ARMENIA: INCONSISTENT CLAIMS OF RELIGIOUS

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000019

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIA: INCONSISTENT CLAIMS OF RELIGIOUS
PERSECUTION

REF: 04 YEREVAN 1341

Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.

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FACTS DON'T ADD UP
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1. (SBU) On January 6, Forum 18, a Norwegian NGO, reported
that Armen Grigoryan, an Armenian citizen eligible for
mandatory military service, had been refused status as a
conscientious objector, hazed and forced to serve in Nagorno-
Karabakh against his will. Post is investigating the claims
made by Forum 18, which has no representation in Armenia,
but we cannot substantiate the claims Forum 18 made in its
report. A number of discrepencies significantly reduce the
story's credibility: the named military prosecutor who
allegedly ordered legal proceedings against Grigoryan,
Vladik Khachatryan, does not appear to exist. Military
sources confirmed that no one by that name works for the
Armenian military prosecutor or military police. According
the local leadership of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Grigoryan
is neither a member of the church nor in the process of
joining.


2. (SBU) According to Armenia's Human Rights Ombudsman
Larissa Alaverdian who has been following this case of
alleged abuse, Grigoryan responded to his draft notice in
May 2004 and requested alternative civilian service. At
that time, however, the National Assembly had not yet
completed implementation of the new law on alternative
military service, nor had it yet created provisions for
civilian service (reftel). In August, Grigoryan refused to
take an oath of service, and was accused of refusing the
order of a superior officer. Shortly thereafter, Grigoryan
left his unit without leave, and according to Alaverdian,
Grigoryan's father is currently hiding him in Armenia. The
Ombudsman's office has followed this case since May, but
they have no record of a complaint by Grigoryan alleging
abuse in the army as reported by Forum 18.

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COMMENT
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3. (SBU) Grigoryan may not qualify as a conscientious
objector under the new Armenian law because he is not a
member the Jehovah's Witnesses or any other group "holding
to a pacifist doctrine." The leader of the Jehovah's
Witnesses in Armenia told us that Armen Grigoryan was not a
member of their organization nor was he on his way towards
membership. The leader also noted that for several years
the Jehovah's Witnesses have advised draftees to surrender
themselves to police before reporting for military service.
This procedure establishes the dissenter as a conscientious
objector rather than a deserter subject to military law.
Grigoryan's failure to follow this procedure further
illustrates his distance from the Jehovah's Witnesses
(although Grigoryan's father is a member of the community,
Grigoryan himself has not indicated a desire to join the
church, according to the Jehovah's Witnesses' leadership).
We will continue to follow this case closely.
EVANS