ARMENIA: MEDIA REACTION TO A/S FRIED'S VISIT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001886

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EUR/PPD-CFITZGERALD AND JBASEDOW, EUR/CACEN-JDEHART AND
KWITMER, EUR

E.O. 12958; N/A
TAGS: KMDR OPRC KPAO AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIA: MEDIA REACTION TO A/S FRIED'S VISIT



1. SUMMARY: Assistant Secretary of State for European and
Eurasian Affairs Daniel Fried, accompanied by U.S. Special
Negotiator for Nagorno-Karabakh and Eurasian Conflicts
Steven Mann, visited Armenia on October 18. The visit,
which included a short press availability, highlighted A/S
Fried's strong call for democratic and economic reform and
received extensive coverage from the broadcast and print
media. While many reports simply drew from the U.S. Embassy
and Armenian Presidential Office press releases, others
included editorial comments on such issues as Secretary
Rice's connection to the visit, the Assistant Secretary's
comments on constitutional amendments, which outlets were
invited to the press availability, and the Assistant
Secretary's involvement with Ukraine and Georgia. END

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SUMMARY.

"CONDOLEEZZA RICE SENDS HER ASSISTANT"
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2. Two newspapers focused their articles on Secretary Rice's
connection to the visit. AZG, a center-right daily,
published an article entitled "Condoleezza Rice Sends Her
Assistant and Steven Mann to the Caucasus." The article
states, "Fried is the highest official to visit Armenia
since the reelection of President Bush in 2004. In May of
this year, Bush himself visited Georgia, apparently causing
Armenia and Azerbaijan to become nervous." In one of its
three articles on Assistant Secretary Fried's visit, the
radical opposition daily "Haykakan Zhamanak" stated, "It is
known that this visit was initiated by Secretary Rice, and
this proves the uniqueness of the mission."

IT IS NOT FOR ANY OUTSIDER TO SUGGEST HOW ARMENIANS SHOULD
VOTE ON CONSITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
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3. Two newspapers referred to Assistant Secretary Fried's
comments on the constitutional reform process in Armenia.
ARAVOT, an oppositionist daily, sought to create the
impression that A/S Fried's position on the constitutional
amendments differed from that expressed previously by the
Embassy and published an article entitled, "Why is Evans
Propagandizing for a 'Yes' Vote?" The article states that,
referring to the constitutional reform process in Armenia,
Assistant Secretary Fried said, "No outside forces can tell
Armenians how to vote." In response, "Aravot" comments,
"Let us remember that U.S. Ambassador John Evans, who
represents an 'outside force,' is actively propagandizing
for a vote in favor of the constitutional amendments."


4. According to GOLOS ARMENII, a Russian-language newspaper
that is partially state-funded, "Speaking about
constitutional reforms in Armenia, Fried refused to express
his opinion, mentioning that on the eve of the referendum,
no country has a right to express its opinion on this issue.
Meanwhile, we want to remind our readers that the head of
the diplomatic mission of the U.S. in Armenia, John Evans,
stated on September 2, 2005, 'We are expecting a free
referendum. Its failure will hinder the democratic process
in Armenia. Falsification of the results of the vote is not
acceptable, as in that case people could take to the streets
and make political decisions there.'" (NOTE: This article
misquoted Ambassador Evans. In fact, during a September 1,
2005 interview with "Armenia Liberty," Ambassador Evans
stated, "We have already made it very clear in a number of
ways that this referendum should be carried out as a free
and fair vote of the Armenian people." When asked about
what the U.S. and European reaction would be to the failure
of the referendum, Ambassador Evans stated, "This is a
hypothetical question. I would not want to say what the
reaction of the United States, the Council of Europe, or the
European Union might be." END NOTE.)


5. In fact, these two newspapers took A/S Fried's remarks
out of context. After stating, "It is not for any outsider
to suggest to Armenians how they should vote," Assistant
Secretary Fried continued, "Without taking any position on

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these particular amendments to the constitution, it is also
true that many other countries in this part of the world are
considering constitutional reforms to try to have a more
adequate and equitable balance of power between the
legislative branch, executive branch, president, government,
and judiciary. In our experience, democracy requires not
just a strong president democratically elected, but other
strong institutions of government..." While not explicitly
supporting the amendments, these comments subtly emphasized
the importance of the issues addressed in the amendments.

ONLY FOUR MEDIA OUTLETS INVITED TO PRESS AVAILABILITY
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6. The fact that the U.S. Embassy invited only four media
outlets to the press availability was referred to by two
newspapers. A HAYKAKAN ZHAMANAK article states, "It should
be noted that according to a decision of the U.S. Embassy,
only four media outlets were given an opportunity to meet
with [Assistant Secretary Fried.] Since the Ambassador
again has picked media outlets at his own discretion, we
have to cover the visit of the Assistant Secretary based on
information provided by Radio Liberty." A GOLOS ARMENII
article states, "On the evening of October 18, Fried met
with a restricted circle of Armenian journalists. No press
conference was held." (NOTE: While only four media outlets
were invited to the availability, Mediamax News Agency was
invited to so as to distribute information to all print and
broadcast outlets. The idea of a "press pool" is still
unusual in Armenia. END NOTE.)
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FRIED'S INVOLVEMENT WITH UKRAINE AND
GEORGIA
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7. GOLOS ARMENII published information about Assistant
Secretary Fried's involvement with Georgia and Ukraine, thus

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indirectly commenting on his involvement in revolutions in
the former Soviet Union. The article states, "It is
necessary to consider that this diplomat is associated with
the names of famous American political actors such as
Ambassador Richard Miles -- an initiator of changes [in
Georgia.] Daniel Fried's activities as a 'curator' of
political developments in the post-Soviet territory were
first revealed in December 2001, when former Prime Minister
Viktor Yushchenko visited Washington. During this visit,
the future president of Ukraine held his first meeting with
Daniel Fried, who at the time was serving as the Senior
Director for European and Eurasian Affairs at the National
Security Council and Special Assistant to the President."

A/S FRIED ASKED ABOUT THE ARREST OF RASUL GULIYEV
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8. During the press availability, Public TV asked A/S Fried
to comment on Azerbaijani elections and the arrest in
Ukraine of Rasul Guliyev, the chairmen of the opposition
Democratic Party of Azerbaijan. In response, A/S Fried
stated, "It is important that Ukrainians acted consistently
with their obligations under international law. It is
important that not only the elections in Azerbaijan, but the
election process itself be free and fair....Free and fair
elections strengthen the nation that conducts them." While
we expected that these comments would be picked up by the
media here, we have seen no/no mention in any local press
outlet.

EVANS