily press releases (in Armenian, Russian, and
English) to all media outlets, providing information on
the day's developments and announcing future events.
The group also has a website (http://all-
students.nm.ru),where they have posted all the press
releases, a calendar of activities, and photos of
demonstrations. As shown by the recent rally, their
techniques have been effective in turning out
relatively large numbers of demonstrators at their
scheduled events.

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COMMENT
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8. (SBU) The "Law on Military Service" has aroused
student passion like no other recent issue, including
the 2003 elections. Though it is questionable that the
students really seek to preserve "scientific progress"
rather than their own draft deferments, they have
quickly developed a campaign with a message backed by
not-insignificant momentum. The students' growing
number of supporters and effective use of the media to
promote their message sharply contrasts with the
parliamentary opposition's largely failed efforts to
organize large anti-government protests. Though the
success of the students' campaign remains to be seen,
their efforts have managed to, at least for the moment,
mobilize their previously apolitical and passive peers.
ORDWAY