ARMENIA'S NEXT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER?

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 002166

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/14/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM AM
SUBJECT: ARMENIA'S NEXT HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER?

REF: A) YEREVAN 2125 B) YEREVAN 1083

Classified By: DCM A.F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b,d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) The term of office for Armenian Human Rights
Defender (Ombudsman) Larisa Alaverdyan will expire on January
5, paving the way for Parliament (under provisions of the
country's recently amended constitution) to appoint a
successor or re-appoint Alaverdyan. Alaverdyan has
frequently downplayed her chances and says she plans to
publish a scathing (2005) Annual Human Rights Report before
her successor takes office. While politicians and NGOs
continue to speculate about possible candidates, prominent
human rights NGOs tell us they would prefer Alaverdyan remain
in office. End Summary.

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ALAVERDYAN: DETERMINED TO HOLD ON
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2. (SBU) The term of office for Armenian Human Rights
Defender (Ombudsman) Larisa Alaverdyan expires on January 5,
though Alaverdyan said she believes Armenian law allows her
to stay in office until Parliament confirms her successor.
Local NGOs, including "Democracy NGO" Head and constitutional
amendments co-author Vardan Poghosyan, disagree with
Alaveryan's interpretation and predict Armenian President
Robert Kocharian will require her departure on January 5.
Alaverdyan told us she intends to hold on for "as long as
possible" and has already notified National Assembly Deputy
Speaker Tigran Torosyan that she will seek re-appointment to
the Ombudsman's post, though she downplayed her chances of
being re-appointed.

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THREATENING STRONG CRITICISM OF GOAM HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD
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3. (SBU) Alaverdyan told us she intends to make her 2005
Annual Human Rights Report, which she plans to publish as one
of her final acts before her successor's confirmation, more
critical than in past years. Alaverdyan said she does not
believe, however, that she can complete the report earlier
than mid-January and has instructed her staff to work
aggressively while she lobbies to remain in office beyond
January 5. Ombudsman office staff attorney Arsen Manukyan
also told us that this year's human rights report will
address serious cases that the Kocharian Administration had
not publicly acknowledged.

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POSSIBLE ALAVERDYAN SUCCESSORS?
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4. (C) Political parties have not yet announced their
official candidates, but Human Rights Defender's office staff
attorney Arsen Manukyan told us privately that Alaverdyan,
and many "prominent human rights advocates" believe the
following officials are considering bids to replace her.
(Note: Many of these possible candidates have also been
listed in press reports in recent weeks. End Note.)

--Tigran Torosyan (Republican Party Parliamentarian and
National Assembly Deputy Speaker);

--Alvard Petrosyan (Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnak
Parliamentarian, Petrosyan is one of seven female members of
parliament and a former director of the Fund for Armenian
Relief);

--Shavarsh Kocharyan (Justice Bloc Parliamentarian and former
Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) member,
reportedly removed from his post for his refusal to
participate in an opposition-organized campaign against
Armenia's recent referendum on constitutional amendments);

--Avetik Ishkhanyan (Helsinki Committee Head, prominent human
rights activist, and a former front-runner for the Ombudsman
post before Alaverdyan's appointment in 2004);

--Pushkin Serobyan (pro-government Human Rights NGO figure,
and former local government official, Serobyan spent most of
the 1980s in prison following a conviction on charges of
corruption and abuse of power);

--Armen Harutyunyan (Presidential advisor on constitutional
issues and School of Public Administration rector,
Harutyunyan was one of the main authors of the recently
ratified constitutional amendments);
--Paruyr Hayrikyan (former Armenian Human Rights Commission
head during Kocharian's first presidential term, leader of
the small Self-Determination Union Party, and candidate for
president in every election since 1992).


5. (SBU) Human Rights NGO representatives, including
representatives from the Civil Society Institute (CSI),
Helsinki Citizen's Assembly, Helsinki Committee, and
Democracy NGO have told us they would prefer to see
Alaverdyan, a surprisingly outspoken human rights advocate,
continue as Ombudsman. CSI head Artak Kirakosyan said he
believes that despite Alaverdyan's "tactical mistakes" early
in her term, human rights advocates see her as the best
alternative and are ready to lobby on her behalf. Kirakosyan
opined, however, that Alaverdyan had little chance of
returning to office given her outspoken criticism of the GOAM.

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COMMENT: A TOUGH JOB BUT SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT
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6. (C) Alaverdyan's past criticism of the government's human
rights record has surprised many of her detractors and, as
she regularly concedes, likely ruled out a second term for
her as the Armenian Human Rights Defender. Recent amendments
to the constitution have, at least on paper, established a
stronger, more independent ombudsman's office with National
Assembly will re-appoint Alaverdyan to this enhanced office,
opting instead to install a figure less apt to use the office
to embarrass the government. With the writing on the wall,
Alaverdyan's threats to reveal long-ignored human rights
abuses are a disappointment (if the cases are legitimate, she
should have disclosed them in previous reports),but not a
surprise (she has a decided penchant for public
grand-standing). In any event, the National Assembly's next
pick for Human Rights Defender will be a telling gauge for
the governing coalition's commitment to defending human
rights.
EVANS