CURIOUS TIMING OF GOAM PRESS RELEASE ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 002182

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/SNEC, EUR/CACEN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/16/2015
TAGS: PREL PHUM AM AJ
SUBJECT: CURIOUS TIMING OF GOAM PRESS RELEASE ON
NAKHICHEVAN INCIDENT

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


1. (C) The GOAM distributed a press release on December 15
denouncing what it called "barbarous" vandalism of Armenian
cultural monuments by Azeri soldiers in the Nakhichevan
region along the Azerbaijan-Armenia border. The statement,
citing reports by Armenian priests, claimed that 100
Azerbaijani soldiers had destroyed Armenian "Khatchkars"
(tombstones in the form of crosses) in an Armenian cemetery
along the banks of the Arax river on December 15. The press
release suggested that the actions were part of an
Azerbaijani campaign to "erase traces of Armenian history" in
that part of Azerbaijan. (Note: We have been not been able
to confirm these reports or the veracity of photographs
allegedly taken on December 15 of Azerbaijani soldiers "armed
with sledgehammers." End Note.) The first announcement on
December 15 came in the form of an early afternoon press
release from Armenia's Embassy in Tehran. The MFA
distributed the release to journalists later the same day on
the margins of Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian's press
conference summing up the December 14-15 visit of the OSCE
Minsk Group Co-Chairs. Local press carried the story
December 15 and 16, highlighting the press release's call on
the international community to "prevent cultural genocide by
Azerbaijan." Post will forward a full text of the press
release to the Department.


2. (C) Comment: While details of the alleged incident are
still unclear, the timing of the announcement raises serious
questions about the flow of information and the decision to
distribute the release during Oskanian's press conference.
Heads-up calls to the Embassy from the MFA and the Armenian
Assembly of America suggest that the MFA was especially
interested in ensuring that we had noted the information. On
a day filled with upbeat news about prospects for a
resolution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the MFA's
decision to circulate third-hand reports in an official,
strongly-worded press release is likely to anger nationalist
elements in Armenia and spur a response from counterparts in
Baku.
GODFREY