JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WANT TO DO "MAN'S WORK"

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000477

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT. FOR EUR/CACEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV AM
SUBJECT: JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES WANT TO DO "MAN'S WORK"

(U) Sensitive but Unclassified. Please protect
accordingly.

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) In January, Armenia completed implementation
of its Law on Alternatives to Military Service, and 22
members of the Jehovah's Witnesses began work in
various civilian institutions around the country. Two
of the organization's leaders told us, however, that
many of their members are unhappy with the service's
structured environment and are unwilling to do the
"women's work" required by civil service. Since
January, two Jehovah's Witnesses refused to do military
service or its civilian alternative and turned
themselves into police for prosecution. The problem
seems to lie more with expectations and alternatives
rather than work conditions. End Summary.

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IMPLEMENTATION COMPLETE
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2. (SBU) The president of the board and a board member
of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Armenia, Hrach Keshishyan
and Levon Markaryan, told us that 22 of the church's
members had begun working in civilian institutions in
lieu of military service. (Note: With around 7,500
members, the Jehovah's Witnesses are the only sizable
group of conscientious objectors in Armenia. End
note.) According to the two leaders, the GOAM offered
all conscientious objectors in prison the chance to
apply for non-military service, and it developed clear
management systems for the program. Young men who work
in an alternative to military service assignment
typically perform sanitation and housekeeping duties in
a hospital or other care facility. OSCE workers
visited six sites and agreed that the programs were
fully operational and reasonably maintained. Civilian
service workers typically eat the same food as the
patients, and Markaryan described housing as adequate.
He gave us a copy of a typical work schedule which
showed ten hours of work, three meals, eight hours of
sleep, and about three hours for personal use. Both
the church leaders and an OSCE representative who spoke
with us noted that some institutional directors shout
regularly to gain compliance, but none of the observers
told us they believed the management is abusive or
dangerous to workers.

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NO "WOMEN'S WORK"
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3. (SBU) According to Markaryan, many church members
serving in civilian positions felt disillusioned with
the regimented schedule and resented being asked to
line up once every two weeks to be counted by a
military officer. Markaryan complained that the men
were not given physical labor but sanitation chores
that he characterized as "women's work." All eighteen
members of the Jehovah's Witnesses currently in prison
did not choose to substitute civilian service for their
sentence, and since January, two members turned
themselves in to police for prosecution rather than
performing military or civilian service. At one
location, seven members refused to clean toilets and
the GOAM eventually charged them with evasion of
military service. It is unclear when or if there will
be a trial; the workers remain at the civilian service
site.

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COMMENT: TRADE-OFFS
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4. (SBU) Members of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Armenia
have typically served one and a half to two years in
prison for refusing military service, and according to
Keshishyan and Markaryan, once the sentence is served,
members of the church have not faced additional
penalties. By contrast, three years of cleaning
toilets may seem unappealing, and some Armenian
Jehovah's Witnesses clearly prefer prison to performing
"women's work."
EVANS