Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
04YEREVAN722
2004-03-26 02:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:  

REACTION FROM YEREVAN, ARMENIA: SHEIKH AHMED

Tags:  KMDR OPRC PGOV PREL KPAO AM 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS YEREVAN 000722 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR-STHIBEAULT, EUR/PPD-MLOGSDON AND
SRUEDY, EUR/CACEN-ESIDEREAS, EUR, EUR/ACE, EUR/SNEC,
EUR/SE

E.O. 12958; N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC PGOV PREL KPAO AM
SUBJECT: REACTION FROM YEREVAN, ARMENIA: SHEIKH AHMED
YASSIN'S ASSASSINATION

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000722

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR INR/R/MR-STHIBEAULT, EUR/PPD-MLOGSDON AND
SRUEDY, EUR/CACEN-ESIDEREAS, EUR, EUR/ACE, EUR/SNEC,
EUR/SE

E.O. 12958; N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC PGOV PREL KPAO AM
SUBJECT: REACTION FROM YEREVAN, ARMENIA: SHEIKH AHMED
YASSIN'S ASSASSINATION


1. SUMMARY: The assassination of the founder and
spiritual leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement,
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin, was reported on all Armenian TV
channels, the reports being mainly factual. However,
some local papers published commentaries. The
following is the summary of the articles. END SUMMARY

MIDDLE EAST ON THE VERGE OF A NEW WAR?


2. Government official Armenian language daily
HAYASTANI HANRAPETUTIUN (03/24) draws parallels between
the reaction of Washington and Moscow. "Ahmed Yassin's
assassination showed that the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is entering a new and uncompromising phase,
where the situation can shift from separate terrorist
acts to a large-scale war. An interesting observation:
while Washington's calm reaction (to put it mildly) to
Sheikh Ahmed Yassin's assassination was understandable,
Moscow was also strangely restrained in its statement."

THE AMERICAN BALANCE


3. Oppositionist Armenian daily HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK
(03/24) also focused on the reaction of the Bush
Administration to the assassination. "The main
initiator of the Middle East peace process, the United
States has still not condemned the assassination of the
spiritual leader of the extremist Palestinian
organization HAMAS, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin. The White
House is trying to maintain a balance, which angers the
Arabs. Observers note that the Bush administration
would have adopted a clearer position had it not been
for the November 2 presidential elections. Unlike the
United States, almost all European countries, including
Great Britain, have condemned the HAMAS spiritual
leader's assassination."

SHEIKH'S LESSONS


4. Oppositionist Armenian daily ARAVOT (03/24) stresses
the attitude of the world toward this killing. "The
fact of the assassination of the founder and spiritual
leader of the Palestinian Hamas movement, Sheikh Ahmed
Yassin, by the Israeli air force had a litmus paper
effect by simply showing how far the world, or at least
its civilized part, is from the realization of the
importance of strengthening the universal principles
and standards of political culture. In addition to the
Arab world, a number of European countries joined the
ranks of those who condemned the actions aimed at
neutralizing Yassin. It is interesting that they
included that dedicated member of the international
counter-terrorism movement, Great Britain. However,
when we `translate' what has happened into a simple and
understandable language, we get the following story.
There is a rather large group of Palestinian killers,
who have been consistently stripped of their
intelligence ever since their childhood and have become
like zombies, who couldn't care less about their own
lives, and who regularly carry out bloody terrorist
acts against peaceful Israeli citizens. However, for
some reason, the world voices its `justified' protests
when the main organizer and the `brain center' of the
suicide terrorists is killed, even though it seems that
this should not have been the case. The arguments are
extremely ironic. `A dangerous new wave of violence is
going to start now,' threatens a scared Europe,
implying that the old wave of violence was less
dangerous in the days of Yassin, who did nothing but
organize terrorist acts all the time. `The United
States, who has always been against extra-judicial
killings, does not want to condemn Yassin's
assassination,' Russia says in bewilderment, while
Russian media runs headlines about the Russian Special
Forces killing some more or less important Chechen
rebels for weeks on end. It is quite appropriate here
to remember one of Putin's famous statements: `There
should be no mercy towards terrorists; if necessary,
we'll destroy them in a bathroom.'"

WALKER